Trades and Labor Monument - Wheeling, West Virginia
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 40° 04.359 W 080° 43.505
17T E 523441 N 4435856
Monument erected by labor unions to honor businessman/employer who was sympathetic to their causes at entrance to I-70 on Main Street in Wheeling, West Virginia.
Waymark Code: WMJBTB
Location: West Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 10/26/2013
Views: 2
"On the northeast corner is the TRADES AND LABOR MONUMENT, erected by employees of the Pollack Tobacco Company in honor of Augustus Pollack, one of the first tobacco manufacturers in Wheeling and a supporter of organized labor. The figures of a workman and an employer clasp hands in front of a slender fluted Corinthian column, atop which stands an eagle with outstretched wings" -
West Virginia: A Guide to the Mountain State, Wheeling section, pg. 286
The above quotation is from a section discussing the various items found on the grounds of the City-County Building in Wheeling. The monument now known as the Augustus Pollack Monument is no longer located on the grounds of the City-County Building and was moved to the current location in 1956 when the old City-County Building was razed. The occupies the complete block and has no grounds.
The monument standing over 35-foot tall has a 26-foot fluted Corinthian column with an eagle on top with its wing spread. At the base of the column are figures of two men shaking hands. The men are both wearing shirts with sleeves rolled up and baggy trousers. Between the men is a unrolled scroll with the following inscription:
Erected By
Trade Union Members
Of United States
In Memory Of
Augustus Pollack
Whose Business
Life And Actions
Were Always
In Sympathy With
Organized Labor.
From the Smithsonian website:
"The monument commemorates Augustus Pollack. Born in Germany in 1830, Pollack immigrated to Baltimore in 1849, and moved to West Virginia in 1854. After the Civil War, he founded the Cigar and Tobacco Factory and the Crown Stogie Company in East Wheeling. Pollack was one of the city's leading businessmen and civic leaders, and was especially active in affairs of the communities' large German speaking population. He was known as a model employer and was a friend of organized labor, often called upon to settle disputes. In his will, he bequested scholarship funds to support a student from the "industrial" population. He died in April 1906.
The idea for the monument originated shortly after his death, and a memorial committee was formed in June 1906. The Committee collected funds from 6 international unions, 750 locals, and over 3,000 individuals. Total cost of the monument was $8,433. The monument was designed by Asbjornsen and Faris; built by the firm of Edward C. Kreutzer. Originally sited on the old Ohio City Courthouse grounds, the monument was moved in 1956, when the Courthouse was razed to make way for the new city-county building."
The monument is listed as a contributing object in the North Wheeling Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.