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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

MEMOIR

OF

SOLOMON WILLARD

[PRESENTATION COPY.]

MEMOIE

OF

SOLOMON WILLARD,

ARCHITECT AND SUPEEINTENDENT

OF THE

BUNKER HILL MONUMENT,

BY WILLIAM W. WHEILDON.

. . "But the work is done ; and posterity ought to know that they
are more indebted to Solomon Willard than to any other person for the
monument." — [Amos Lawrence.
. . . . "The merits of this noble - spirited man deserve permanent
record. — [Professor Packard.

PEEPARED AND PRINTED
BT DIRECTION OF THE MONUMENT ASSOCIATION
1865.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865,
Bt William AV. Wiieildon,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

TO THE
LADIES OF BOSTON AND VICINITY,
BY WHOSE PATRIOTIC EFFORTS AND PERSONAL SACRIFICES,
THE
§mt!ier |fHI Ponumcnt ^ssoncition
WAS ENABLED TO COMPLETE
THAT MAJESTIC MEMORIAL
To the Principles and Bravery of the Fathers,
IN THE ERECTION OF WHICH
SOLOMON WILLARD,
AS ARCHITECT AND SUPERINTENDENT,
BY HIS GENIUS, SKILL AND LABOR, GRATUITOUSLY RENDERED,
SO LARGELY CONTRIBUTED,
THIS MEMOIR IS
RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

It will be seen by reference to the published proceedings of the
Bunker Hill Monument Association, for June, 1861, that a com
mittee was then appointed to prepare a Memoir of Solomon Wil
lard, the Architect and Superintendent of the Monument and one
of the earliest and largest contributors to the work.' '
It was thought by the Association that Mr. Willard's eminent
and unrequited services in its behalf, and his extraordinary devo
tion to the work which they had inaugurated, entitled him to the
distinctive honor proposed. A brief notice of his life, perhaps
a short analysis of his character, and a mere statement of
the services specially rendered by him, was at first all that was
contemplated ; but it soon appeared to the Committee that a nar
rative of his life ; of the self-education and self-elevation which he
accomplished ; of the industry, economy and exemplary habits
which he cultivated ; of his liberal, public-spirited and magnani
mous conduct, as well as a detailed account of his labors in relation
to the Bunker Hill Monument, in every stage and step of its pro
gress, and which did so much to secure its completion, was due to
him, would meet the approval of the association and at the same
time furnish, in the life of an excellent and worthy man, an exam
ple of industry, perseverance and fidelity, which would be profita-

* William W. Wheildon, Amos A. Lawrence, Uriel Crocker, Nath'l. Cotton,
and F. H. Stimpsun, Committee.

G author's note.
ble to the youth of the country and a bond of faith to the faithful.
They have not hesitated to aot upon this conviction, and with such
means as were open to them, attempt the performance of the work
proposed. The reader will not fail to observe that the narrative of Mr.
AVillard's life, for many years, is so intimately connected with the
progress and history of the monument, that a detailed account of
the one is necessarily the history of the other. Even during the
periods of suspension, and when Mr. Willard was officially dis
charged from the service of the association, he was repeatedly con
sulted and called upon for information and advice in relation to
the work, its resumption or its completion. For this and other
reasons, it has been thought best to pass over the periods of sus
pension, in order to give, in a connected form, the narrative of the
building of the monument, resuming the personal history after the
completion of that great work.
There are two matters connected with the erection of the monu
ment, in regard to which it was desirable that justice should be
done to Mr. Willard without doing injustice to any other party. —
These relate to the authorship of the design and the name of the
architect — two matters that have been controverted. The author
ship of the design has been denied to him and earnestly claimed
for another ; and the plate under the corner-stone bears the name of
a gentleman as architect who never had anything to do with the
planning or execution of the work, and does not bear the name of
Mr. Willard. Although these were matters of more- or less notori
ety during the progress of the work, Mr. Willard spoke of them
only on one occasion, never preferring any claim in his own behalf ;
and, as the real and only architect, with his own hands, placed
the untruthful deposit under the present corner-stone, without a
murmur of displeasure. Few men, we think, with less faith in the
justice of a final public judgment, would have passed these matters
over in silence.
In the course of the narrative, wherever it has been pvaetioable
t(i do so, the author has preferred to allow all parties to speak for
themselves, quoting letters not intended for the public eye, rather
than using language of his own ; and very rarely has he taken the

author's NOTE. 7
liberty of changing a word or making any correction in style. This
rule has been applied particularly to Mr. Willard and his letters ;
and most of the statements made are in the words of their au
thors or the record. ' In one or two instances, the chronological
progression of the narrative suffers some violation, but it was
thought better to submit to this irregularity than to anticipate
reliable authorities and disturb other connections.
In regard to the preparation of the memoir, the author deems it
only justice to himself to say that it has been prepared at moments
of time taken from other duties, or while making daily passages
in the railroad cars to and from a residence out of the city. It may
also be interesting to some readers to know that the setting of the
type for the entire volume, reading proof-sheets, &c., have been
performed by him in the same way — portions of the work having
been composed in type without any previously written copy.
The press work and printing of the plates, have been done at
the office of Messrs. George C. Eand & Avery, to whom personal
¦ acknowledgments are due for many kindnesses during its progress.
The materials used in the preparation of this volume have been
obtained from papers and books of Mr. Willard, furnished by his
brother and administrator, Mr. Cephas Willard of Petersham ; from
a portion of the letters and papers of the late Mr. Amos Lawrence ;
and from the records of the Monument Association. The author
is also indebted to Mr. G. Washington Warren, President of the
Association, for the use of valuable papers, and to various Individ
uals who were personally acquainted with Mr. Willard, for facts
and information which have been of service. "VV. w. w.
May 1st, 1865.

STATEMENT OF CONTENTS.

STATEMENT OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
Inteoduotoex — Boston.
Mr. Willard not a native of Boston ; Liberal and generous character of the
people of Boston ; Their encouragement of worth and merit ; Eminent
names in the history of the city ; Mr. Willard belongs to the class of
" self-made" men ; The value of such men and the lessons they leave to
the young ; Mr. Willard's cultivation, &c. , 17 — 20
CHAPTER II.
Me. Willard's Ancestors — His Early Life.
His coming to Boston — Birth and parentage ; His ancestry ; Major Simon
Willard, from England ; His arrival in this country, in 1634 ; His public
character and services ; His death at Charlestown ; Major Willard Moore at
Bunker HiU ; Rev. Samuel Willard, President of Harvard University ; His
personal characteristics ; Solomon Willard's Early Life ; His employments
and ingenuity ; His perseverance and personal characteristics. 21 — 26
CHAPTER HI.
* His Employment in Boston.
Commenced as a Carpenter ; His economy and success ; Work on the Exchange
Coffee House ; Improvement of his mind and purchase of Books ; Working
as a Draughtsman and Carver in wood ; Work for Peter Banner and Charles
Bulfinch, architects ; Carving of a Colossal Eagle for the Custom House ;
The Eagle on the Beacon Hill Monument ; The Beaeon and Monument ; Re-
erection of the Beacon Hill Monument suggested — Mr. WiUard's progress in
Carviug ; Oarving of figure-heads and a bust of Washington. 27 — 33

10 STATEMENT OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
Visits to the South — Statue of Washington.
Mr. Willard visits the South ; Spends three months in Richmond, engaged in
Carving, &c. ; ' Also at Baltimore and New York ; Proposed Statue of Wash
ington ; Model in Wax after Houdon's Statue at Richmond ; Destroyed iu
its transportation from Richmond to Boston, and the undertaking relinquish
ed ; Chantrey's Statue at the State House ; Visit to Mr. Rush at Philadel
phia ; Drawing ofthe " Water Nymph" ; Mr. Rush's compliment ; Al
pheus Carey's opinion of Mr. WiUard. 34' — 37
CHAPTER V.
Modelling — The Capitol at Washington.
Letter from Mr. Charles Bulfinch ; Visit to Washington ; Model of the Capi
tol ; Exhibited to Mr. WiUard's friends at Washington, (not Boston, as in the
text) ; Invitation to carve the ceilings of the Congressional Rooms declined ;
Rooms in New York ; Models of the Pantheon and Parthenon. 38 — 41
CHAPTER VL
Carving in Stone — St. Paul's Church — Teaching.
New studies ; Carving marble panels for Mr. David Sears ; Stone work on St.
Paul's church ; Its portico and pediment ; Proposed Scripture piece ; the
U. S. Branch Bank at Boston ; Teaching ; Designing and building SuflFolk
County Court House. 42 — 44
CHAPTER Vn.
New Heating Apparatus — The Hot-Air Furnace.
Pursuits in Boston ; Building and warming houses ; Franklin's fire-place
and Count Rumford's cooking range ; Use of Sea coal ; Development of
coal ia this country ; Invention of a hot-air furnace, and its introduction ;
English inventions ; Furnaces for the capitol at Washington. 45  51
CHAPTER Vm.
Boston Mechanics' Institution.
Harmony between the Mercantile and Mechanical professions ; The spirit of
the Revolution exemplified in the formation of the Mechanics' Institution ;
Officers and members ; Mr. WiUard one of the Vice Presidents ; Mr. Ever
ett's lecture, 1827 ; Mr. Webster's lecture, 1828 ; After ten years of exist
ence its effects given to the Mass. Charitable Mechanic Association. 52—57

STATEMENT OF CONTENTS. 11
CHAPTER IX.
Mr. Willard's great "work — Bunker Hill Monument.
His idea of the work and devotion to it ; Incorporation of the Bunker HiU
Monument Association ; Address to the PubUc ; Plans for the monument ;
Mr. Willard elected a member of the Association ; Circular of the Standing
Committee ; Measures to obtain subscriptions ; Address to the Selectmen of
the towns in the Commonwealth. 58 — 69
CHAPTER X.
Selection of a Design foe the Monument.
Designs by Mr. Willard ; The corporation propose a monument 220 feet high ;
Another plan by Mr. WiUard, for public exhibition ; Premium offered for a
design ; Thanks to Mr. Willard for his plans ; Letter from Mr. Everett and
reply ; Discussion of a design ; First, Second and Third Committees ; Final
Report on the subject ; Letter from Mr. Willard ; Report of Building com
mittee ; Dimensions of the proposed obelisk. 70 — 81
CHAPTER XI.
Authorship of the Design for the Monument.
Imperfect account of the proceedings respecting the design ; The premium not
awarded ; Employment of Alexander Parris ; Letter to George Ticknor ;
Inscription plate and the name of the architect on it 4 Eobert Mills's letter
and claim ; Remarks on the subject. 82 — 92
CHAPTER XII.
Ceremony of Laying the Corner-Stone.
Mr. WiUard not engaged ; Presence of General Lafayette ; National pride and
popular interest ; Numbers of people assembled ; Procession ; Oration by
Daniel Webster ; The corner-stone. 93 — 97
CHAPTER Xm.
Election of Aeohiteot and Superintendent.
Mr. WiUard chosen October, 1825, by the Building Committee ; His qualifica
tions for the work ; The contract with him ; His letter to George Ticknor,
proposing a plan for doing the work ; His "salary" and preparations for
commencing the work. 98 — 106
CHAPTER XIV.
Purchase of the Bunker Hill Quarry.
Mr. Willard's explorations for a quarry ; His idea of the work ; Purchase of
the Bunker Hill Quarry ; Its distance from Bunker Hill ; Remarks of the
Building Committee on the purchase ; Estimate of a quarry ; The Director's
estimate of an architect. 107 — 112

12 STATEMENT OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XV.
The Railway Enterprise and Contract.
Introduction of the Railway system into the country ; Petition for an act of
Incorporation ; Act approved by the Governor, 1826 ; The contract to carry
the stone to Charlestown ; Dissatisfaction with the RaUway. 113 — 118
CHAPTER XVI.
Preliminary work on the Monument.
Preparations for proceeding with the work ; Opening and clearing the ledge,
and making roads ; Expenses of dressing stone ; Expiration of the archi
tect's engagement ; His letter and plans for the work ; A meeting of the
building committee at Quincy, and satisfaction with the work. 119 — 123
CHAPTER XVII.
New Contract and Instructions.
The new contract with the Architect on a salary ; His intention to have his ex
penses paid and not a salary ; Instructions for the work. 124 — 127
CHAPTER XVIIl.
Misundeestandino and Reconciliation.
It is not intended to revive misunderstandings ; Various causes of dissatisfac
tion ; The architect gives up the work ; Note from Amos Lawrence and his
reply ; Letter from General Dearborn ; The architect returns to the work ;
Subscriptions of the architect and the workmen. 128 — 134
CHAPTER XIX.
Legislative aid to the JIonument.
Extract from the message of Governor Eustis ; Grant of the Legislature in
hammering stone at the State Prison ; Authority to the corporation to take
land for its purposes ; The cannons " Hancock" and " Adams" deposited in
the monument ; The legislative grant changed to a graut in money : Fun
among the dealers in lottery tickets in Boston. 135  140
CHAPTER XX.
Contracts and work on the Monument.
The making of several contracts for difi'erent portions of the work ; Pro
gress of the work iu 1827 ; The cost of a course stated ; Experiments and
cost of the work ; Progress in 1828 ; Vote complimentai-y to the architect ;
Letter from Amos Lawrence ; The architect's original plans. 141 — 154

