ORONO, Maine — Now that a damaged Civil War soldier statue has been repaired after years of fundraising and restorative work, the Orono Historical Society is petitioning the town to remove a tree in order to display the monument downtown.
“They want it near the town office,” Nancy Ward, assistant to Town Manager Sophie Wilson, said Tuesday.
But members of the town’s Tree Board oppose removal of the Colorado spruce, saying in a February memo to the town that it is healthy and has unique characteristics.
Requests to place the statue on land owned by the U.S. Post Office have been denied, Wilson said.
“I had a final conversation with the post office in Washington … and got a response which was, ‘No, you can’t put it there,’” the town manager said at Monday’s community development subcommittee meeting.
There is a chance to access the post office land through an easement request, but the $25,000 cost is excessive and there is a good possibility the application would not be approved, Wilson informed the group.
“Because of the Confederate flag [uproar], the post office is not going to do anything with the Civil War,” she was told by the Washington official, Wilson said.
The Civil War soldier statue was originally installed 125 years ago to honor the 39 local men who died during the bloody conflict and more than 210 other Orono men who left between 1861 and 1864 to join units from Maine that fought at Gettysburg, Bull Run and other battles, according to the Orono Historical Society.
The statue was dedicated in 1890 at a downtown location known later by locals as Monument Square, but it was moved five times over the years as the town changed and developed, until finally finding a home in Webster Park. The park is situated along the river and is where the statue eventually was damaged by vandals.
After it was deemed too unsafe to be on public display, the town placed the statue in storage in 2008. Members of the Orono Historical Society decided to make it their mission to restore the monument, and they don’t want it returned to Webster Park. They want it somewhere visible.
The life-sized metallic zinc figure wears a Civil War uniform and cap and has a militia overcoat draped over its right shoulder and was refurbished by Peter Crockett of Argyle, an artist and pipe welder. It’s 14 feet tall and has an 8-by-8 foot base,
Town leaders are looking into other options, including placing the monument somewhere outside the University Credit Union’s new headquarters at the corner of Main Street and Bennoch Road or near the crosswalk by the town office.
Town officials have renderings of the crosswalk proposal that will be presented to the full council on Monday, Wilson said, adding that she is scheduled to meet with members of the historical society Tuesday.
“I’m trying to help you find a way to find a win, in this no win situation,” Wilson told the council subcommittee.
There is going to be a cost to install the statue, “no matter where it goes,” Ward said.