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Lewis Monument
Dedicated 1899
1898
09 21 The bicycle races at Washington park
Saturday afternoon furnished amusement for a goodly number of young people,
although the attendance was not nearly so large as it should have been,
considering Manager Thomas' generosity and public spirit in offering the
proceeds as a starter for a soldier monument.
For the most part the races were excellent trials of speed and
considerable rivalry was displayed among the participants. WR
11 16 FOUNDATION FOR THE SOLDIERS’ MONUMENT
The work of excavating for the foundation of the
soldier’s monument which Robert E. Lewis has presented to the city was begun in
the city park Monday. The monument will
stand exactly in the center of the park and the base will be twelve by thirteen
feet in dimension. The excavation is to
be six feet deep, and as soon as the earth is removed the foundation, built of
lime-stone and granite, will be laid.
The monument contractors, J. Archie &
Sons, expect to remove here from Waterloo next week and will occupy the old
Sleeper plant. WR
1898-1899
-- -- LEWIS CIVIL WAR MONUMENT
CONSTRUCTION OF
1899
05 02 Arrangements have been made for the dedication of the soldiers'
monument on the 30th of May. Mayor Rose
of Milwaukee accepted the invitation to deliver the memorial address, and
Governor Scofield and staff will be present on the occasion. Rev. G. C. Weiss will tender the monument to
the city, and Mayor Grube will accept the monument on behalf of the city. Mrs. R. E. Lewis, assisted by four little
girls, will perform the ceremony of unveiling.
City and military societies will assist on the occasion. The music will be furnished by the Sinnissippi and Northwestern
College bands. The local singing
societies, with such others as desire to take part, will sing in a grand chorus
under the direction of Mr. Sproesser. The exercises at the cemeteries will take
place in the forenoon, the principal ceremonies to be held at Oak Hill Cemetery
at 10 o'clock. The unveiling of the
monument will be in the afternoon at 2 o'clock. WR
05 11 The balance of the stone for the soldiers' monument has arrived
here and the work of putting the monument in place will begin soon. J. J. Archie & Sons expect to have the
monument in place several days before Memorial Day when the monument will be
unveiled. Fred Gohres
will have charge of erecting the stone and work is now going on in the city
park prepatory to raising the huge derrick which will
be needed for the same. The poles used
will be sixty feet in height and were purchased in the pineries especially for
this work. WR
05 16 Work is now rapidly progressing in the direction of erecting the
monument in the city square. The
remaining blocks of stone have arrived and the work of placing together the
monument will soon begin. The concrete
foundation having already been finished, all that now remains is the erecting
of the column. J. J Archie & Sons,
who have the contract, are now setting up the necessary derricks and expect to
have everything in readiness a few days before Memorial Day. Fred Gohres will
superintend the job. WR
05 23 It is expected that the soldiers' monument will be in place the
middle of this week, and everything in readiness for the unveiling on Memorial
Day. The gigantic derrick utilized in
suspending the massive pieces of granite has been performing its work very
satisfactorily, under the able superintendence of Fred Gohres. The monument will stand forty-eight feet high
and weigh in the neighborhood of 100 tons.
The official program of the dedication exercises will be issued
shortly. WR
05 30 The sun perhaps never rose on a more beautiful day than this, and
if the weather only holds as favorable throughout the afternoon as it is at this
writing, nothing will be lacking for the greatest and most interesting
observance Watertown has ever witnessed.
After weeks of preparation and anxiety on the part of those directly
interested, everything is now in readiness for the unveiling and dedication of
the monument given to our city by our most worthy and highly esteemed
fellow-citizens, Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Lewis.
The monument was entirely in place Sunday and yesterday the finishing
touches were put on and the city park made ready to receive the distinguished
guests who are here to honor the occasion as well as the vast concourse of
people who will be on hand to witness the interesting exercises. Governor Scofield and staff arrived this
morning and are being entertained at the homes of Lieutenant-Governor Stone and
General Solliday.
Mayor Rose, of Milwaukee, who is the orator of the day, will arrive at
noon. . . . WR
05 30 A dedication ceremony, which was one of
the outstanding events of its kind to be held in Watertown in the past century,
took place on May 30, 1899. On that day
the Soldier’s Memorial monument was dedicated in City Park, located between
South Fourth and South Third Streets.
