The Civil War Monument on the Nelson village circle is inscribed
"erected by the citizens of Nelson to the memory of her soldiers
who fell in defense of our country--the War of the Rebellion, Nov.
18, 1865".
Cresting the hill on State Route 305, whether you approach from the
east, west, south or the north, the 132 -year -old, sandstone
memorial to the Nelson Civil War dead stands starkly outlined
against the sky. It is constructed in four tiers and boasts an
American eagle resting from flight on the top tier.
On the face of the monument, are some of the names inscribed as
"KILLED IN BATTLE,
On one side of the monument are engraved the names of those who
died of disease. On the other side the list names those who died of
wounds.
The base of the monument was made of huge stones hauled by oxen
from a quarry in nearby Windham. The monument, which rises 16 feet
from the base, was erected by Fox and Mills from Ravenna. The
sculpture work was done by John O'Brien, He also did sculpture work
on Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial National
Monument at the point of Put-In-Bay on S. Bass Island. The Nelson
memorial was built at a cost of $1,225.
In the mid-1930s, a committee was formed to have the names of
the World War I veterans included on the face of the monument.
Arrangements were made with the Coit Monument Works at Ravenna for
a marble slab to be bolted to the face of the third tier on the
front of the monument listing the 38 WWI Nelson veterans and the
four Spanish War veterans who served their country. The dedication
took place on May 26, 1935.
There has since been placed in front of the Nelson Community
Center, a memorial dedicated in 1944 to those who served in World
War II.
Through the years the monument has needed repairs and in the
process of rebuilding it to its present state, the huge stones were
removed.
The flag poles at the site have also received their share of
accidental destruction. The first wooden flag pole was erected in
1896. In the 1918 era, "greasing of the flag pole" was a forbidden
sport, but nevertheless, freshmen school students still attempted
to remove the sophomore class's flag! In 1926 Nelson trustees
purchased an iron flag pole that had been used in front of the
Garrettsville Opera House. It also met its demise with an
automobile, but the trustees have persevered, and once again "Old
Glory" waves in the breezes on top of the hill at Nelson Center
over the memorial honoring "those who served".
At the beginning of the third act of Thornton Wilder's play 'Our
Town', the stage manager says "Over that way are some Civil War
veterans too--iron flags on their graves--New Hampshire boys--Had a
notion that the union ought to be kept together, though they'd
never seen more than 50 miles of it themselves. All they knew was
the name, friends-- the United States of America."
He could have been writing about Nelson when he said "Our Town".
In this small community there were 112 soldiers who left Nelson
Center to serve in the 'War of the Rebellion.'
Permission has been granted by the Township Trustees to place
this cache.