Statue of William Henry Harrison - Cincinnati, Ohio
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 06.248 W 084° 31.018
16S E 714708 N 4331267
Equestrian statue of the 9th President of the United States.
Waymark Code: WM42AG
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 06/27/2008
Views: 68
At the Vine St. entrance to the park is the imposing STATUE OF WILLIAM
HENRY HARRISON, a large bronze creation on a granite pedestal, showing the
uniformed General astride a horse. It was modeled in the early 1890's by
Louis Rebisso, but delays by officials kept the statue in the basement of the
National Guard Armory until 1895, when it was put up at the present site.
Dedication took place in 1896.
Harrison (1773-1841) was born at Berkeley, Virginia, and educated at
Hampden-Sydney College. Upon entering the army, he was stationed at Fort
Washington in Cincinnati for several years, acting as General Wayne's
aide-de-camp during the Indian campaign. In 1795 Harrison married the
daughter of John Cleves Symmes. Becoming Governor of the Indiana
Territory., he made treaties with the Indians that brought several million acres
of land under Federal jurisdiction; when the Indians became restive, he gave
them battle at Tippecanoe and defeated them. As commander of the Army of
the Northwest during the War of 1812, Harrison had much to do with the
successful conclusion.
He emerged from the war a public hero. Establishing his home at
North Bend, near Cincinnati, he took up farming, but soon entered upon a
political career that carried him to the Ohio legislature, the House of
Representatives, and the United States Senate. He was nominated for the
Presidency in 1840; and, amid miniature log cabins, free cider, campaign songs
and rousing oratory, the old General easily won out over Van Buren. One
month after taking office he died of pneumonia. At North Bend, where he is
buried, an imposing monument has been placed above his grave.
- Cincinnati: A Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors, Tour 7,
pgs. 199-200
The statue of William Henry Harrison was moved in 1988 when Piatt Park was renovated about two blocks west of where
it is listed in the Guide. The statue now stands at Elm Street entrance to
the park and faces to the west rather than east.