Canton Soldiers’ Monument and Memorial Tablets
Location: Statue in front of to Canton Town Hall, 801 Washington Street with tablets inside
Coordinates: 42°09’33.0″N 71°08’40.7″W
Date dedicated: 1890
Architect/Sculptor/Manufacturer: J.W. Fiske & Company, manufacturer
Number of names: 30 who died in the war (tablets inside town hall)
A gift of Elijah Adams Morse (a Civil War veteran and later Congressman from Massachusetts), the monument outside the Canton Town Hall is one of the designs frequently reproduced by J.W. Fiske & Company. Founded by Chelmsford, Massachusetts native Joseph Winn Fiske (1832-1903), and based in New York City, the firm was the largest producer of decorative cast iron and cast zinc during the latter part of the 19th century. There is at least one other Fiske soldier in Massachusetts (Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard). There were many made for towns in other parts of the country. The ornate and unusual cast iron base of the Canton monument incorporated drinking fountains on either side. Inside town hall are ornate marble tablets listing the names of the 30 Canton soldiers who died in the war.
Fiske’s soldiers were made from cast zinc and plated with bronze. Zinc was extolled by several statue manufacturers at the time as superior to granite, which would “crumble away” long before zinc, and an inexpensive alternative to solid bronze. Unfortunately, because the monuments are hollow, they are highly susceptible to vandalism and breakage.
Canton’s monument was vandalized around 1970 (newspaper accounts vary on the date). In 1978, it was given what Conservation Solutions, Inc. (the firm that conducted the recent restoration) called “a well-meaning partial restoration” and placed inside the vestibule of Town Hall for safe-keeping. The monument was thoroughly restored in 2014 and placed in its originally intended location after an absence of roughly 50 years.
Canton Grand Army of the Republic Memorial
Location: Corner Cemetery, 1620 Washington Street, Canton
Coordinates: 42°10’43.5″N 71°07’48.1″W
Date dedicated: Unknown
Number of names: None
This stone column bears an inscription “In Memory of the Union Soldiers and Sailors of the Civil War Buried in Canton.” It was placed by the Grand Army of the Republic Revere Post 94. Information is scarce on this memorial. This post will be updated if additional information should turn up.