Tuesday marked a nationally significant anniversary with a local tie. It was the 140th anniversary of the arrival in New York harbor of the French frigate Isere carrying the Statue of Liberty from France.
The copper statue had been designed by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi and was shipped disassembled to America. Interestingly, its iron skeletal framework had been designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel prior to his creation of the Eiffel Tower.
It was not until 1903, when immigrants were streaming onto nearby Ellis Island to be processed for entry into the United States, that Emma Lazarus’ sonnet, “The New Colossus,” was cast on a bronze plaque and placed in the base of the Statue of Liberty. The words of that sonnet, written in 1883 as a fundraiser for the statue, have become also as iconic as the statue itself. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
Main Street in Columbus has long been graced by a much smaller Statue of Liberty. There is no telling how many people drive by it every day and know nothing about how it got there. I have often been asked, “Do you know how old it is because I don’t remember it ever not being there?”
Like its big sister in New York, it also has a story to tell, and 2025 marks its 75th birthday. Columbus’ miniature Statue of Liberty was part of a nationwide project of the Boy Scouts of America. About 200 statues of liberty were placed around the country and they were called the “Little Sisters of Liberty.” The project was in celebration of scouting’s 40th anniversary and was meant to be a visible “pledge of everlasting fidelity and loyalty” to America.
The idea originated with J.P. Whitaker, a Kansas City scout leader and businessman who was scout commissioner of the Kansas City Area Council. Between 1949 and 1952, approximately 200 of the 8 1/2-foot-high statues, that cost about $350 each plus shipping and weighed 290 pounds, were placed in cities and towns in 39 states and several territories. They were made from thin stamped bronze plates mounted on wooden frames by Friedley-Voshardt Co. of Chicago. The replica statues could be purchased through the Kansas City Boy Scout office. The Scouts called the placement of the statues around the country the “Crusade to Strengthen the Arm of Liberty.”
It was under the auspices of the Pushmataha Area Council of the Boy Scouts, which is now a district of the Natchez Trace Council of Scouting America, that the “Little Sister of Liberty” was purchased in 1950. The statue was placed in Columbus on a polished granite base at the intersection of Seventh and Main streets. Its acquisition and placement was made possible by the generosity of Irvine Weitzenhoffer, vice president of Seminole Manufacturing, and T.M. McGahey of Columbus Marble Works.
The statue was dedicated on the afternoon of Dec. 7, 1950. An account of the dedication ceremony was in the following day’s Commercial Dispatch. The paper described the weather as bitter cold, but the dedication was still attended by a “crowd” of Scouts.
The statue was unveiled by Eagle Scout Fraser Triplett of Louisville. He then formerly presented it to Columbus mayor William Hairston, who accepted it on behalf of the citizens of Columbus. A dedication address was given by Columbus attorney Roger Landrum. In his address he recalled that it was the ninth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He then spoke of the troubled times that the Cold War had brought.
The crowd was said to be shivering in the cold as Landrum, a World War II army veteran, addressed them and said “there is a bewilderment among the American people today as they face seemingly insurmountable problems without intelligent national leadership.” Of the original 200 “Little Sisters of Liberty” that were placed around the United States by Scouts some 73 to 76 years ago, the Columbus statue is one of only about 100 that have survived. With Dec. 7 being the Columbus Little Sister of Liberty’s 75th birthday, maybe a birthday party is in order.
Columbus isn’t the only town with a large replica Statue of Liberty in the Golden Triangle. There is also one on the Kitty Dill Walkway in West Point. In 2016, the West Point Community Foundation bought one that Kenny Dill had seen for sale in Louisville. It is about the same size as the Little Sister of Liberty in Columbus and is mounted on a marble base at the walkways’ Church Hill Road crossing.
We would do well to remember that at the dedication of Columbus’ Little Sister of Liberty, Roger Landrum concluded his speech by saying that if the American people would rely on initiative, resources and trust in God, “neither the nation nor the Statue of Liberty would crumble.”
Rufus Ward is a Columbus native a local historian. E-mail your questions about local history to Rufus at [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
