USS Maine Anchor in City Park - Reading, PA
Posted by: 
Janila
N 40° 20.182 W 075° 54.974
18T E 422174 N 4465493
On August 1, 1914, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, presented the anchor from the USS Maine to the city of Reading.
Waymark Code: WMYY0A
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/08/2018
Views: 1
"Remember the Maine!" This was the rally cry when the USS Maine went down in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. This incident triggered American's involvement in the Spanish American War. 16 years after this incident, Reading was chosen as the final home for the anchor from the USS Maine. Records state that 12,000 people attended the presentation by Franklin Roosevelt as the anchor was installed in City Park.
When the anchor was re-dedicated 100 years later on August 4, 2014, City Council President Francis Acosta stated "As a result of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States. The U.S. would later give Puerto Ricans citizenship though 1917's Jones Act."
The 2010 census shows that 31 percent of Reading's population consists of people of Puerto Rican descent so this moment in history truly did affect the city of Reading.