STATEMENT OF CONTENTS. 18
CHAPTER XXL
Suspension of the work — Discharge of Me. Willard — Proposed
Sale of the Land.
Progress of the work and the conclusion arrived at ; Disadvantage of inade
quate me.ans ; The Land mortgaged and the work suspended ; Annual meet
ing of the Association, 1829 ; New Building Committee ; Letter from Gen
eral Dearborn to the architect ; Laying out the Land ; Amos Lawrence's de
sire to save the whole battle-field ; His remarks on the subject. 155 — 161
CHAPTER XXII.
Difficulties in Enterprises — Plans for the prosecution of
the Work — 1830.
Difficulties and obstacles in enterprises ; Probable mistake of the Directors ;
Plans for resuming the work ; Mrs. Sarah J. Hale's effort and its failure ;
Address of Edward Everett and a new appeal to the legislature ; Pamphlet
Ust of contributors and act of incorporation. 162 — 166
CHAPTER XXIH.
Interruption in the Government — Efforts or the Mechanics'
Association — 1831 — 1833
Annual meeting, 1831 ; Eruption of a political party into the association ; They
left the work as they Ibund it ; Annual meeting, 1832 ; Efforts of the Me
chanics' Association ; Mr. Everett's Address, 1833. 167 — 172
CHAPTER XXIV.
Report of the Committee — Me. Willaed's Review of it.
Report of the sub-committee of the Mechanics' Association ; Its statements re
viewed by the architect in a letter to Mr. Sullivan. 173 ^ — ¦ 185
CHAPTEE XXV.
Effoet of the Mechanics' Association — Sale of the Land :
1834 to 1839.
Recommencement of the work ; Mr. Willard again employed ; Report on the
sale of the land ; Land sold. [JVote : Visits of President Jackson and Hen
ry Clay to Bunker HiU. Addressed by Mr. Everett.] 186 — 190
CHAPTER XXVI.
New efforts for completing the Monument — The Ladies' Faie :
1840 to 1843.
Unfinished condition of the monument felt by the people ; Authority for holding
a Fair ; The Ladies' Fair and its successful results ; Donations of Amos Law
rence and Judah Touro ; Raismg the cap-stone. 191 — 196_

14 STATEMENT OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Celebration of the Completion of the Monument — 1848.
Celebration of 1843 ; President Tyler and his Cabinet present ; Mr. Webster's
Oration — Extracts; " The work is done," &c. Amos Lawrence. {JVote:
Death of Hugh S. Legar^ and Phineas Johnson.] 197 — 203
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Cost of the Bunker Hill Monument.
Considerations on the cost of the Monument ; Colonel Baldwin's estimate and
Mr. Willard's remarks upon it ; His statement of the actual cost of the work ;
Remarks from his published book. 204 — 218
CHAPTER XXIX.
Location and Description of Bunker Hill Monument.
Charlestown a peninsula with three hflls ; Location of the monument and the
views from the hfll ; Its object and purposes ; Description of the monument
and its parts ; The completed monument satisfactory to the Directors ; Its
neight and the dimensions of its parts. 214 — 224
CHAPTER XXX.
Me. Willaed as Aeohiteot and Builder — 1824 — 1835.
His duties at the quarry and the hUl ; U. S. Branch Bank ; The monument at
Concord ; Rev. Dr. Ripley ; Norfolk County Court House ; Harvard Monu
ment ; Mr. WUlard in the Stone business ; Survey of a raUroad to Brattle-
borough ; BuUding of Bowdoiu-street church ; Contracts in New Bedford ;
Building of the Court House in Boston. 225 — 230
CHAPTER XXXL
New York Merchants' Exchange — 1836 — 1841.
Contract for Stone and correspondence ; Organization of workmen on stone
work ; Management of the quarry ; Prejudice among the dealei-s ; Visit of
the President of the Exchange Company to the quarry ; Number of work
men employed and amount of stone quarried ; Number of columns and their
cost ; Completion of the work ; Visits to New York. 231  287

STATEMENT OF CONTENTS. 15
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Stone Business — Mr. Willard as a Farmer.
Objects in engaging in the Stone business ; Jealousy of dealers ; Success of his
efforts in introducing Granite ; Boston Merchants' Exchange ; The Hall
Cemetery ; Engaging in Agricultural pursuits. 238 — 242
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Introduction of Granite and Machinery.
Use of large blocks of Granite and improvement in architecture ; Dry Docks,
Astor and Tremont Houses, Blocks of Stores, &c. ; Introduction of machin
ery, (with iUustrations, 1, 3, 4 and 5.) 243 — 249
CHAPTER XXXV.
Closing Labors of Mr. Willaed's Life — His death.
Continued residence in Quincy ; Granite paving-stones ; GUddon's Lectures ;
Savings Bank in New York ; Town House in Quincy ; School house in West
Quincy ; Building a road to the " new state"^-the last labor in which Mr.
WUlard engaged ; -His sudden death at the age of 77 years 8 months ; His
funeral obsequies ; Respect of his townsmen towards him. 250 — 255
CHAPTER XXXVL
Personal Appeaeanob and Character of Me. Willard.
His thoughtful and studious habits ; Faithfulness ; Standing as a workman ;
Cultivation of his inteUectual and physical faculties ; Personal appearance ;
The charge of eccentricity ; Interest in West Quincy ; The " Rejected Col
umn ;" Evidences of his skUl, industry and benevolence. 256 — 261

16 APPENDIX — ILLUSTRATIONS.

APPENDIX.

1. Beacon Hill Monument.
2. Willard Memoir — Letter to the President of the
Monument Association.
3. First Eeport of the Committee.
4. Public Monuments in Massachusetts.
5. Statuary in Massachusetts.

ILLUSTEATIONS.

View of Bunker Hill Monument — From a Photograph.
View of Beacon Hill Monument — From a painting by Sully.

1. Diagram of the First Course and Comer-Stone ('-) of Bunker
Hill Monument.
2. Sectional View of Bunker Hill Monument.
3. Diagram of the Lifting Jack, — ¦ with side, interior and front
views of the same.
4. Diagram of the Pulling Jack, for removing large and heavy
blocks of stone.
5. Diagram of the Hoisting Jack, for loading columns, pilas
ters and other heavy blocks.

MEMOIR

OF

SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY — BOSTON.
Solomon Willard was not a native but a voluntary citizen
of Boston; and although at one time disposed to take up his
residence in another city, and actually locating himself there, he
soon returned to Boston as his most congenial home.
Bostonians are proud of their city, its history and its honor
able names in the various walks of business, in public and pri
vate life. Her citizens have been distinguished as patriots and
heroes, and professionally as la-wyers, statesmen, clergymen, and
in the departments of art, science and literature. They are
known in history and biography, and bear a fame down to pos
terity as enduring as language, which, whatever may be said of
the self-complacency of the people, will forever justify the right
of the city to appreciate its own. It is a testimonial to her lib
erality and the generous nature of her people that no distinctions
are made, in the award of merit or in the contest of excellence,
between native and voluntary citizens ; those of the household
and those who seek its shelter and its consideration. The road
3

18 memoir of SOLOMON WILLARD.
to distinction has been ever open to all competitors, titled or not
titled, and merit, made more apparent by the obstacles it has to
encounter, is assured of its position and its honor. Pretension
everywhere has its achievements and for a time revels in success,
but true worth always finds its appreciation and reward among
an intelligent people. It may not be entirely peculiar, but it is
deemed characteristic of the people of Boston, that those who
have come into her fold have found as ready employment, consid
eration and honor, as those born into it. This is her early and
later history, and numerous illustrations, more or less conspicu
ous, are to be found in her annals. Commendable as this may
be in her life and honorable to her judgment, her generosity and
her patriotism, it is almost too much to believe that mistakes or
omissions have not happened in which injustice has been done to
worthy motives and a reasonable ambition. But as the rule, en
couragement and appreciation have been bestowed upon all who
have taken up their abode with her people, whether conung to
them over the hills of New England or the waves of the Atlan
tic. The guerdon of learning, the stamp of genius, the odor of
sanctity, the oriflamme of patriotism, have been recognized by the
citizens of Boston, more readily and more surely than any
hereditary claims to position or consequence, or the flaunting of
any token of imperial favor. And not this alone, not merely
achieved prominence or distinction, but humble effort, immature
merit, aspiring hopefulness, in science or art, in learning or la
bor, have rarely failed to meet that encouragement wliich rightly
and earnestly directed effort is entitled to receive.
Boston has honored herself in this : The list of worthy names
which adorns her history, of men who have ornamented her so
ciety, directed her councils, represented her in the state and fed
eral governments, graced and honored her professions, promoted
her wealth and prosperity as merchants and mechanics, and who
have in a more than poetic sense, lived in her life, includes those
of many who were not born on her soil and inherited none of her
greatness though they now bear a proud share iu it. Revere and

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. . 19
Franklin were her's ; Hancock and Otis were her's ; Samu
el Adams and the Phillipses, the Jacksons, the Sullivans and
the Lowells, were her's ; but the names of Warren, Adams,
Quincy, Dexter, Gerry, Mason, Story, Webster, Bowditch,
Choate, the Lawrences and others, and many more .among
the living, are her's only by voluntary residence and adoption :
in the whispered words of another to our private ear, " they had
their nests in the woods." She has welcomed and nurtured and
honored these, as her own children, and they have faithfully giv
en back to her their labors, their success, their thoughts, their
unforgotten names, and side by side with her own, and as her
own, they stand upon the pages of her history. They are no
less than others, her jewels, and form with them her chaplet of
fame, her constellation of patriotic and high-souled men.
The subject of this memoir, in other countries, where other
laws prevail, where different institutions exist, where merit at
taches to position, or is compelled to seek it for countenance and
support, would hardly be considered as entitled to this distinc
tion, by the higher classes, nor would it be demanded by those
less favored who could not bestow it. The class, — it seems as
though we might almost say race, — to which Mr. Willard most
unequivocally belongs, though not wholly unknown in some oth
er of the civilized and progressive nations, is believed to be pecu
liar to our own country, born with its birth — existing even be
fore its birth as a nation — and growing with its growth, with a
vigor which proves its congeniality, if not its indigenousness to
the soil. The laws, it is true, or the absence of them, have un
doubtedly something to do with this : neither making or allowing
any distinctions between elder and younger sons, or men as men ;
but leaving every one at liberty to seek his own improvement,
promote his own welfare, work out as it were, under God alone,
his own destiny, making his mark if he can, or writing his full
name as he may, upon the page of history or the scroll of fame.
Born, it may be, in obscurity or retirement, with no inherited
claim to prominence, often with no education but that furnished

20 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
by a half yearly public school ; with no endowment of wealth
or prestige of position ; in fact often amidst deprivation, labor
and hardship — those parents of perseverance and skill — men
among us have worked their way to high positions of usefulness
and honor, - — as if the very point from which they started, and
the way they were compelled to travel, were alike necessary to
that developement of energy and intellect which has made them
men among men equal with the highest peer of them all. The
lives of such men are of great advantage to community, in all
the departments of science, learning, literature and the arts of
life, for they are inventive and progressive men ; and the lessons
they afford are by no means the least of the benefits they confer
upon the whole human family. They adorn the times in which
they live, and leave, besides the wealth of their intellect, an ex
ample to be followed by succeeding generations, which the histo
rian of men should not fail to record.
Mr. Willard was one of this class of men and minds — so re
ceived, so welcomed, so encouraged, so appreciated by the people
of Boston. He was endowed by nature with a mind of origi
nal mechanical and artistic thought, combining tact and talent,
which were developed by self-effort and judicious self-cultiva
tion, — some of processes and means and results of which we
shall see and endeavor to illustrate in the course of this narra
tive of his life and labor.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 21

CHAPTER II.

Mr. Willard came to Boston in early life, a "rough ash
lar," to seek employment, to learn a trade, labor and obtain an
honest living, — and see, as many others have done and thought,
what shall come of it. Not as "waiting for something to turn
up," but rather to turn something up and see what activity, en
ergy and industry, directed by the best lights open to him,
inight be able to accomplish.
He was born at Petersham, Worcester County, Massachusetts,
on the 26th of June, 1783. His father, known as Deacon Wil
liam Willard, was a native of Biddeford, Maine, and his mother,
Katherine Wilder, of Lancaster, Massachusetts. They were
married November 22, 1763. William Willard was the son of
Rev. Samuel Willard of Biddeford, who was the son of Maj. John
Willard of Port Royal, Jamaica, and grandson of Rev. Samuel
Willard, D. D. pastor of the Old South Church and Vice Pre
sident of Harvard College. As the last named Samuel was a
son of Majof Simon Willard, the first emigrant and military
leader of his time, Solomon Willard, the subject of this memoir,
was a direct descendant from that noted man, of the sixth gener
ation, as follows : 1. Simon, the first emigrant ; 2. Samuel, the
Vice President of Harvard College ; 3. John, of Jamaica, tra
der ; 4. Samuel, of Biddeford ; 5. William, of Petersham ; 6.
Solomon, the architect.
William Willard had two brothers, Rev. John Willard, D. D.

