Connecticut's Civil War Monuments

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1 Monteith Drive
Farmington, CT

Dedicated: May 30, 1992
Type: Screen of five granite piers joined by frieze
Designer: Farmington Veterans Memorial Committee
Supplier: Northfield Granite Company
Height: 11', 6"

VETERANS MEMORIAL, Farmington, is significant historically because it is a symbol of the honor and respect tendered by the Farmington community to its citizens who served in all military actions since earliest colonial times. The Civil War is prominently included in this roster.

Town leaders had long noted the absence in Farmington of any monuments memorializing World War I and World War II, and more recent military engagements. (For other Civil War monuments in the town, see SOLDIERS MONUMENT, Riverside Cemetery, and SOLDIERS MONUMENT, Unionville in Farmington.) To remedy the situation, a committee was formed in Spring 1991 to raise money and erect VETERANS MEMORIAL. More than $75,000 was promptly contributed by citizens and groups of all descriptions, and the monument was dedicated with suitable ceremony on Memorial Day the following year. T. John Crockett III delivered the oration.

Farmington sent 362 men to the Civil War, including 10 African Americans. Of these, four died and 60 were wounded. The names of the 64 casualties are incised in the second and third piers.

VETERANS MEMORIAL, Farmington, is significant artistically because it is an example of a contemporary memorial from the Barre, Vermont, industry, which is the last of the New England quarry areas to have the full manufacturing and finishing resources for production of monuments. In VETERANS MEMORIAL each of the five services is represented by a pier. The sculpted seal of a service is at the top of each pier, with incised lettering below. Seals and lettering were created by sandblasting, in accordance with standard practice of the late 20th century. The crowning frieze and cornice unite the piers to form a screen in a manner derived from classical architecture.

The supplier, Northfield Granite Company of Northfield, Vermont, just outside Barre, had the stone quarried by Rock of Ages and processed and finished by specialty shops in the Barre area.

VETERANS MEMORIAL, Farmington, is a screen of five 20" x 12" light gray granite piers which support a classical frieze and cornice. It is dedicated to Farmington citizens who served in all United States military actions. (See also SOLDIERS AND SAILORS' MONUMENT, Stamford.) The monument stands in front of Farmington Town Hall, facing northwest. A small rounded concrete terrace with granite benches provides opportunity to study the monument.

Incised lettering in the frieze is "^. DUTY ^. HONOR ^. COUNTRY ^.." Each of the five supporting piers represents a service in the armed forces. From the left (north) they are: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, each named under its seal. Most lettering on the piers is a list of military engagements in which Farmington citizens have participated since earliest colonial times, starting with Suppression of the Pequots in 1637 and ending with Operation Desert Storm of 1991. In many cases, names of individuals are listed, including the 64 Civil War casualties.

The backs of the piers display the services' seals, but are otherwise plain. The monument is flanked by steel flagpoles.

T. John Crockett III, conversation, March 30, 1995.

David Di Felica, Northfield Granite Company, conversation, April 17, 1995.

Farmington Veterans Memorial. Farmington Room, Farmington Public Library.