Morman Trail Memorial Relief - Bayliss Park - Council Bluffs, Iowa
Posted by: GT.US
N 41° 15.585 W 095° 51.105
15T E 261094 N 4571515
This copper bas relief depicts a Morman family going westward.
Waymark Code: WM8F8B
Location: Iowa, United States
Date Posted: 03/24/2010
Views: 12
The Smithsonian (
visit link) tells us:
"Artist: Fjelde, Paul, 1892-1984, sculptor.
Gorham Manufacturing Company, founder.
Title: Mormon Trail Memorial, (sculpture).
Dates: Dedicated June 14, 1918.
Medium: Plaque: bronze; Boulder: granite; Base: concrete.
Dimensions: Plaque: approx. 2 ft. x 3 ft. x 1 in.; Boulder: approx. 7 x 10 x 8 ft.
Inscription: Gorham Co. Founders (Lower right corner of plaque, incised:) Paul Fjelde, Sc. 17. signed Founder's mark appears.
Description: A relief plaque is set into a large boulder surrounded by several smaller rocks. The relief depicts part of a Mormon wagon-train. The foreground has a bearded man with a hat and gun riding a horse. In front of the horse are a small boy, also wearing a hat, and a dog. Further into the background is a covered wagon drawn by two oxen. In the front of the wagon sits a woman holding an infant and beside the oxen walks a man cracking a whip. To either end of the relief is a tree.