22 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
of Stafford, Connecticut, and Rev. Joseph Willard,* the four
teenth President of Harvard College, father of Joseph Willard,
Clerk of the Superior Court, Suffolk Co., at the present time,
(1863,) and author of the "Willard Memoir." William was
the father of eleven children, and Solomon was the youngest but
one : two of them died in early life. The Rev. Samuel Willard,
of Deerfield, known as the Blind Preacher, and yet remember
ed by many persons in this vicinity, who have listened to his
discourses with peculiar interest, was a brother of Solomon. His
blindness was caused by grief and over-use and a similar cause
brought the same deprivation upon his son. His famiUarity with
the Bible and Psalm Books was remarkable, and his memory
was so retentive and firm that he was able, with slight prepara
tion, to perform all the services of the pulpit without authorizing
a suspicion of his blindness.
Major Simon Willard, above mentioned, was a native of Hors-
monden. County of Kent, England, and was baptized on the 7th
of April, 1605. He came to this country with his sister Mar
gery and his half brother George, in the year 1634, and was
three times married — his second and third wives being near rel
atives of President Dunster, of Harvard University. It seems
that he held a military commission in England. Soon after his
arrival here he was engaged in the public service, and besides
filling numerous civil olEces, as a military teacher and leader
served the colony for nearly forty years. He first settled at
Cambridge ; was the principal purchaser of Concord from the
Indians ; removed from Concord to Lancaster ; thence to Gro
ton — and finally to Charlestown, where he died. He was a
leading man in all these towns, and a large landholder, having
received several grants of land for his various public services.

* This uncle of Solomon Willard was inaugurated as President of the College
on the 19th of December, 1781, under Governor Haiioook, aud held the office
untU his death, September 15th, 1804, mthin a few days of the coming of his
nephew to seek his fortune in Boston.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 23
It would require a large space simply to enumerate the vari
ous public ofiices held, and public duties performed, by Major
Simon Willard, during the forty years of his public life. He
was ' Clerk of the Writs' at Concord, for nineteen years, by elec
tion ; deputy and representative for fifteen years ; assistant for
twenty years. He was the surveyor of arms ; superintendent
of the fur trade ; commissioner and negotiator for numerous im
portant purposes relative to towns, boundaries, the Indians, &c.
He was for more than twenty years in command of the Middle
sex Regiment ; for much of the time on the frontier towns, de
fending them against the incursions of the Indians ; was the
leader of the expedition against Ninigret, the Narraganset sa
chem, and near the time of his death, unable to discharge his
civil duties by reason of his military services, he was actively
engaged in King Philip's War. Twice he had the subject of
"the Concord and Sudbury meadows" in his hands — an impor
tant interest, not yet after the lapse of more than two centuries,
finally disposed of There is scarcely any kind of service need
ed of a public man in those early times, that Major Willard
did not render to the colony : in making and administering the
laws, preparing for war and conquering peace, regulating trade,
settling controversies and town difficulties, buying and dividing
lands, &c. His house at Groton having been burnt by the In
dians, in March, 1675, his family fled to Charlestown, where
he died on the 24th day of April, 1676, (4th of May, N. S.)
Major Willard was the father of seventeen children, and his de
scendants of the 6th generation are estimated at 10,976 ; ofthe
Sth generation, 239,057.
In speaking of one of his descendants. Major Willard Moore, it
is said, "At the battle of Bunker Hill, he was a Major in a new
regiment raised at Cambridge, of which Colonel Doolittle was
commander. In the absence of the Colonel, the command of the
regiment devolved upon Major Willard Moore. 'He was early
in the field, and took a prominent post of danger. ... He
was wounded, and fell in the second charge of the enemy upon

24 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
the lines. He received another wound through the body, as his
men were carrying him fi'om the field, which proved fatal.' At
the foot of that hill reposed in peace the remains of his great
grandfather. Major Simon Willard."*
The Rev. Samuel Willard, D. D., was the seventh President
of Harvard College, the General Court, by its votes having ex
cluded President Increase Mather and appointed Dr. Willard,
on the same day, 6th of September, 1701. He held the office
under the title of Vice President, for more than six years, and
discharged the duties of the ofiice to great acceptance. "Willard
was quiet, retiring, phlegmatic and unpretending.
His life had been devoted to professional research and pastoral
duties. His study was the scene of his private labors ; his
church the theatre of his public action. These had constituted
a sphere of usefulness, to which his ambition had been limited ;
which he did not quit until after repeated legislative applications,
for one higher and wider, and then with reluctance.""!"
It is remarkable how nearly some of these personal character
istics were reproduced in the subject of this memoir, a hundred
years later. The Doctor's independence of character, as illus
trated in the following extract, was not less conspicuous in Mr.
Solomon Willard : "Amid the agitations consequent on that in
sanity of the age, denominated 'The Salem Witchcraft,' the con
duct of Willard was marked by prudence, firmness and courage.
He neither yielded to the current, nor feared to cast the weight
of his opinion publicly in opposition to the prevailing delusion ;
an independence the more remarkable and honorable, as Stough
ton and Sewall, two of the Judges of the Court of trial, men of
great influence in the Province, both his personal friends, and
the latter a principal member of his church, were deeply infect
ed by the distemper of the times. ":j; He died on the 12th of

* WiUard Memoir, or Life and Times of Major Simon WUlard, by Joseph
WiUard, p. 391. 1858.
t Quincy's History of Harvard University. i Ibid.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 25
September, 1707. His son Josiah held the office of Tutor in
the University, and was afterwards Secretary of the Province
of Massachusetts Bay, earning in this office the sobriquet of
"the good Secretary."
Of Solomon Willard's early life we have only some general
information ; and this, of small importance in most cases, is per
haps less essential in Mr. Willard's, whose early career was of
a most common character — and yet, bred a man of industry,
perseverance, self-reliance and energy, he was sure to leave an
impress of himself upon whatever he touched. His brother, Ce
phas Willard, of Petersham, writes of him, "My brother had
no advantages but a common school of that day. He acquired
easily and made good proficiency. His employment was mainly
agricultural. His father was a carpenter and joiner, and in
dull weather and in winter, Solomon was employed in the shop, —
not with the expectation of learning a trade, but to fill up his
time in some useful employment. He was very ingenious and
would perform skilfully many things in the mechanic arts. He
labored upon the farm until about the first of August after his
majority, and in October, 1804, he left home for Boston."
These few Unes indicate Mr. Willard's birth, parentage and
education — such as belong to the history of thousands of young
men born and nurtured, i. e. made useful, in New England. —
There is nothing peculiar in it - — nothing important, unless it
be in the general absence of all advantage of position, means
and influence, sometimes supposed to be necessary to success. It
is no disparagement to the boy — no reflection upon the interest
of the parent — to say that, besides being occupied "in some
useful employment," he was left to develope himself, like a
tree in the field, expected and permitted, in due time, to bear its
own fruit, with such care alone as the husbandman can give it
in common with the rest.
There is no doubt that he labored faithfully for his father dur
ing his minority, and it is equally certain that the latter was re
quired to do nothing for him after that period. He attended the
4

26 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
town school in winter, and employed such portions of time as
were granted to him, with a borrowed book or two, for his own
improvement in gratifying his thirst for knowledge. He is said
at this time to have been persevering and indefatigable in what
ever he undertook to accompUsh ; achieving triumphs, under the
circumstances, in mechanical and intellectual pursuits, — opening
the doors of knowledge and invention to himself ; often no doubt,
surprised by the discovery of things and their relations, princi
ples and their application, known long before his renowned miU
tary ancestor was born. It is no marvel that in after years, the
mind which had worked out old discoveries for itself, should
work out new ones for others. " The latter were no more discov
eries to him, from the original workings of his mind, than the
former, as both were the result of the same thoughtfiilness and
study, the same combinations and the same capacity for investi
gation and calculation.
In his youth Mr. Willard exhibited other qualities, which af
terwards became characteristic of his Ufe and conduct. He was
of gentle manners, amiable, kiud and obUgiag ; careful, faith
fiil and considerate. Ready, we imagiae, as in after life, to en
ter upon any new undertaking which promised to call forth the
energies and inventive powers of his mind, and more especially
if something no one else would undertake, or in which others
had failed. In such a case he would accompUsh the desired ob
ject or end, or show how it could be done, as a matter of course
and not as a success, much less as a triumph for himself. His
brother relates of him that m his study of EucUd, a copy of
of which some way came into his possession, the problem which
puzzled him at night, as he pored over it after the rest of the
family had retired, was sure to be found mastered on his slate
in the morning.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 27

CHAPTER ni.

HIS EMPLOYMENT IN BOSTON.

Mr. Willard's fijrst work in Boston lias been variously stat
ed. Mr. Alpheus Carey, who knew him well for many years, says
he, " commenced to learn the trade of a carpenter and the first
work he did was to fit with the broad axe a set of piles for the
building of a wharf, and notwithstanding the coarseness of the
work, he said his master taught him one good habit, and that
was to keep his tools always in good order." He never forgot
this lesson, or failed to give the principle it inculcated a broad
appUcation. Mr. Willard's own record, probably of this trans
action, shows that he worked for Pond & Gale, ten days at fifty
cents per day (and board,) and the amount is entered under the
date of 10th November, 1804. The next thirteen days he was
employed by Salmon Morton, at the same rate of compensation.
But this kind of labor and its proportionate pay could not long
engage the attention of a mechanic of Mr. Willard's capacity.
He was one who always worked with his head as well as hands,
and io doing a piece of work himself, or seeing another do it, his
immediate thought would be whether it could not be done in
some easier, quicker, or cheaper way, or in a more perfect
manner. Before the end of his first year in Boston, Mr. Willard had
worked for several parties, had paid his personal expenses, made
purchase of tools, books, &c. and on the 12th of October, 1805,
" received of Salmon Morton two hundred dollars, due for eight

28 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
months' work, with money lent." It yould appear that he had
supported himself and furnished his employer with a part ofhis
working capital in the first year of his fireedom. Three moijths
later, besides visitkig the paternal roof and making — what
was then a journey — a visit to Providence, he had money to let,
and took a note of William Willard for two hundred and five
dollars, which was subsequently paid by installments. It must
not be inferred from these statements of his prudence and thrift
that Mr. Willard was a penurious or an avaricious man, — he
was neither the one or the other, — but free and Uberal always,
spending his money for useful, practical and profitable purposes,
and not otherwise ; often for means of instruction and improve
ment, but seldom for mere recreation.
In 1808, Mr. Willard, still working at the trade of a carpen
ter, was employed upon the famous Exchange Coffee House, an
immense and costly structure, in the rear of State-street, and
extending from Congress to Devonshire-street. This building,
combining the hotel and merchants' exchange, was at the time
of its erection, one of the largest and most pretentious buildings
in the country, and was almost as remarkable for its architec
tural designs and arrangements as for its great height, numerous
apartments and spacious accommodations. There were in this
edifice three principal stair-cases, of which the grand spii-al pile,
on the southerly side of the building, which extended from
the basement story to the roof and intended especially for the
hotel, was built by Mr. Willard, and was a work of considerable
calculation, judgment and skill in the joiner's art. Probably
there was no piece of joiner's work in the country at that time
which would compare with it, in spaciousness, achitecture or
finish. It was some slight preparation for the construction,
many years afterwards, of the winding steps leading to the top of
Bunker Hill Monument. Mr. Willard was engaged upon this
edifice fpr several months, until the Sth of December, 1808.
He had previously had some experience in stair- work, which
has since then become a distinct branch of carpentry. As this

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 29
building was seven stories high, and contained a central rotunda
with galleries and an immense dome, it included much elaborate
work in various styles of architecture by the best artists of the
time, and was a very useful study for Mr. Willard. No doubt
he profitted by the opportunity it afforded. This costly building
was destroyed by fire on the 3d of November, ISIS, and the
light of the conflagration was seen at the distance of a hundred
miles from Boston.
Although Mr. Willard had worked these three or four years
to considerable pecuniary profit, and had also learned his trade,
without any regular apprenticeship, he had by no means neglec
ted the improvement of his mind and the acquisition of knowl
edge intended to be made available in the future. He early
provided himself with the most approved works on architecture
and perspective drawing ; purchased an Encyclopaedia and
other standard books, and paid for his tuition at a drawing
academy for at least two terms — some years later becoming
a teacher himself.
Mr. Willard had also during the same years, in the improve
ment of that time which so many others waste, quaUfied himself
not only as a draughtsman but as a carver in wood. His first
charge for this kind of work was made in February, 1809, to
A. Dexter, for six capitals, probably for a door- way. The same
year he carved a set of Ionic capitals for the Brighton meeting
house ; and other sets for E. Preble and Richard Hills. In the
latter part of this year, so much had this business grown in his
hands, Mr. Willard seems to have been constantly employed,
carving besides other work all the capitals, Ionic and Corinthian,
for the steeple of Park-street Church, of which Peter Banner,
a well-known architect of that time, was the designer.* He re-

