Historic Preservation Commission planning additional restoration of monuments | New
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MARINETTE — Following the successful restoration of the recently completed Isaac Stephenson statue, the City of Marinette Historic Preservation Commission last Monday discussed other potential monument repair projects across the city.
The commission looked at three monuments in particular: the Queen Marinette and First Sawmill monuments on Riverside Avenue and the Soldier monument on Stephenson Island.
According to “A Brief History of Riverside Avenue” by Jason Flatt, city councilor and member of the Historic Preservation Commission, the monuments to Queen Marinette and the first sawmill were both erected by Frank Noyes, the publisher’s son. eagle Luther Noyes, in 1940 and 1931, respectively.
Flatt said the First Sawmill monument on Riverside Avenue, in particular, “looks pretty rough.” Some of the screws that secure the plate to its granite block are missing or loosening, according to Flatt.
The monument, which stands across from Raymond Street, commemorates the site where William Farnsworth and Charles Brush built the first sawmill on the Menominee River in 1832. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, Farnsworth was a fur trade pioneer and lumberjack from Vermont who was also Queen Marinette’s second husband. Brush, who was originally from Detroit, appears to have been a lesser historical figure, and few details are recorded about him in the documents mentioning the sawmill.
The Queen Marinette monument, while not in an extreme state of disrepair, has developed a patina and could benefit from some attention, according to Flatt. “The Queen Marinette monument doesn’t look rough, but it doesn’t look rough in the same way that the Ike Stephenson statue didn’t look rough either,” he said. he declared.
Queen Marinette, the namesake of the city and county, was a woman of French, Chippewa, and Menomine ancestry born in northeastern Wisconsin in 1793, according to Beverly Hayward Johnson “Reine Marinette: Spirit of Survival on the Great Lakes Frontier. “She was a skilled trader and counselor who was also known for her charitable work with local residents.
Historic Preservation Commission member Mark Davenport said the base of the Soldiers’ Memorial on Stephenson Island is in need of repairs. Davenport, who also owns construction company MariMar, Inc. and was involved in the restoration of the Isaac Stephenson statue, said he had corresponded with LaCourt Concrete owner Chuck LaCourt regarding the foundation and the possibility of ” add a layer of granite on it to reduce the need for future maintenance. Isaac Stephenson presented the Soldier’s Memorial to the Town of Marinette on Remembrance Day 1917 to commemorate Marinette County soldiers who perished in the Civil War.
Historic Preservation Commission chairman Dan Kallgren said Milwaukee-based artifact curator Cricket Harbeck, who undertook the restoration of the Stephenson statue, will return to the city to write a final report on the project. of the statue of Stephenson. Kallgren said he mentioned the other monuments to her and thinks she might see them on her trip.
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