HIRAM VILLAGE, Ohio — A trip to Hiram Village Hall comes with a familiar face greeting you near the door.
A 131-year-old statue of the 20th president is being installed in Hiram after spending years in Wilmington, Delaware.
Garfield attended what was then the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute in Hiram. He later returned to teach there and eventually became its principal. The school would later become Hiram College.
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“This is called rescuing a little bit of history,” said Tim Garfield, the president’s great-great-grandson.
Hiram Mayor Anne Haynam, who also serves as president of the Hiram Historical Society, told News 5 she learned Wilmington wanted to get rid of the statue and worked to bring it to Hiram. Wilmington agreed to pay to ship the monument to Northeast Ohio.
“This is where James Garfield came to school, served as a janitor to make his way through school, became a school principal and really learned the value of civic duty,” Haynam said.
It's not clear any such personal connection exists between Garfield and Wilmington.
“This statue was erected in 1895 and his assassination happened in 1881,” Haynam said. “And in the subsequent years, there was nationwide pouring of gratitude for his service.”
The 18-foot-tall, 20,000-pound monument was trimmed down before the move. Haynam told News 5 that the bottom two stones were not transported to Ohio, reducing the height by about 2 feet and the weight by about 4,000 pounds.
For Garfield's descendants, bringing the larger monument to Hiram offers another opportunity to teach people about a life that extended well beyond his brief presidency.
“It’s a tribute to a man that has a place in history,” Tim Garfield said. “His history in the books is very short, but if you study his life, his history is very deep and long.”
“We’re honored to have the statue come home to Hiram,” Haynam said. “It’s important we remember our history.”
Crews hope to finish putting up the statue Thursday.
Clay LePard is the Ashtabula, Geauga and Portage counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @ClayLePard, on Facebook ClayLePardTV or email him at Clay.LePard@wews.com.