* Peter Banner was a native of England, and foUowed his profession as^an
architect previously to coming to this country. One of the best preserved evi
dences of his skUl and taste in this vicinity, is a private mansion house admi-

30 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
ceived from Mr. Banner, in November, 1809, nearly four hun
dred dollars for his work on this church ; and in December hired
a room in Somerset Place and employed two workmen to assist
him. For the following years, ISIO, '11 and '12, Mr. Willard was
still engaged in carving, commencmg the first of these years on
work for the Federal-street Church, (Dr. Channing's,) lately
taken down, of which Charles Bulfinch, afterwards employed to
finish the capitol at Washington, was the architect. He also
purchased some "anatomical apparatus"; attended a course of
lectures on that subject ; commenced the study of the French
language, and secured admission to the Library of the Boston
Athenaeum. In 1810, in the spring, Mr. Willard carved at the establish
ment of Mr. Goodrich, organ builder, a colossal spread Eagle,
which was placed upon the apex of the pediment of the old Cus
tom House in Boston, and still ornaments the warehouse which
now occupies the same site on Custom-house street. As this
figure was designed to be elevated to the height of some sixty
feet, it was of colossal size, measuring five feet from wing to
wiug, and about five feet in height. It was iu these measure
ments admirably adapted to the proportions of the building which
it was designed to embellish and indicate as national in its pur
poses. Of this kind of work at that time, it unquestiona
bly possessed considerable merit, and probably to-day in its

rably located on the northerly slope of Parker's Hfll, Washington Street, in
Roxbury, built for Mr. Eben. Crafts, in 1805. At that time it was quite noted
for its proportions and classic style, was visited by the Cambridge students and
is stUl much admired for its rich and massive front elevation ; its fine fluted
Corinthian colunms, in pairs, on pedestals, and reaching to the height of two
stories, and for its general purity of style. The interior finish is also elaborate
and the ornamentation profuse but stUl tasteful and classic. It has been for
the last twenty years, the residence of George Howe, Esq., and has recentiy
been purchased by other parties, who we trust, wiU long preserve it nud its
delightful grounds and venerable elms from the vandal hands of "progress"
and "improvement."

MEMOIE OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 81
porportions and execution, for the purpose intended, will stand
the test of a reasonable criticism. This Eagle is said to have
been one of several, more or less prominent, that were cotempo
rary in the early history of Boston. The first of these was that
which was placed upon the top of Beacon Hill Monument, erec
ted by the Citizens of Boston, in 1790, upon the hill then ex
isting and lying between Dearne street and the State House,
the present site of the Reservoir. The gilded Eagle, still pre
served, is suspended in the Representatives' Hall, while the
large tablets of slate-stone, covered with historical data, are in the
Doric Hall below, still calling the attention of the people to the
independence and prosperity of their country and admonishing
them to "forget not those who, by their exertions, have secured
to them these blessings." The Eagle carved by Mr. Willard was
damaged by fire in May, 1862, but has since been repaired, and
while its cotemporary, taken in from the storms of the elements,
overlooks the legislation of the State, this proud bird still cahn
ly gazes upon the evidences of an extended commerce and peers
into the dim distance of the ocean beyond.
The Beacon Hill Monument, built two years after the Beacon
itself,* its frame and " skillet" had been blown down, was proba
bly the first pubUc or historical monument erected in the coun-

* The Beacon was erected in 1635, the next year after the completion of the
fortifications on Fort-hiU by the people of Boston, Charlestown, &c., and was
intended to alarm the neighboring towns in case of an attack by Indians. As it
was standing during the revolutionary war, it may have been used to alarm
the country had occasion required. The Beacon was therefore ante-revolu
tionary by a hundred .and forty years, whUe the Monument was subsequent to
the adoption of the Constitution.
In 1768, when it was expected that British troops were coming to Boston,
a meeting was held to consider the subject and adopt measures for " the peace
and safety of his [Majesty's] subjects in this Province, &c. At this time, Sep
tember 10, an officer arrived from Halifax "whose mission was rightly judged
to be to make arrangements for quartering troops in the town. Immediately
after his arrival a tar-barrel was discovered in the skillet of the Beacon on Bea
con HUl. This, it was understood, was to be fired when the King's ships con
taining the troops from Halifax, should make their appearance in the bay. —
Construing the elevation of a tar-barrel, imder such circumstances, to be a gross

32 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
try, and as it no longer exists, a brief notice of it here may not
be out of place. The hill, according to drawings reproduced
in 1859, was nearly as high as the dome of the State House,
and was dug away between 1806 and 1810, and the monu
ment taken down. It was pyramidal in form, ascended in part
by a flight of steps from Dearne street, and said to be 138
feet above tide-water. The monument was a plain Doric col
umn, 4 feet diameter, on a pedestal of 8 feet, 60 feet high, and
surmounted by an Eagle, bearing the arms of America. It was
of brick masonry, plastered. In the panels of the pedestal were
four inscriptions : that on the south side stated the purpose of
the monument thus: " To commemorate that train of events
which led to the American Revolution, and finally secured Lib
erty and Independence to the United States, this column is
erected by the voluntary contributions of the citizens of Boston,
MDCCXC." On the west side, these events were named, com
mencing with the Stamp Act and ending with the Declaration
of Independence ; and on the north side, they were continued,
including the Confederation, the Constitution, Treaty of Peace,
Inauguration of Washington as President, &c. On the east
side, an appeal which ought to mark the spot to day: "Amer
icans ! while from this eminence scenes of luxuriant fei-tiUty, of
flourishing commerce, and the abodes of social happiaess, meet

insult, in his military capacity, the Governor [Bernai'd,] summoned the Coun
cil, which was held at a gentleman's house half-way between the Governor's at
Jamaica Plahis and Boston. ' ' Here the tar-barrel question was debated, and it
was " resolved that the Selectmen should be desired to take it down ; but they
would not do it,'" "However, Sheriff Greenleaf had private orders from the
Governor and Council to remove it, using his own discretion as to the proper
time to do it. He, therefore, taking about a half-dozen men with him, proceed
ed stealthily to the hiU, just at dinner time, aud effected the important object
in about ten minutes. This was a victory over the Sons of Liberty, gained
while they were not expecting the enemy." Drake's History of Boston.
It seems from this account that the engraving in Dearborn's peculiar book,
' ' Boston Notions, ' ' representing the Beacon with a fuU-sized tar-barrel ou the
top of the pole besides that in miniature in the " skillet" suspended from the
crane, is an unauthorized addition of the artist.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 33
your view, forget not those who, by their exertions, have secur
ed to you these blessings."
This just monition of the early fathers might with great pro
priety and good sense be inscribed upon Bunker Hill Monument.
It was the original intention to put inscriptions similar to those
above mentioned on this structure, as the first circular of July
9, 1823, declares : " It is intended to erect a monument which
shall be consecrated to the great leading characters and events,
civil and military, of the American Revolution, up the 17th of
June, 1778, to bear appropriate inscriptions of names and dates."
It is not unlikely that the inscriptions already quoted suggested
this idea, but the purpose, if really entertained, to make Bun
ker Hill Monument personal or individual, in any . degree,
never met with public favor, and upon a full consideration and
discussion of the subject, it was thought best to leave it without
inscription of any kind. If, however, the original intention
should ever be carried into effect by the association, we know of
no more fitting words for a portion of the inscription than those
just quoted. Better, perhaps, even than this would be the re-
erection of Beacon Hill Monument on the Common, a very
suitable place for it, or on the grounds in front of the State
House. Mr. Willard continued the business of a carver, as a profes
sion, for several years, having in 1813, as we find by his first
charge for such work, added to his architectural work that of
ship-carving. His anatomical studies, his observation and his
practice had prepared him for this new branch of art, and among
the figure-heads carved by him are mentioned those of a native
"Tartar," for the ship of that name — a vessel of celebrity in
her time — and an Arab, for a schooner called the " Caravan."
In January, 1816, Mr. Willard completed a colossal bust of
Washington, for the United States 74-gun ship Washington,
built at Portsmouth, N. H. and launched that year, and for this
work he received one hundred dollars.

34 MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTE^t IV.
VISITS TO THE SOUTH — STATUE OF WASHINGTON.
On the 18th of December, 1810, Mr. WiUard paid for his
passage by vessel to Norfolk, in Virginia, and arrived at Rich
mond on the 21st. He was at the " Cape" on the 9th of De
cember, and probably sailed from there, paying his passage on
board the vessel. He passed about three months in Richmond,
engaged in carving, and also spent some time in CharlotteviUe,
Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New- York, — return
ing to Boston on the 16th of May, ISll. In 1814, Mr. Wil
lard did considerable carving for parties in Providence, and in
the latter part of this year was again at the south. In Novem
ber, 1817, Mr. Willard left Boston, and returned again on 31st
of October, 1818. He spent about sis months in Baltimore,
and vicinity, and three or four months in New York, (thinking
to locate there permanently,) and seems to have prosecuted his
business very successfully.
About this time it was proposed to erect a Statue of Wash
ington in Boston, by the Washington Monument Association,
which was organized some time previously. An Equestrian
Statue was at first proposed, to be placed on Flagstaff HiU, on
the Common, but the idea was subsequently abandoned and a
simple statue determined upon, to be placed in the Doric HaU
of the State House. Mr. Willard, who had already made a co
lossal bust of Washington, in wood, had a strong desire to en-

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 35
gage in this work, although we have found no mention of any
work in stone by him previously to this time. He was con
sulted by some of the gentlemen entrusted with the duty of pro
curing the statue, and was induced to make a journey to Rich
mond, Virginia, where the State Government had erected a
Statue of Washington, by Houdon, under the superintendence
of Mr. Jefferson. This was made at Mount Vernon, in 1785,
by actual "measurements of the hero's person" taken by the
artist himself, who had come to this country on the invitation of
Franklin and Jefferson, expressly to execute this work and a
bust which he took home with him.
Reaching Richmond, by a sailing packet, in about ten days
from Boston, Mr. Willard, who was accompanied and assist
ed by his friend, Mr. Alpheus Carey, (to whom we are in
debted for these particulars, ) proceeded at once in taking meas
urements and in the construction of a model on a miniature scale
in wax. In this he succeeded much to his satisfaction, and also
obtained a life-size bust in plaster, a copy of that by Houdon.
With these means, under the inspiration of the subject and his
own genius, it is believed that Mr. Willard would have been
able to produce a Statue of the Father of his Country creditable
to him and worthy of the subject. Unfortunately, perhaps, for
Mr. Willard's fame, the model although packed with great care
fulness, was broken and rendered worthless in its transportation
to Boston. Mr. Willard thereupon, — probably finding the
work a greater task than he had calculated, and with his Uttle
experience, more than he would be justified in assuming, — re
linquished the undertaking. A conscientious fear of failure,
which would be injurious to himself and a much more serious
wrong to his employers, we have no doubt prevented Mr. Wil
lard from recommencing the work. The statue, as is generally
known, was executed by Chantrey, a distinguished English
sculptor, in London, and occupies the room constructed for it
by the Association in the Doric Hall of the State House,
where it was placed in 1828. It is of pure white marble, grace-

36 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
fully clothed in a miUtary cloak. Chantrey, like Willard and
Rush, commenced his career in art as a carver.
After leaving Richmond, Mr. Carey relates that they visited
Baltimore and Philadelphia. In the latter city they presented
letters of introduction to Mr. William Rush, these having been
furnished to them by Mr. Robert Mills of Baltimore, the dis
tinguished architect of the Washington Monument, erected in
that city in 1815-16. Mr. Rush had at this time acquired con
siderable reputation as a carver in wood, and especially of figure
heads for ships. These were favorably spoken of in the period
icals, and had also been noticed in England — where, it is
said, they had been in some instances purchased and transferred
to the bows of English vessels in Liverpool. Mr. Rush succeed
ed " admirably with Indian figures," and these would be Ukely
to attract attention abroad. He subsequently wrought a Statue
of Washington for the State of Pennsylvania, which is now in
the State House at Philadelphia.* Mr. Mills was a prominent
competitor for the premium offered by the Bunker Hill Monu
ment Association for a design for the monument, and appears to
have thought he had a strong claim to it.
During this visit to Philadelphia, Mr. Willard made a draw
ing of the " Water Nymph," a piece of statuary by Mr. Rush,
which surmounted the building of the Fairmount Water Works,
(a labor of singular insignificance in these days of artistic skiU
and photography,) with which Mr. Rush was much pleased, and
which gained his consideration. In speaking of this matter the
next day, Mr. Rush said to Mr. Carey, " that gentleman is a
man of high talent ; I wish I could draw as well as he does, but
I cannot." Mr. Willard had an accurate eye and a faciUty in
drawing quite remarkable for that time and the slender opportu
nities he had enjoyed. Mr. Rush was a Director in the Penn
sylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and a member of the City

' Vide Dunlap's History of the " Arts of Design.'

