Westport Will Lay Capstones On Minute Man Memorial

WESTPORT, Conn. – First Selectman Jim Marpe and Sam Gault,president of Gault Energy and Stone, will lay capstones at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, on the Minute Man Monument’s fieldstone.

The midpoint of restoration of the Minute Man Monument in Westport will be marked with a capstone-laying ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 2.
Photo Credit: *Wikipedia*

by Lynn Funk

10/01/2014 4:00 a.m.

Historic District Commission Chairman Francis Henkels and Town Curator Kathie Bennewitz are also set to attend the event, which is planned to acknowledge the middle stage of the ongoing restoration of the monument.

Francis Miller of ConserveArt LLC, Marc Bolduc of mason Giunta-Bolduc and ironworker Werner Horst are commissioning the restoration of the monument and site. Westport’s Historic District Commission and the Arts Advisory Committee are overseeing the project.

The restoration is supported by the town of Westport, along with fieldstone donations from Gault. The monument was originally erected on Aug. 2, 1909, and was sculpted from donated local stone by H. Daniel Webster, according to The Westporter Herald.

The kneeling patriot featured in the monument was unveiled on Friday, June 17, 1910. The location where it sits is the site of the April 1777 Battle of Compo Hill.

The bronze of the monument has turned green, and the knoll’s contour has eroded. The iron fence has also faced wear over the years. The restoration’s aim is to return the monument to its former state.

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