County of statue: St. Louis Independent City
Location of statue: Grand Ave. (East Entrance), Tower Grove Park Sr. Louis
Artist: Ferdinand von Miller, 1842-1929, sculptor
Architect: George Ingham Barnett, 1815-1898
Fonder:
Royal Foundry
Contractor: Syenite Granite Company, St. Louis
Smithsonian American Art Listing of the statue and the reliefs
"In 1681 La Salle returned again to the Illinois Country and rebuilt his fort. This time he began negotiations with the tribes to return and set up an alliance. He immediately began trade with them and through the next two years he began to import firearms and other metal tools that the tribes never had previous access to. In 1682 La Salle began to establish a post he named Fort Saint Louis on the Mississippi. He used the post as an even more forward base into the countryside. He spent the next several years establishing posts and trade throughout the Illinois Country. Although the Iroquois returned to again destroy the French posts, the plan succeeded in the years after La Salle's death in 1687. Using their new arms, the odds were evened with the Iroquois and the tribes were eventually able to reclaim their homeland following the 1701 Great Peace of Montreal.
A 1688 map of the region explored by La Salle, based in large part on the findings of his expeditions
La Salle then assembled a party for the expedition for which he is most remembered. Leaving Fort Crevecoeur with eighteen Native Americans, he canoed down the Mississippi River in 1682, naming the Mississippi basin "La Louisiane" in honor of Louis XIV. At what is now the site of Memphis, Tennessee he built a small fort, Fort Prudhomme. On April 9, at the mouth of the Mississippi River, near modern Venice, Louisiana, La Salle buried an engraved plate and a cross, claiming the territory for France. In 1683, on his return voyage, he established Fort Saint Louis of Illinois, at Starved Rock on the Illinois River, to replace Fort Crevecoeur. Tonti was to command the fort while La Salle traveled again to France for supplies." ~ Wikipedia
"Early in the morning on October 12, 1492, a sailor looked out to the horizon from the bow of his sailing ship, the Pinta, and saw land. After 10 long weeks at sea, from the port of Palos, Spain, Columbus and his crews saw the New World. The following day, 90 crew members from Columbus's three-ship fleet set foot on the island of Guanahani in the Bahamas and planted the flag of their sponsors, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Columbus continued his exploration, discovering other lands. Do you know what other places Columbus found as he continued his journey?" ~ America's Library
County of statue: St. Louis Independent City
Location of statue: Grand Ave. (East Entrance), Tower Grove Park Sr. Louis
Artist: Ferdinand von Miller, 1842-1929, sculptor
Architect: George Ingham Barnett, 1815-1898
Fonder:
Royal Foundry
Contractor: Syenite Granite Company, St. Louis
Monument text: (front base - west side):
The XIX
Century to
Christopher Columbus
1884.
(Rear Base - east side):
To the
Discoverer
of a
New World.
(North Base):
[relief plaque] LA SALLE at CAHOKIA - FEB. 12, 1682
(south base):
[relief plaque] COLUMBUS. OCT. 12, 1492
Proper Description: "Standing figure of a bearded Columbus with a cloth draped over his proper right shoulder. His proper right hand holds the cloth in front as his proper left leg comes forward. The base has two reliefs depicting LaSalle at Cahokia and Columbus at sea, and the base also incorporates benches." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum
This web site presents the statue and its history very nicely. vanderkrogt.net