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 37
Council of Philadelphia. The remark made by him was con
sidered by Mr. Carey as a very high compliment to his friend.
We have no doubt that it was well merited.
Architectural drawing, carving in wood, various studies in
chemistry and geology, teaching in drawing and perspective,
occupied Mr. Willard's time, until he added to these pursuits
those of modelling and sculpture. His taste, industry and gen
eral accomplishments in all these arts, induced Mr. Carey to say
in a letter of June, 1861, " I have been acquainted with nearly
all of the principal artists and mechanics who have resided in
Boston for the last fifty years, and I think I have never known
a man of greater original powers of mind, combined with un
common practical skill in execution, than Solomon Willard. He
was indefatigable in whatever he undertook, and seldom if ever
failed to accomplish his object. Whether the material on which
he wrought was clay, wood, marble or granite, he was equally
successful in all." Similar testimony is offered by others who
knew Mr. Willard personally and professionally. " Combined
with uncommon practical skill in execution," we doubt if his
place has even yet been filled.

38 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER V.
MODELLING — THE CAPITOL AT WASHIXGTON.
Mr. Willard seems to have adopted modelling as an auxil
iary to designing and drawing, in architecture, and appears 'to
have applied it to private as well as public enterprises. The
first mention of modelling found in Mr. Willard's books is under
the date of June, 1817, where he mentions haviog worked five
days upon a model, at three dollars per day. He probably did
other work of this kind before he left for the south.
The next mention of the subject is in the following letter from
Mr. Charles Bulfinch, at the time engaged as architect upon the
capitol at Washington : "Washington, January 30, 1818.
"Mr. Willard, — Sir, I understood from Mr. Towne, when
he passed through this place, that you were in Baltimore and
intended soon to come on here and with a wish to obtain employ
ment. There are a number of sculptors employed on the public
buildings — very superior workmen, brought fi-om Italy by the
agents of the government, and whom they are under contract to
keep employed. But I have a wish to have a Model made of
the capitol building, both of the parts already erected and finish
ing and of the different designs for the centre. To be on a scale
of one inch to eight feet would require a model of four feet long
and about fourteen inches high, or to be more exact, forty-five
inches long, fifteen deep and ten high in the walls. Should you

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 39
like to undertake this ? I wish you to consider and let me
know as soon as convenient, whether you incline to come for the
purpose, and on what terms you would undertake it, and how
long time it would require. Perhaps the doing that would in
troduce to other work. The model I propose to be of wood,
similar to one of a hospital, done by you in Boston for Dr.
Parkman. " Your answer would oblige your friend and humble servant,
, " Charles Bulfinch.
" On consulting the Commissioner he is willing to engage you
for one month, if you think you can complete the model in that
time, at three dollars per day."
Mr. Willard at this time was engaged on the ornamental work
of the Independent Church, in Baltimore, and to Mr. Bulfinch's
friendly invitation sent the following reply :
" Baltimore, February 16, 1818.
"Sir, — Previous to receiving your letter I had engaged to
execute some ornamental finishings for the Independent Church,
in this place, designed by Mr, Godfrey, and which will probably
require a month to complete.
" I have a desire to be engaged at the public buildings and
on a part which will not interfere with others. The time neces
sary to make the model which you mention would depend on the
mountings of the representation ; but I should think that it
might be done sufficiently so in about eighteen days. The com
pensation per day should be from two hundred and fifty to three
hundred cents.
"It would oblige me if you would let me know soon, by the
way of the post office, if the terms are acceptable, or if the delay
will occasion any inconvenience.
"Yours, &c., Solomon Willard."
The correspondence, so characteristic of Mr. Willard in the

40 MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD.
foregoing letter, was further continued by Mr. Bulfinch, on the
twenty-fifth of February, who then informed Mr. Willard as
follows : " Since I have mentioned to the Committee of Congress
and to the Commissioner of Public Buildings the advantages of
having a model, they have become impatient to have it made,
and wish it to be undertaken immediately." Urging Mr. Wil
lard to make an arrangement to come on and begin the work,
he says, "there will be no difficulty about the terms, . . .
and I think there will be an opening for you here in the Une
you are fondest of, that is worth your attention."
Mr. Willard replies that " the committee of the church have
consented to release me for the present, . . . and I shall
have the necessary implements for executing the work transport
ed by land, and shall be happy to serve you to the extent of my
ability." The work was accordingly undertaken and completed early
in April. In a letter to a friend under the date of Baltimore,
April 9th, 1818, Mr. Willard speaks ofthe work as follows:
" I have just returned from Washington, where I have been
engaged in executing a model of the public buildings, under the
direction of Mr. Bulfinch. The model though slight, seems to
give satisfaction, and Congress has shown uncommon UberaUty
in the appropriations for carrying the work into effect. This
model was executed in the architect's room, where we had the
honor ofa visit from Mr. Latrobe."
Some years afterwards the model was in the possession of Mr.
Bulfinch, at Boston, and was shown by him to his friends and
commended as an evidence of the genius and ability of jMr.
Willard. It is presumed to be still in existence, but now repre
senting only a small portion of the present building.
Some months previous to the execution of this work, Mr. Wil
lard visited Washington for a few days, and it is understood then
rendered valuable assistance to Mr. Bulfinch in makinc drawings
and working plans of Mr. Latrobe's designs.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 41
In June of the same year, while yet engaged in Baltimore,
'Mr. Bulfinch invited Mr. Willard to come to Washington " to
undertake the carving on the ceiling of the Senate and Repre
sentatives' rooms," and adds, " I hope your engagements will
not interfere with your coming here, as I should derive great
confidence and pleasure fi'om your engaging in the work, and
would do all in my power to render it agreeable and profitable
to you." But, notwithstanding his formerly expressed desire to
be engaged on the public buildings and the kindness of his friend,
Mr. Willard, evidently thinking he might "interfere with oth
ers," under date of June 19th, 1818, wrote as follows : "The
ornaments of the church are not quite completed and when they
are finished I do not think of returning to Washington, as there
are a sufficient number of my profession already there ; but I
shall make New York my residence, as I think that my ulti
mate views will be best promoted in that place."' What were
the ultimate views entertained by him at this time, we have no
means of ascertaining. This correspondence shows that he re
garded carving and ornamental work as comprising his profes
sion ; but modelling, as connected with architecture and as he
practiced it, was an art which seems to have been undertaken
and pursued by him partly as a matter of taste.
In July, Mr. Willard hired a room in New York of Mr. Van
Buren, — but returned to Boston in October of the same year.
He was no doubt fully employed while in that city. Subse
quently and for a number of -years, in Boston, Mr. Willard oc
cupied a portion of his time in modelling designs and plans of
his own, and, in addition to these, made models in plaster of
the Pantheon and Parthenon, of exact proportions, which were
used by Mr. Edward Everett, in a course of lectures delivered
by him, in the wmter of 1821-2. These models are yet in ex
istence, in the basement room of the Boston Athenaeum.
6

42 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER VL

CARVING IN STONE — ST. PAUL' S CHURCH — TEACHING.
After his return from the south, Mr. WiUard who had pre
viously paid some attention to the subject of geology, now con
nected this study with chemistry, and attended a course of lec
tures on the latter science. He made himself famiUar with the
different kinds of stone and their component parts, and devoted
much time and labor to a practical investigation ofthe science —
which like his other studies and pursuits, proved available in
aftertime, both in quarrying and building. He continued also
to meet all the demands made upon him in carving, making de
signs and drawing plans, and added to his other pursuits that
of carving in stone, or sculpture in its Umited and popular sense.
The first work of this kind mentioned by him in his memoranda
of accounts, excepting a single tablet for Mr. Carey, is the
" modelUng and executing of five panels in marble for Mr. David
Sears, at one hundred dollars per panel," ia October, 1S16. —
These are to be seen in the front of his fine granite mansion
house on Beacon street, in Boston, and as specimens of scroll
work and foliage are quite equal to the best outside- work of the
present time.
In January, 1820, Mr. Willard was engaged on the stone
work of Saint Paul's Church, Tremont street, of which Captain
Alexander Parris was the architect. He had previously been
an inmate of Capt. Parris's family, and undoubtedly gave him

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 43
friendly assistance in the arrangement and preparation of the
plans for this edifice, which was regarded as a very decided
improvement, in material and style, on the churches of half a
century ago, — resulting, as it certainly did, partly owing to its
cramped situa,tion, in disappointing the expectations of its pro
prietors. Its completion, we think, was not regarded with much
satisfaction : in point of fact it never has been completed, and
since its erection, has been overshadowed by the Masonic Temple,
now the United States Court House, and other buildings near it.
The masonry of this church was the work of Mr. Carey, who
thinks Mr. Willard made some of the drawings, though Capt.
Parris prepared the working plans. The front elevation, — its
Ionic portico and pediment, — is of Potomac sand-stone, from the
quarries near Aquia Creek, which were visited by Mr. Carey on
occa,sion of his trip to Virginia with Mr. Willard, two or three
years previously. The massive columns, in blocks, are the work
of Mr. Carey, but the wrought capitals are by Mr. Willard, who
worked them out on Mason street, on land afterwards occupied
for many years until his death, by his warm friend Mr. Amos
Lawrence. It was originally intended to have a Scripture-piece,
executed in bass-relief, in the pediment above the portico, for
which purpose the blocks of stones are left projecting at the pre
sent time. The subject proposed was, " Paul before King
Agrippa," and it was to have been executed by Mr. Willard ;
but the edifice having cost more than the original estimate, the
proprietors did not feel warranted in incurring any further ex
pense, and the work was not undertaken. They also thought
the kind and quality of the stone inferior and unsuitable for
the work ; but, as it can be worked with facility and will of
course be as durable as the columns and capitals of the portico,
— notwithstanding the unfavorable location of the edifice, — the
origiual design may yet be completed. It would greatly enrich
and improve its appearance.
During the following years, Mr. Willard, — besides furnishing
plans, designs and models ; including plans of improvements for

44 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
the Second Church and Brattle-square Church, (1S23-4) ; a
plan and model for the United States Branch Bank ; plans and
outlines for many private houses and blocks, — received pupils
at his studio near St. Paul's Church, and gave lessons in archi
tecture and drawing. Mr. Nathaniel Cotton, a member of the
committee to prepare this memoir, was an attendant in one of
his classes in drawing, and speaks of him in high and apprecia
tive terms as an instructor and a gentleman. He says, "Mr.
Willard's abiUty as an architect having become more generally
known, he was induced to devote a portion of his time to impart
ing instruction in architectural drawing ; and by his experience
and perfect familiarity with his subject, was a competent and
thorough teacher, especially for those who were disposed to be
gin at the beginning. He was always interested in the progress
of his pupils and encouraged them by the kindness of his man
ners. He endeavored to teach them the first principles of geom
etry and of perspective, and as they progressed he gradually
brought them to comprehend and understand the orders of archi
tecture and their true appUcation and appropriate purposes. He
was famiUar with the works of the old masters of the art and
had a high appreciation of proportion and harmony. He not
only had his juniors as his pupils ; but many, who for a score of
years had been practical architects and mechanics, were soUcit-
tous of his instruction, and to some of these he gave private
lessons. They all profitted by his instructions, knew weU how
to appreciate his ability and still retain a Uvely and interested
recollection of him." Mr. Charles Wells, who was afterwards
associated with him as a member of the Bunker Hill Mon
ument Association, and still is one of its Vice Presidents, was
one of his private pupils. During the administration of Mr.
Wells, in 1832, as Mayor of Boston, Mr. WiUard was employed
to design and build the County Court House, in Court street,
which was enlarged in 1862, in a manner according with the
original plan.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 45

CHAPTER VII.

NEW HEATING APPARATUS — THE HOT-AIR FURNACE.

