McHose/The Park/Theodore Roosevelt Statue/History - McHose Park, Boone, IA - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

This Kiosk describes the history of J.B. McHose, his admiration for President Theodore Roosevelt, and the statue erected in his honor. There are 3 informational panels:

President of the United States (1901-1909)
• Roosevelt served most of two terms as US president from 1901-1909.
• Elected vice president under William McKinley, he served in that capacity from March 4 to September 14, 1901.
• On September 14, 1901, he became president when McKinley died of gunshot wounds suffered at the hands of an assassin.
• Roosevelt was succeeded in the presidency by William Howard Taft.
• In 1912, Roosevelt ran again for the presidency, jockeying with Taft for the Republican nomination.
• When he lost the nomination to Taft, he formed the Bull Moose Party and ran unsuccessfully for president on the Progressive Ticket.
Theodore Roosevelt’s Administration was noted for:
• Trust busting and increased regulation of business and industry;
• Completion of the Panama Canal;
• Negotiations for an end to the Russo-Japanese War, for which he won a Nobel Peace Prize, the first American and US president to win the prize;
• Passage of pure food and drug legislation.
Roosevelt and Conservation
• An avid outdoorsman and hunter from his youth, he pursued the rugged outdoor life to improve his frail health.
• Roosevelt gained a respect for protection and management of wild life and preservation of wilderness lands.
• He believed that conservation was essential to democracy.
During Roosevelt’s Presidency
• 230,000,000 acres (about 84,000 acres per day according to the National Geographic Society) came under federal protection. These included:
o 150 national forests
o 51 federal bird reservations
o 5 national parks
o 4 national game preserves
o 18 national monuments
o 24 reclamation projects
• The Antiquities Act of 1906, which Roosevelt signed into law, helped to preserve and protect archeological sites and collections, varied cultural landscapes, and historical sites and buildings.


McHose, the Park and Roosevelt
James Burritt McHose and Ella Hamor McHose
• James Burritt (J.B.) Mchose was a great admirer of Theodore Rooosevelt and shared the president’s concern for the preservation of natural areas for use by the public.
• On July 25, 1924, J.B. McHose and his wife, Ella Hamor McHose, donated land to the Park Commission to establish a park on the southwest side of Boone. All the park’s development costs were to be paid for by the McHoses.
• The McHoses were both remarkable individuals. McHose came from a long line of brick and tile makers and operated the Boone Clay Works from 1889 to 1910. He was also a lawyer and served as a representative in the Iowa State Assembly from 1913-1915.
• He served on the board and as president of the Boone Park Commission from 1922 to 1927.
• Ella McHose was a noted suffragist, who served as vice president of the Iowa Equal Suffrage Association and participated in many local, state, and national suffrage conventions and activities.
• McHose died on June 17, 1927, a year after the dedication of the park named in his honor. Ella McHose died three years later on August 30, 1930. James and Ella McHose had the vision to leave a priceless legacy to the citizens of Boone when they gave McHose Park to the city. It is one of the finest urban parks in Iowa.
The Theodore Roosevelt Statue
• In his will, McHose asked that the administrator of his estate, Boone lawyer, John W. Jordan, oversee the erection of a monument dedicated to President Theodore Roosevelt. After careful research, Jordan chose Sicilian born, New York sculptor Vincenzo Miserendino to design and execute the statue. Miserendino, also an admirer of Roosevelt, had produced several statues of the former president.
• The contract for the statue was singed on November 1, 1941. Following the completion of design preliminaries, work to cast the three-ton plaster mold began in 1943. At the same time, Miserendino purchased 4,000 pounds of bronze and contracted with a bronze foundry to cast the statue and a granite quarry to finish the base.
• World War II and the government intervened. The bronze was diverted to the war effort.
• On December 26, 1943, Miserendino died. His son, Joseph cut the mold into three pieces and stored it in a warehouse until the war was over and work on the statue could begin again.



Completion of the Statue
• The statue was finally cast by the Roman Bronze Corporation of Corona, New York, in 1946.
• It arrived in Boone in November, but further delays occurred while the granite base was prepared.
• The three granite blocks, quarried in St. Cloud, Minnesota, weighing a combined 59,000 pounds, were put in place on January 6, 1948.
• The bottom slab is 14’6” long by 7’8 ½” wide and height of 14”. The middle block is 10’3 ½” long by 3’3 ½” wide and a height of 3’8”. The granite slabs rest on a cement base that is 5” above ground level.
• The bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt is 6’3” in height. Cost of the bronze statue was $10,000. The granite base plus transportation and installation costs added about $1,000 to the cost.
Statue’s Symbolism
• Miserendino shows Roosevelt rising out of the rugged mountains, which had helped to restore his health and vigor as a young man. Roosevelt is seen addressing an audience with his clenched left hand as if reinforcing his principle, “Right must be enforced with might.”
• Around the base of the statue of Roosevelt is a ten-group composition of figures representing Roosevelt’s primary outdoor accomplishments.
Theodore Roosevelt in Boone
• Roosevelt visited Boone at least twice, in August of 1910 and in September of 1914.

Group that erected the marker: J. B. McHose Administrative Estate, 1948 Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: McHose Park (no official address) Boone, IA United States of America 50036 URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed

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