Memorials

Memorial Town Hall stands as a crowning jewel to Monson and an everlasting honor to the soldiers whose memory it was designed and built.  It was built in 1884 with land and money donated by the Reynolds family, and was an outcome of a movement on the part of the Solider's Memorial Association and public-spirited citizens.  It was erected as a monument to Monson's Civil War veterans and has since become a memorial to veterans of all wars.  The building was constructed of Monson granite from the W.N. Flynt quarry and was built by the Flynt Building and Construction Company from plans made by architect George E. Potter.  Designed in the Victorian Rominesque style, the building is a two-story complex composed of hip, gambrel and gabled-roof sections.  It is flanked by a 100' high tower and a 45' high octagonal turret topped by a solder statue sculpted of granite.  Pointed gothic arches of blue and white granite, triple-hung sash, light-colored lintels and dentils at eh cornice are decorative, as well as unifying elements.  Two rows of stained glass windows decorate the exterior sides of the building, as well as light the interior.  In the center of the fron is the main entrance stairway leading to heavy ash double doors under the stone-arched portico.

The interior of the Memorial Town Hall foyer is finished in terra cotta, has busts of Washington and Lincoln, and marble tablets bearing the names of all soldiers from Monson who fought in the Civil War.  The auditorium displays memorial tablets with names of veterans who served in the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War.   When first built, the two office spaces off the vestibule were for the use of the selectmen and other town officials.  The building was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1885.  The first town meeting held in Memorial Town Hakll was on August 15, 1885.  On the second floor is the Marcus Keep Post 155 G.A.R. Hall, which contains Civil War memorabilia.  In the basement, the original town "lock up" remains.  In 1902, the stage was rebuilt and thoroughly fitted with the latest theatrical equipment.  The stage curtain was painted by Arthur Greenus witha  scene of the Housatonic Valley, copied from a painting contributed to Bellows.  Unfortunately, this curtain was made with asbestos and had to be removed.

Since its constrution, Memorial Town Hall has been the center for town activities - political, social, civic, and charitable.  The building was listed on the National Registr of Historic Places in 1984.  The National Register status for Memorial Town Hall is a permanent testament to its fine architecture and historic significance.

On the front lawn of Memorial Hall are two trophies of war --  a Civil War cannon and  a WWI German Minewerfer cannon.  There is also a memorial to the Vietnam War and the S.F. Cushman Memorial fountain.

This granite fountain was erected in 1886 by Solomon Frederick Cushman, who was a prominent woolen manufacturer in Monson during the last 19th century.  The fountain originally stood in the intersection of Main and Cushman Streets.  With the advent of the automobile, the fountain became a traffic hazard and was moved to a safer location on the lawn of Memorial Hall.  It was moved for a third time, to where it stands today, in the late 1980s to make room for the Vietnam War Memorial.

The Soldiers' Monument was erected in 1884 by Cyrus W. Holmes, Sr., presented to the Marcus Keep Post, No. 155 G.A.R., of this town and was dedicated on July 4, 1884.  The monument is of Vermont granite, and designed and constructed by R.F. Carter of South Ryegate, Vermont.  The dimensions are 12 feet square at the base and 46-1/2 feet high.  The soldier is colossal - 7-1/2 feet in height and weighin in about four tons.  The conception of the artist is that of a solder on picket, being suddenly aroused by an unusual noise, starts up grasping his musket and looks intently in the direction of the disturbance.  The monument is intended by its inscriptions to emphasize the union of states to the perpetuity of popular government, and by its emblems to represent the fourt brances of service.

Infrantry on the front has in relief "Gettysburg" above laurel leaves; on the first section of the plinth is the United States coat of arms.  Artillery on the rear has for its inscription, "New Berne" above oak leaves; on the plinth the crossed cannon.  The Navy on the right side has "Roanoke" above olive leaves, and on the plinth the anchor and shot.  Cavalry on the left has "Knoxville" above ivy leaves; on the plinth the crossed sabres.  The battles of Gettysburg, New Berne, Roanoke, and Knoxville were chosen because the soldiers of Monson were most numerously represented in them.  The wreath formed of laurel signifying glory; the olive, peace; the oak, strength; and the ivy lasting remembrance, is emblematic of the boys in blue who went forth in their strength, conquered an honorable peae, and returning with a crow of glory shall be held in lasting remembrance.  On the front of the monument are the words, "Erected by Cyrus W. Holmes, to commemorate the valor and patriotism of the soldiers, who on land and sea upheld the national cause, 1861-1865."  On the rear is a sentence from Jackson's inaugural in 1833, "Without Union Our Independent and Liberty can never be Maintained."  On the right is a sentence from Webster's reply to Hayne in 1830, "To Union we owe our safety at home and our consideration and dignity abroad."  On the left is a sentence from Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863 "Under God the government of the people, for the people, and by the people shall not perish from the earth."

This granite fountain was presented to the town in 1882 by William N. Flynt who was the owner of the W.N. Flynt Granite Company quary. 

The Monson Free Library was constructed of Monson granite from the W.N. Flynt Granite Company and was built by the W.N. Flynt & Company Builders in 1881.  It was designed by Worcester architect Steven C. Earle in the Romanesque style.  The main architectural features are the high hipped roof with stone dormers and the large arched windows on the main building.  More particularly, the projection at the front for the main entrance with its polished granite shafts; richly carved caps and string course; boldly moulded arch; massive over-hanging balcony; and above these,  a commanding clock tower with its three illuminated dials.  The library was a gift to the town by Mrs. Carrie Lyon Dale as a memorial to her father, Horatio Lyon, owner of the Monson Woolen Manufacturing Co.

This beautiful 1897 Romanesque style granite arch, which stands at the entrance to Hillside Cemetery, was a gift to the town by Mrs. Emma Field Page Norcross of Germantown, PA in memory of her mother Mrs. Nancy M. Holmes Field.