100th anniversary of Reagan monument - Palestine, TX
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WalksfarTX
N 31° 45.469 W 095° 37.519
15R E 251336 N 3516591
Local history enthusiasts gathered at the Museum for East Texas Culture Saturday for a special program celebrating the 100th anniversary of the John H. Reagan statue and its namesake park.
Waymark Code: WMW0QE
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/23/2017
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Palestine Herald
The program included presentations from local historian and Parks Advisory Board member Bonnie Woolverton and City of Palestine Parks Board chairman John Ballard McDonald, with a slideshow presentation of past and present photos of the park and statue and the evolution of both.
The focus of the program covered the little known facts about John H. Reagan (presented by Woolverton), and more little known facts about the park and the monument (presented by McDonald).
The Monument
• The idea for the Reagan statue began developing in 1905, shortly after Reagan passed away in March of that year.
The local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy announced it had raised $800 for the project and was charged with continuing those efforts.
• The design of Pompeo Coppini of San Antonio was chosen to construct the monument. Coppini, a native of Italy, has constructed 36 public monuments at locations like the Littlefield Fountain at the University of Texas at Austin and the Sam Houston burial site in Huntsville.
• In 1908, the statue was ready for delivery to Palestine, but the UDC was having difficulty raising funds for the monument.
• In 1910, a proposal was made to sell eight acres of land to the city for the park if the statue would be placed at the site and the debt paid.