We have seen that Mr. Willard came to Boston at the age of
twenty-one years, and without having served any regular ap
prenticeship, soon became master of his art, — his third piece of
work being one of the most difficult in carpentry. Devoting
himself assiduously to labor and study, we have found him ris
ing id his pursuits and securing the means unaided to improve
his mind, cultivate his taste and qualify his hand for still higher
service. Taking lessons in art-work, attending lectures in sci
ence, seeking the privileges of the best library in Boston, study
ing volumes of history and of the masters of design — support
ing himself by his industry and absolutely lending his employer
money — we soon see him laying aside the broad-axe and fore-
plane and occupied as a draughtsman and carver. Architecture
and modelUng, sculpture in wood and stone, are next adopted
and successfiilly practiced, while geology, anatomy, chemistry
and the French language are pursued as studies, and teaching
a Uttle later almost as a pastime.
As much of Mr. Willard's attention for a number of years
had been given ia some form, to the construction of buildings,
both public and private, it was natural that he should bestow
some thought upon the existing methods of warming these —
imperfect, inadequate and unsatisfactory as such methods were
admitted to be. Nearly all the fuel used for producing artificial

46 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
heat was wood, furnished from the neighborhoods of our cities
and towns and from the almost boundless forests of Maine. The
Franklin fire-place and Count Rumford's cooking-ranges, were
in use in the best dwelling-houses ; and large cast-iron stoves,
with extensive pipes ranging through rooms and halls, were in
use in the public buildings and churches. Some better means
of warming these last was even more necessary than in private
dwellings where open fire-places and iron stoves with moderate
lengths of pipe could still be used with comparatively satisfactory
results. In public halls, school houses and churches, large iron
stoves in the coldest weather, were kept at a red-heat, — thus
burning up and destroying the air for all purposes of sustainiag
Ufe, and still failing to keep these large apartments comfortable
or maintaining any reasonable equanimity of temperature. Some
few merchants and others of the wealthy classes, were able to
procure a supply of " Sea Coal" from England, for use iu their
counting-rooms and perhaps for the parlor grate, but the total
amount of English coal imported into the city of Boston, at that
time, was a small item in the aggregate amount of fuel used. —
It was not until 1820, two hundred years after the first settle
ment of the country, that our own immense suppUes of coal were
developed and during that year only three hundred and sixty-
five tons of anthracite were used in the whole country. It was
some years after this before it could be used to any considera
ble extent, for want of experience and suitable apparatus : its
successful introduction required an apprenticeship in the consu
mers ; its use was a new art ; it was not easily ignited and the
traditionary methods of hastening combustion in wood fires were
sure to extinguish one made of stone-coal. The lesson, however,
was learned ; new apparatus came with the e.xperience, and
the increasing use of mineral coal has continued ever since, un
til it now reaches an amount exceeding in annual value the sum
of twenty millions of dollars.
It may well be believed that there was at this time need of
some improvement in the methods as well as means of warming

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 47
and ventilating dwelling-houses and public buildings — and tbe
earnestness with which these were sought is manifested in every
letter and record we have upon the subject. Numerous im
provements were made in stove-patterns and stove-manufacture,
as is sufficiently attested in the patent office, but they were
stoves still and required the usual quantity of pipe in exposed
situations, and in various ways increased the danger of fire. To
Mr. Willard belongs the credit of originating in this country
the first step towards the complete, adequate and almost perfect
contrivance of the present day for the production of artificial
heat, — namely, the Hot-air Furnace, — placed in the basement
of the building, having communication with the external air,
and pipes leading to the various apartments to be warmed. —
The system thus introduced for warming dwelUng-houses, office-
buildings, school houses or churches, easily, readily and equably,
and of obtaining the required ventilation, was completely suc
cessful. Progress and improvement had been planned and made
upon the results attained in the scientific experiments of Dr.
Franklin and Count Rumford. Although we do not find that
Mr. Willard ever obtained or appUed for a patent for his inven
tion, we are not aware of any claim of prior right existing in
conflict with that now made for him. Many patents for new
furnaces, an.d for improvements, in both cases involving the same
general plan and principles, have been obtained since Mr. Wil
lard's furnaces were introduced — of course all these are design
ed for the use of the modern mineral fuel.
Mr. Willard's furnaces were manufactured by Mr. Daniel
Safford, a well-remembered mechanic of Boston, at his establish
ment on Devonshire street, between Water and Milk streets :
they were made chiefly of wrought and sheet iron, and as we
have intimated, were intended for the use of wood as a fuel. —
Two of these were constructed in the Old South Church ; two
in Saint Paul's Church ; one in Rev. Dr. Lowell's Church, and
one in Mr. Davenport's factory, in the fall of 1823. There was
one in the Rev. Mr. Coleman's Church, in Salem, and the Rev.

48 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
Benjamin Abbott, of Exeter, N. H., (whose society had just com
pleted a small church on a plan furnished by Mr. WiUard,) ap
plied for one for that building. The inventor has not left any
description of this furnace or account of his interest in it : the
following letter from Mr. Bulfinch, two years later, is the only
writing containing any notice of it which we have seen :
" Providence, Rhode Island, October S, 1S25.
" Dear Sir, — I intended to have called upon you once more
before my leaving Boston, but was prevented by a variety of
engagements in which I found myself involved. I called ac
cording to your advice at Mr. Safford' s work-shop. He was not
within, but his foreman explained to me the construction of the
various parts of the furnaces now in use. I also saw at Salem,
one set up in Rev. Dr. Coleman's church — so that I have a
very complete general idea of them ; but there are some farther
particulars that I wish to be informed upon, and will thank you
to answer the following, as soon as you conveniently can :
" The dimensions of size, in breadth and height, of the square
inside stove ; the same of the external cover containing the tubes,
its base, its diameter in the middle and its height.
" The size of the cold-air tubes — admitted at the bottom — and
the best size of the openings to convey warm-air to the rooms,
both for churches and for private houses to warm separate rooms.
The size of the openings in the fioor tc promote circulation, and
whether they are necessary in every room.
"Is it best to admit the warm-air near the floor ? In Mr.
Coleman's church the openings were about five feet fi-om the
floor. " Do you find any necessity for ventilators, aud how do you
construct them ?
" What is the difference in size, of furnaces for churches and
for private houses, and the difference in expense ?
" I wish for information on these points, because we are about
taking measures for warming the centre of the capitol, and the

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 49
President is desirous of adopting the most approved mode for
warming the entrance-hall of his house : it opens to the north
and is not only cold in itself but keeps the whole house uncom
fortable. There is a basement room under this hall, in which a
furnace could be set very conveniently. I want to be able to
do it in the best manner, and to convey pipes to any room where
they may choose to admit them. In these rooms I suppose they
will continue their open fires, but as the rooms are very large a
supply of warm-air must be very desirable.
" The dining-room is 30 by 40, and the banquetiug-room 40
by 90 feet, and 22 feet high. This large room has never yet
been used.
" I will thank you to give the subject some consideration, and
to favor me with all the information that your experience may
suggest to be necessary ; and the sooner the better, as the season
is fast advancing upon us. You will address your letter to me
at Washington, where I expect to be in the course of this week.
" If upon conferring with the President, after his return, he
should determine upon having a furnace for his house, I shall
write to you again, and ask your attention to having it con
structed in the best manner : and shall be happy to return the
favor by any means in my power.
" Your friend and servant, Charles Bulfinch."
We regret that we have not been able to find Mr. Willard's
reply to this letter, as it would no doubt afford a more distinct
idea pf the construction and character of the furnace. It is evi
dent, however, that it greatly resembled those in use at the pre
sent time, and may have been the model on which they are
constructed. Some years previously to this time a stove had
been invented in England, by Mr. William Strutt of Belper, in
Derbyshire, which was called the " cockle" or " Belper" stove,
which included the idea of the furnace. It was a cylinder stove,
enclosed in a brick chamber, into which cold air was admitted
at the bottom and heated air transmitted from the top to the
7

50 memoir of SOLOMON willard.
apartments to be warmed. In 1792, Mr. Strutt appUed it to
warm his large cotton factories. An improvement of this stove
was made by Mr. Charles Sylvester for warming the Derby In
firmary, and "was long regarded as a model of its kind for
a large building."* This stove, notwithstanding the general re
mark that the use of heated air-chambers for warming adjoining
rooms is of very ancient date, is the first mention of any appara
tus resembling the modern furnace for the same purpose, which
we have met with. Mr. Willard's furnace differed materially
from the " cockle," being not a stove but an open fire-place,
with flaring jambs and back, covered with a hexagon chamber,
in which were the tubes, — the whole enclosed in brick work.
The smoke passed over the jambs and out of a smoke flue below.
Mr. Strutt's was a cylinder stove for burning " Sea coal."
Subsequently to Mr. Bulfinch's letter above given, probably
in 1827, two of these furnaces were manufactured by Safford
and Low, for the capitol at Washington, and their erection was
superintended by Mr. Low, in that year. It is possible that these
were made for the burning of coal. Some of these furnaces were
put up by Mr. Safford as late as 1843, in interior places where
wood was more easily obtained than anthracite.
This furnace, of course, in the onward march of improvement,
has been superceded ; but for some twenty yeai-s, it answered
the public wants and was almost without a rival. The demands

*Vide, " Treatise on Warming and Ventilation," by Charles Tomlinson.
London, 1858. Franklin's and Count Rumford's experiments and improve
ments, are explained and commented on in this volume, but no mention what
ever is made of any of the American anthracite burning stoves or furnaces for
warming and ventilating large buUdings. Nor are these mentioned with any
particularity or described in the " New American Cyclopaedia," nor yet in the
" EngUsh CyolopEedia," 1861, whUe these works contain elaborate rehearsals
of early experiments, inventions and improvements pertaining to the subject.
Existing methods of warming buildings and ventilating room.s, in the United
States, by means of hot-air furnaces, hot water pipes, or steam, can hardly be
learned from any works which have faUen under our observation.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 51
for it were pressing and constant, not alone for pubUc buildings
but for private dwellings ; and in their manufacture the work
men of Mr. Safford's establishment were employed night and
day exclusively on them. Probably more than one thousand of
them were made and put up — and we have been unable to dis
cover that Mr. Willard ever received any income, royalty or re
ward for his invention. Managed in the customary way, with
the protection of a patent, it would have proved a fortune to
him ; but, prudent and judicious as he was in his expenditures,
he was not the man, by nature or habit, to accumulate property
for its mere possession. Such an instance of unselfishness and
indifference to profit, on the part of an inventor, must be of rare
occurrence, and in the present time, we judge, it would not be
easy to find one person thus freely yielding up a fortune either
from indifference or for the pubUc benefit. Mr. Willard has
done more than this : he has given the labor of his whole life
to the public, or individuals, in every way in which he has been
engaged, having barely had his own personal expenses paid,
" which were very small."

52 MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER vm.

BOSTON MECHANICS' INSTITUTION.

No association which was ever organized in Boston has more
conspicuously illustrated the harmony of feeling and unity of
purpose which prevailed at the time and has for many years
subsisted between the mercantile and the mechanic interests, and
we may add the professional also, than the Boston Mechanics'
Institution. The evidence of this is seen in its Ust of mem
bers, in its organization and in its whole history. It has been
thought that there was, at the commencement of the revo
lutionary war, if not during its continuance and at its termina
tion, a feeling of opposition tinctured with some asperity, be
tween the mechanic and the other interests in Boston, which was
more or less manifested in the civil and poUtical affairs of
the time. It was natural, perhaps, that such a feeUng should
exist, when it is remembered that the mechanics were the first
and most active in exciting and promoting the revolutionary
spirit ; which, of course, was looked upon by the merchants
as destructive of the commerce and prosperity of the town, and
which they were but little incUned thus early to encourage. —
The " Liberty Boys" were mostly mechanics, or belonging to
the working classes ; the famous "Tea Party" company was sim
ilarly composed ; and General Gage seems to have believed that
but for the greater numbers ofthe " lower classes," as he called
them, the tea itself would have been accepted and the rebelUous

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 68
proceedings checked and possibly stayed altogether. But the
purpose of the British government to make the colonies a source
of revenue, became more apparent ; broader views began to
prevail, and a truly patriotic feeling was soon engendered in
the minds of the people. The different classes, if not acting
together in the same private meetings, were cordially united
in their purposes and measures. The mechanics had their clubs ;
the merchants their clubs — and- resistance to British injustice
and coercion was the determination of each.
But whatever there was of this feeling, at any time, it was
local and temporary, and had no deep-seated foundation in the
sentiments or sober judgments of the people of either class or
any section of the city. K it arose from a difference of opinion,
as we have already suggested, it were impossible, in the incipient
movements of the revolutionary war, that there should not be
divisions of opinion and honest doubts on the momentous ques
tions of the day, — they were necessary to the issue, — but
among those not absolutely tories, they .were soon settled or
exploded; and the rebellious " lower classes" were fiiUy and
efficiently supported by the merchants and professional men. —
The latter were privately invited to attend the secret meetings of
the former, and the members of these were solemnly sworn not
to communicate their proceedings to any persons excepting cer
tain prominent individuals, who were of the wealthy and culti
vated classes. So that when the revolution fairly broke out,
the People of Boston, — excepting their natural enemies, the civil
and military officers of the crown and their sympathisers, — were
as a unit, and exerted their influence and directed their strength
to the assertion and maintenance of their rights and ultimately
to secure the national independence. The same spirit of har
mony and good feeUng continued during the war — has been
repeatedly and actively manifested since that period — is inter
woven with the domestic and political history of the city — and
finds a striking exempUfication in the formation and organization
of the Boston Mechanics' Institution, in which, notwithstanding