The monument
was the gift of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Lewis. The monument was formally presented
to the city by the Rev. G. C. Weiss, in behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis. Mayor H.
G. Grube accepted in behalf of the city. The memorial oration was delivered by
Mayor D. S. Rose of Milwaukee. An address was delivered by Governor Edward
Scofield. The O. D. Pease Post No. 94 dedicated the monument.
A long
parade: preceded the park ceremony. The
procession was headed by Col. A. Solliday and aides, Messrs. Emil
Seibel, Charles Mulberger,
Gustavus Buchheit,
Louis A. C. Charboneau and Oscar Wertheimer.
The
parade was made up in three divisions. Mayor G. P. Traeumer
commanded the first division, which included the Northwestern University
Military Band, the Northwestern University Military Company, Deutscher Krieger Verein, Governor Scofield, A. E. Needham,
who was president of the day, the Rev. G. C. Weiss, W. D. Sproesser,
Herman Wertheimer, H. C. Mayer, C. H. Jacobi, Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Lewis, Mayor
Rose and Mayor Grube.
The
second division was commanded by Comrade Felix Leschinger
and included the Sinnissippi Band, Fire Department, Watertown High School Students
Drum Corps, Concordia Musical Society,
Watertown Liederkranz, Turner Society, Merchants
Association and war veterans.
Dr. A.
H. Hartwig commanded the Third division.
It included the Independent Band, Common Council, Northwestern
University faculty, Sacred Heart College faculty,
the Board of Education, Board of Public Works, Board of Water Commissioners and
citizens in carriages.
An
article which appeared in the Feb. 22, 1933, issue of the Times contains comments from a Watertown resident who attended the
ceremony. He writes as follows:
"The
program at the park, after a lapse of nearly 34 years, is remembered by many
who can accurately recall many scenes of that day. The presentation of the
monument to the city in behalf of the donors, Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Lewis, was
made by the Rev. G. E. Weiss, the pastor of the Congregational Church in a
short but fitting address.
"The
aged couple, modest and retiring in manner, but serene and happy in the thought
of having performed a civic duty to their fellow citizens, was a picture not
easily forgotten.
“Mayor
H. G. Grube, in a very apt address, accepted the monument in behalf of the
city. Mayor
David S. Rose of Milwaukee was the orator of the day. Rose was a picturesque figure. Tall, striking, handsome, he employed none of
the poses or gestures of the average spellbinder, but stood before his
audience, immobile as a statue. His was
an address of surpassing eloquence. His
soft, melodious voice, carried to the outer fringes of a large gathering and he
held his audience spellbound. It was a
notable fact that boys and girls in their early teens, who as a rule have
little interest in a public address, followed his discourse with rapt attention. It was my good fortune to have heard some of
the silver-tongued orators of the past, such as W. Bourke Cockran,
Henry Watterson, W. J. Bryan and others, but the matchless beauty of thought
and diction of the mayor's address that memorable May day in 1899 will linger
in my mind forever."
1904
Robert Emmet Lewis, one of Watertown's most
esteemed citizens, died at his home in
Mr.
Lewis was born December 23, 1825, at Morrow, Saratoga County, New York; January
30, 1850, he was married at Glens Falls, New York, to Miss
Fannie Parker, of Parkinsville, Vermont; in 1853
he came west and located in Oshkosh, from where he engaged in the sash and door
business.
In
1861 he came to Watertown and in company with his brother, the late George B.
Lewis, bought a sash and door factory located on the present site of the G. B.
Lewis factory in Water Street; in 1869 he sold his interest to his brother and
removed to Iowa; in 1892 he returned to Watertown and has since made this city
his home.
In
1908
Watertown Weekly Leader 06 06 1908
Memorial Day, May 30, 1908. On this occasion, there was a departure from
the ordinary observance of the day and highly appropriate and should be
continued, and that was the marching of the band and cadet company from the Northwestern University to the city park and
placing garlands upon the monument erected by
Robert E. Lewis to the memory of the soldiers and sailors who enlisted in
the service of their country from the city of Watertown. And in this connection, it might not be amiss
to call attention to the fact, that the
names of Watertown's heroic dead ought to be engraved upon the monument. There are a sufficient number of patriotic
men in this city who would contribute the funds to defray the expense if
someone would take the initiative.
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