54 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
its distinctive corporate name, aU classes and professions were
united ; and those other usually dividmg Unes in a community,
reUgion and politics, were not considered.
The Boston Mechanics' Institution was originated by a few
gentlemen in 1826, and was incorporated in 1827. The first
meetings were held in a room in Boylston Hall. Mr. Willard
was one of those engaged in its, formation and was present at the
primary meetings. When the subscription of membership was
opened it was at once signed by Nathaniel Bowditch, Daniel
TreadweU, David Moody, Solomon Willard, Alpheus Carey,
Amos Lawrence, H. A. S. Dearborn, WilUam SulUvan, Francis
C. Whiston, Charles W. Moore, and others.
The act of incorporation was accepted on the 29th of June,
1827, and at the election of officers Nathaniel Bowditch was
elected President ; Daniel TreadweU, David Moody and Solomon
Willard, Vice Presidents ; Francis C. Whiston, Recording Sec
retary ; George B. Emerson, Corresponding Secretary ; Stephen
Fairbanks, Treasurer, and the foUovring equally well-known
gentlemen a Board of Directors : Ebenezer Bailey, George Bald
win, Alpheus Carey, Timothy Claxton, John Cotton, George
Darracott, H. A. S. Dearborn, Phineas Dow, James K. Froth-
ingham [Charlestown,] William Lyman, Charles W. Moore,
Alexander Parris, Charles C. Starbuck, Ezra Stone [East Cam
bridge,] William Sturgis and John W. Webster. Mr. Willard
at this time was engaged in the erection of the Bunker Hill
Monument. In the formation of this Institution, which embraced among its
members clergymen, professors in the college, lawyers, physic
ians, merchants and traders, and numbers from the manufiic-
turing and mechanical pursuits, is seen with nearly all its char
acteristics, the Lyceum, which soon after occupied pubUc atten
tion ; and in its annual courses of lectures by its own members,
on scientific and literary subjects, the inauguration of the system

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 55
of popular lectures which now forms an essential feature in the
winter-recreations of our New-England communities. On the
first season, commencing November, 1827, the introductory lec
ture was deUvered by Mr. Edward Everett, " On the importance
to practical men of scientific knowledge, and on the encourage
ment to its pursuit." In this interesting and valuable lecture
Mr. Everett says, "The object ofthe Mechanics' Institute is, to
diffuse useful knowledge among the mechanic class of the com
munity. It aims in general, to improve and inform the minds
of its members ; and particularly to illustrate and explain the
principles of the various arts of life, and render them familiar to
that portion of the community, who are to exercise these arts as
their occupation in society. It is also a proper object of the In
stitute, to point out the connexion between the mechanic arts
and the other pursuits and occupations, and show the founda
tions, which exist in our very nature, for a cordial union be
tween them all."* The discourse was eminently calculated to
encourage the institution and promote its purposes. Other lec
tures in the course were delivered by Professors Farrar and
TreadweU, Dr. Jacob Bigelow, George B. Emerson, and Gama
liel Bradford.
In November, 1828, the second course of lectures was com
menced with an introductory discourse by Mr. Daniel Webster,
on the state of the mechanic arts, their usefulness and the pur
poses of the institution. Like that of the preceding year, it was
an eloquent and scholarly production. In describing the pur
poses of the institution, Mr. Webster expands the view taken by
Mr. Everett. The latter gentleman, rightly enough, spoke of
it as intended to diffuse information among its members, and to
promote a cordial union among all the pursuits and occupations

* " Orations and Speeches on Various Occasions, by Edward Everett."-
Boston, 1856. Volume i.

56 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
of men. Mr. Webster speaks of its purpose, in a far-seeing and
almost prophetic spirit :
" The distinct purpose is to connect science more and more with
art ; to teach the established, and invent new, modes of combin
ing skill with strength ; to bring the power of the human under
standing in aid of the physical powers of the human frame ; to
facilitate the co-operation of the mind with the hand ; to promote
convenience, Ughten labOr, and mitigate toil, by stretching the
dominion of mind farther and farther over the elements of na
ture, and by making those elements themselves submit to human
rule, follow human bidding, and work together for human hap
piness."* How soon much of this was reaUzed by inventions and im
provements now so familiar !
After an eloquent explanation of the mechanical powers and
a brief sketch of the history of art, in speaking of the progress
of the mechanical arts — twenty- five years ago — ilr. Webster
says, " The sUghtest glance . . must convince us that me
chanical power and mechanical skill, as they are now exhibited
in Europe and America, mark an epoch in human history wor
thy of all admiration. Machinery is made to perform what has
formerly been the toil of human hands, to an extent that aston
ishes the most sanguine, with a degree of power to which no
number of human arms is equal, and with such precision and
exactness as almost to suggest the notion of reason and intelli
gence in the machines themselves. Every natural agent is put
unrelentingly to the task. The winds work, the waters work,
the elasticity of metals works ; gravity is solicited into a thous
and new forms of action ; levers ai-e multiplied upon levera ;
wheels revolve on the peripheries of other wheels ; the saw and

' The Works of Daniel Webster," Volume i.

MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD. 57
the plane are tortured into an accommodation to new uses, and
last of all, with inimitable power, and ' with whirlwind sound,'
comes the potent agency of steam. In comparison with the past,
what centuries of improvement has this single agent comprised,
in the short compass of fifty years ! Everywhere practicable,
everywhere efficient, it has an arm a thousand times stronger
than that of Hercules,_ and to which human ingenuity is capable
of fitting a thousand times as many hands as belonged to Bri-
areus." These courses of lectures were continued with general success
and satisfaction for some ten years. They were popular and in
structive ; the means of introducing a number of lecturers to the
pubUc, and afforded opportunities of association and intercourse
which were highly valuable to the members and of much benefit
to the community. Mr. Willard, we have reason to beUeve, es
pecially profitted by them, and we have no doubt, many others
did also. Some few books and scientific periodicals were collect
ed by the institution, and considerable valuable philosophical
apparatus was obtained from Europe and used to illustrate the
lectures. All these, together with the records and papers be
longing to the institution, were transferred to the Massachusetts
Charitable Mechanic Association in January, 1840, the members
retaining certain conditional rights in the property, and entitled
to some privileges in the way of membership.
The institution flourished for ten or twelve years, success
fully promoting its objects and preparing the way for other
efforts in the same direction.

58 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER IX.

MR. willard's GREAT WORK — BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.

The great work of Mr. Willard's life — for which he was
prepared by circumstances ; which comported with his taste and
experience ; into which he threw his energy and skiU ; and
which, for the time, was as a part of himself, was the Bunker
Hill Monument — the grand national memorial of the opening
of the Revolutionary War and of the principles involved
in that memorable contest for liberty and the rights of man. —
As soon as the subject of erecting a monument was proposed to
the public, Mr. Willard became interested in it. It seemed
at once to seize upon his imagination and feelings — he labored
for it in season and out of season — and notwithstanding all the
difficulties, embarrassments and delays in the progress of the
work, he never lost his interest in it or failed to do his utmost to
secure its completion. He did not look upon it simply as a work
of art, which might be supposed to be his stand-point, but
regarded it as a high patriotic duty, sacred to the best and
noblest sentiments of our nature, and one ¦\rtth which no
selfish or sordid purposes of popularity or profit should be
permitted to mingle. It was in his mind, — as sui-ely in the
minds of those eminent men who conceived, and by efforts and
labors yet untold, promoted the enterprise, — to be a work of
gratitude — the outpouring of appreciative and grateful hearts —
as well as the memorial of an event, however important in its

MEMOIR 0# SOLOMON WILLARD. 59
consequences. His ideas on this subject, in some respects, were
peculiar : in order to make the work what it should be — the
memorial of a grateful people — he thought all should contribute
towards its necessary cost, according to their means, but he did
not beUeve in asking for or receiving money to pay a profit in
such an undertaking. In accordance with his feelings in this
respect, he always refused for himself all compensation for ser
vices rendered, and, we think, to a large extent also for expenses
incurred, and never sought for or accepted any pay or profit in
any matter connected with the work, either duriag its erection
or afterwards. He seemed to feel that to undertake such a work
for profit, to speculate in its contracts, or in any way diminish
or misdirect its funds, would not only be a high misdemeanor to
be punished by statute and a fraud upon the patriotic contribu
tors, but would take from the structure itself a part of its sacred
character as a work of gratitude and honor. He took an early
occasion to have his views on this subject known, as will be
seen by his letter of June, 1825, before he was chosen archi
tect and superintendent of the work.
With these feelings, Mr. Willard's interest in the monument
became devotion to it, and there are, and have been, but few
persons that know how arduous, continuous, self-sacrificing and
public spirited have been his services in its behalf — from the
beginning to the end. There are but few persons if any, now
living, who know how much we are indebted to him for the de
sign and general plan of the monument ; for the massive and
durable character of its material ; for the excellence and accu
racy of the work ; for its low cost, and finally for its completion,
with the means originally and ultimately at the command of the
association. Much of all this remains untold, and it is due to
him, and to those with whom he was associated in the work ; to
the truth of history, and as a faithful record of faithful services,
that they should be stated and rendered as durable as the monu
ment itself, and the deeds and principles it so sublimely com
memorates. He gave time, thought and labor to the work — its

60 MEMOIR OF SOLOMO?? WILLARD.
preparation, its management and its progress, — which as re
gards himself, money could neither command or compensate. —
During his engagement upon it, he found his best reward in his
own breast and in the approbation of those with whom he was
associated in the patriotic service.
The first suggestion of the present monument is credited
by Mr. Everett, without contradiction, to Mr. William Tudor,
first editor of the North American Review ;* and it seems that
Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn called attention to the subject of the
battle-field in April, 1822, in one of the pubUc papers, when a
" lot of ground including the monument erected to the memory
of Gen. Warren," was to be sold at auction. He desired that
" some patriotic gentleman of wealth in the town of Charlestown
should purchase this American Marathon and have it enclosed
with a stone or iron fence, to be held sacred, as the spot where
the defenders of the Republic first met the shock of battle ' in
times which tried men's souls.' " Mr. Tudor thereupon consult
ed with Mr. Dearborn, and the result is stated as follows : "Dr.
John C. Warren of Boston, purchased the land in November,
1822, and held it until the Monument Association, subsequently
formed, took it from his hands."f The Records of the Standing
Committee, kept by Mr. Everett, make no reference to such a
transaction, but state, under date of August 17, 1824, " that
Mr. Knowles made a report on the subject of the Bunker Hill
lands, exhibiting the proposals which he had received fi-om the
proprietors, and estimating the sum required to purchase them
at $26,000. This report was accepted, and it was voted, that
the same committee be requested to proceed to make the pm--
chase, and to procure a loan of the money required for the same
on the credit of the corporation, secured by the joint obUgation
of such gentlemen as may be disposed to enter into it." The
lands were purchased and the next year rented as a pasture.

* Speech of May 28, 1833, iu FaneuU HaU. Speeches, &c. vol. i.
t Prof. Packard's History of the Bunker HiU Monument. Collections of
; Maine Ilislurical Souiely. 1852.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 61
The act incorporating the Bunker Hill Monument Associa
tion was approved by the Governor, on the 7th of June, 1823,
and was accepted by the corporation on the 13th of the same
month. On the 17th, by-laws were adopted and the officers for
the year elected. John Brooks, Governor of the Commonwealth,
was chosen President of the association, and Daniel Webster
first on the list of Directors. In his letter of acceptance.
Governor Brooks said, " the object had always been a desirable
one on his mind." Governor Brooks had himself served in the
revolutionary war. He commanded a company of minute-men
at Reading, and was on duty on the 19th of April, 1775 ; was
a Major in Col. Bridge's regiment on the 17th of June, and as
Lieutenant Colonel, stormed the entrenchments of the German
troops at Saratoga.
In the first " address to the public," probably from the pen of
Mr. Webster, pubUshed July 9th, 1823, the proposed erection of
the monument is spoken of as follows : •
" The erection of some pubUc monument which should bear
lasting testimony to national gratitude and cherish a national
feeUng, has often been the subject of discussion and conversation
in this part of the country ; but none worthy of the name and
purposes, has yet been executed. It is true that the public rec
ords, the productions of the press, history and poetry, are sure
to preserve and perpetuate the remembrance of the great events
of the American Revolution. Nevertheless, some grand and
striking object, often recurring to the sight and impressing the
mind with interesting associations, would be one, it is thought,
neither useless nor unworthy for the present generation to rear
to the memory of the past  Fortunately the scene
of the battle of Bunker Hill possesses distinguished natural ad
vantages for the site of a monument. It is high, conspicuous,
and at present not covered with buildings.
" At present it is not practicable to define the character or
magnitude of the monument which may be erected. This must

62 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
depend essentially on the extent to which the feeUngs of the
country shall be interested in the undertaking. The general
view, however, is to erect a monument which shall be distin
guished by simplicity and gi-andeur, rather than by elaborate
and elegant ornaments. Like the events which it is to com
memorate, we would wish it to exhibit the character of natural,
inherent, durable greatness."
At the expiration of a year, and after the recurrence of the
annual meeting, on the 27th of July, 1824, a Standing Com
mittee was appointed, composed of H. A. S. Dearborn, John C.
Warren, Edward Everett, George Blake, and Samuel D. Har
ris, invested with authority " to exercise the powers of the Di
rectors in managing the affairs of the association."
The first meeting of this committee was held at the Medical
College, on the 2d of August, 1824 : Gen. Dearborn, Chaii--
man ; Mr. Everett, Secretary. The first business before the
committee was a proposition from the Washington Benevolent
Society for transferring to the association its property and funds,
and these were subsequently received. The next matter of record
is in the following words : " Plans of Monumental Columns,
drawn by Mr. Willard, architect, were submitted by Gen. Dear
born," with whom Mr. Willard had been in conference on the
subject. The Standing Committee managed the affairs of the
association until April 29, 1825, — the date of its last meeting,
but the Building Committee did not have a meeting until the
last of October of that year.
Having shown his interest in the work, in various ways, Mr.
Willard was elected a member of the association in September,
1824, and received thc following notice of the honor thereby
conferred upon him : "Boston, September 8, 1824.
" Sir — You are hereby informed tliat you have been elected
a member cj^ the Bunker Hill Monument Association, incorpo-

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 63
rated June 7th, 1823, for the purpose of commemorating the
early events of the American Revolution, and especially for the
erection of a Monument on the ground where the action ^f June
17, 1775, was fought.
" The intention of the association, in electing you a member,
is to obtain your influence and aid in carrying into effect the
design of the incorporation. These you are earnestly solicited
to employ to the extent your situation and opportunity admit.
Should you decline becoming a member, you will please to trans
mit a notice to this effect to the Secretary of the Standing Com
mittee ; otherwise you will forthwith receive a certificate of
membership. By order,
Edward Everett,
Secretary of the Standing Committee of Directors."
The certificate subsequently received is as follows : —
" Be it made known by us, the President, Vice Presidents and
Directors of the Bunker Hill Monument Association, instituted
in 1823, for the purpose of commemorating the early events of
the American Revolution, and especially for the erection of a
Monument on the ground where the action of Bunker Hill was
fought on the 17th of June, 1775, that Solomon Willard has
been admitted to be a member of this association, and that this
is to serve as a perpetual memorial of his having contributed to
the execution of its patriotic design.
"John Brooks, President; T.H.Perkins, Joseph Story,
Vice Presidents ; Daniel Webster, George Blake, Benj. Gor-
ham, H. A. S. Dearborn, Edward Everett, Samuel D. Harris,
John C. Warren, Seth Knowles, Samuel Swett, George Ticknor,
Theodore Lyman, Jr., Isaac P. Davis, Jesse Putnam, Dijpctors ;
Nathaniel P. Russell, Treasurer; Franklin Dexter, Secretary."
On the 24th of September, the Standing Committee publish
ed a circular, "explaining the objects of the association," which
was to be "circulated among the members of the community able
to promote the design by their aid and interest." We should be

64 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
glad to copy this able and eloquent paper at length into these
pages, but for the reason that it wUl appear in a comprehensive
history«of the monument, already in progress under a vote of the
association. There are, however, two or three passages which
pertain so nearly to our subject, and which composed a part of
the material which artists would necessarily consider in making
a design for the work, that we feel justified in quoting them m
this place :
" The spot itself on which this memorable action took place,
is extremely favorable for becoming the site of a monumental
structure. Competent judges have pronounced the heights of
Charlestown to excel any spot on our coast, in their adaptation
to the object in view. Their position between the Mystic and
Charles, with the expanse of the harbor of Boston, and its beau
tiful islands in front, has long attracted the notice of the stran
ger. An elevated monument on this spot would be the first
landmark of the mariner in his approach to our harbor ; while
the whole neighboring country, comprising the towns of Roxbury,
Brookline, Cambridge, Medford -and Chelsea, with their rich
fields, villages and spfres ; the buildings of the Univereity, the
bridges, the numerous ornamental country seats and improved
plantations, the whole bounded by a distant line of hills and
farming landscape which cannot be surpassed in variety and
beauty, would be spread out as in a picture, to the eye of the
spectator on the summit of the proposed structure.
"Nor are these the only natural advantages of the spot. —
Though essentially rural in many of its features, it rises above
one of our most flourishing towns, the seat of several important
nation&l establishments, where the noble ships of war of the
American Republic seem to guard the approach to the spot where
her first martyrs fought and bled. Its immediate vicinity to
Boston, and its convenient distance from Salem, makes the ac
cess to it direct from the centres of our most numerous, wealthy
and active populations, and wiU be the means of keeping contin-

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 65
ually in sight, or bringing frequently to view, to the great
masses of the community, the imposing memorial of an event
which ought never to be absent from their memory, as its effects
are daily and hourly brought home to the business and bosoms
of every American citizen."
" In forming an estimate of the cost of the structure proposed,
a single eye has been had to the principle which dictates its erec
tion. Everything separated from the idea of substantial strength
and severe taste has been discarded, as foreign from the grave
and serious character both of the men and events to be commem
orated. With this pAiciple in, view, it has been ascertained
that a monumental column, of a classic model, with an elevation
to make it the most lofty in the world, may be erected of our fine
Chelmsford granite, for about thirty-seven thousand dollars."*
" The general propriety and expediency of erecting public
monuments of the kind proposed are acknowledged by all. —
They form not only the most conspicuous ornaments with which
we can adorn our towns and high places, but they are the best
proof we can exhibit to strangers, that our sensibility is strong
and animated toward those great achievements and greater char
acters, to which we owe all our national blessings. There surely
is not one among us who would not experience a strong satisfac
tion in conducting a stranger to the foot of a monumental struc
ture, rising in decent majesty on this memorable spot.
" Works of this kind also have the happiest influence in ex
citing and nourishing the national and patriotic sentiment. Our

* This estimate refers to the earliest sketches made by Mr. WiUard, of two
columns " which had nearly the proportions of the Trajan and Antonine col
umns at Rome, excepting that the pedestals are higher in proportion than the
Trajan and lower than the Antonine."' They were of less height and less
diameter than the present monument, and the estimate was for small blocks
and cheap construction. The Trajan column is 106 feet in height with a ped
estal of 19 feet ; that of Antoninus is 06 feet 6 inches with a pedestal of 26 feet
6 inches and a statue of St. Paul on the top of the column.

66 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
government has been called, and truly is a government of opin
ion ; but it is one of sentiment still more. It is not the judg
ment only of this people, which dictates a preference for our
institutions ; but it is a strong, deep-seated, inborn sentiment ; a
feeUng, a passion for liberty. It is a becoming expression of this
sentiment to honOr, in every way, the memories and characters
of our fathers ; to adorn a spot where their noble blood was spilt,
and not surrender it uncared-for to the plough. Years, it is to
be remembered, are rapidly passing away ; and the glorious tra
ditions of our national emancipation which we received from
them, will descend more faintly to our successors. The patriotic
sentiment, which binds us together more strongly than- compacts
or constitutions, will if permitted, grow cold from mere lapse of
time. We owe these monuments, therefore, not less to the char
acter of our posterity, than to the memory of our fathers. These
events must not lose their interest. Our children and our chil
dren's children have a right to these feelings, cherished and kept
by a worthy transmission. It is the order of nature that the
generation to achieve nobly should be succeeded by a generation
worthily to record and gratefully to commemorate. We are not
called to the fire and the sword ; to meet the appaling array of
armies, to taste the bitter cup of imperial wrath and vengeance
proffered to an ill-provided land. We are chosen for the easier,
more grateful, but not less bounden duty of commemorating and
honoring the labors, sacrifices and sufferings of the great men of
those dark times.
" There is one point of view, in which we seem to be strongly
called upon to engage in the erection of works like that proposed.
The beautiful and noble arts of design and architecture have
hitherto been engaged in arbitrary and despotic service. The
Pyramids and Obelisks of Egypt ; the monumental columns of
Trajan and Aurelius, have paid no tribute to the rights and feel
ings of man. Majestic and graceful as they are, they have no
record but that of sovereignty, sometimes cruel and tyrannical,
and sometimes mild ; but never that of a great, enlightened and

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 67
generous people. Providence, which has given us the senses to
observe, the taste to admire, and the skill to execute, these beau
tiful works of art, cannot have intended that, in a flourishing
nation of freemen, there should be no scope for their erection.
Our fellow-citizens of Baltimore have set us a noble example of
redeeming the arts to the cause of free institutions, in the impos
ing monument they have erected to the memory of those who fell
in defending their city. If we cannot be the first to set up a
structure of this character, let us not be other than the first to
improve upon the example ; to arrest and fix the feelings of our
generation on the important events of an earUer and more mo
mentous struggle, and to redeem the pledge of gratitude to the
high-souled heroes of that trying day."
This noble appeal to the people, — in words which cannot be
too often repeated, — could not have been unheeded by them,
nor lost upon the artists of the country, and especially not upon
Mr. Willard, whose feelings had already been awakened in behalf
of the work. Those who read its eloquent sentences and happy
illustrations, at this day, will be able to realize how forcibly and
truthfully the subject was presented in it, and how clearly its
reasonings have been fulfilled in the completion of the work.
Having thus presented the subject to the public, the next step
was the initiation of active measures to obtain subscriptions for
the work through the agency of the various town authorities, —
accordingly a circular, dated October 1st, 1824, was addressed
to the Selectmen of all the towns in the Commonwealth. This
eloquent paper recounts the causes of the rebelUon and the
events which preceded the battle of Bunker Hill, and remarks
of the battle and its consequences as follows : —
" Under cover of the night of the 16th of June, 1775, this
detachment proceeded silently and cautiously, with such arms
and implements as they had, and with a very small supply of
powder, to take possession of the hills, and spend the night in

68 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
the hurried labor of preparing for themselves some intrenchment,
against the probable attack of the British. Poorly prepared,
and wearied with labor, they met the shock on the followmg day,
of the picked and chosen men of the British army !
" The consequences of the cool, undaunted, astonishing brav
ery, displayed on that day, we now feel and enjoy ; and they
will continue to be felt and enjoyed, so long as we and our de
scendants shall be worthy of the name of Freemen.
" It is among these consequences, that we are now the citizens
of a free and independent republic, not the degraded and despis
ed subjects of desp9tic royal power ;
" That we live under laws made by rulers chosen from among
ourselves, not under the orders of arbitrary authority, enforced
by a ferocious soldiery ;
" That we dwell in security in our peaceful homes, in the full
enjoyment of the fruits of our labor, instead of being Uable to
arbitrary taxation, and to personal service in wars of ambition, in
which we could have no advantage, though subject to the most
distressing evils ;
" That the community of which we are members, is thriving
and expanding with the impulses of civil freedom, not creeping
through an humble existence in the constraint of colonial depen
dence :
" In short, that we are citizens of a free, powerful and in
creasing nation, not a remote and insignificant appendage to a
kingdom, and ruled by mandates issuing from a thi-one three
thousand miles from our homes.
" What of gratitude, reverence and affection, do we not owe,
fellow-citizens, to our countrymen who assembled and met the
British on Bunker Hill on the Seventeenth of June ! It is to
their manly resistance that we owe the precious blessings we call
our own : All, all that we hold dear ! Had they turned and
fled, as the British believed they would ; had a panic spread
through the country from their flight, might not the germ of
liberty have been crushed in the bud ; and the history of our

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 69
country have been stained with disgraceful military executions,
instead of being read as it now is, with emotions of inexpressible
thanksgiving and praise !
" It is in honor of that glorious day that it is now proposed
to raise a monument, worthy of those we commemorate, and to
remind successive generations of the deeds of our fathers, and
to evince the just and heartfelt gratitude of the present time."
. . . . " Such a monument will not only carry down to
distant ages the memory of illustrious deeds ; it will also remind
the generations, as they rise, of the origin of their social rights ;
it will proclaim to them with awful grandeur, the sacred duty of
preserving unimpaired the freedom which was purchased with
precious blood."

70 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER X.

SELECTION OF A DESIGN FOR THE MONUMENT.
After the purchase of the land, in behalf of the association,
by the Directors, the next great questions to be considered were
as to the plan of the monument and the means to meet its cost.
The gentlemen who had conceived and undertaken the patriotic
enterprise held frequent meetings, and immediately adopted meas
ures to present the subject to the pubUc and obtain subscriptions
and donations for the work, as already described. The interest
ing question of a plan had of course been spoken of incidentally
and was visibly presented at the first meeting of the Standing
Committee, on 2d of August, 1824, by original designs from
Mr. Willard, and it occupied the attention of the Directors and
the pubUc until July, 1825.
At the second meeting of the Standing Committee, on the 9th
of August, " Dr. Warren having observed that Mr. AYillai-d
was prepared to make a drawing on a large scale of a plan
of a monumental column, it was voted, that he be requested by
the committee to draw a plan which might serve the purpose of
public exhibition." "It was also voted that the same request
be made to Mr. Alexander Parris, when he shall have exhibited
a smaller plan to the committee." We have not found that Mr.
Parris submitted any "smaUer plan" to the committee, or any
other plan until after the offer of a premium.
The idea respecting the proposed monument, entertained by

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 71
the committee at this time, may be considered as embodied in
the following extract from the circular of October, 1824 :
" It is the design of the corporation to erect a column of two
hundred and twenty feet in height ; of hewn granite, containing
in its centre a circular stairway, by which it may be ascended
to the top." . . . " As it will commemorate the greatest
event m the history of civil liberty, it should be, and shall be,
the grandest monument in the world." This announcement, of
course, would naturally lead artists who might be considering the
subject, to suppose that the committee had determined upon the
form of the monument — a column j its height — two hundred
and twenty feet ; tlfe mode of ascent, by circular stairs, and the
material — hewn granite, — and that the only matter undecided
was its diameter. But the committee had not yet called upon
the artists of the country to offer designs for the work.
On the 4th of November, it was " Voted, that Mr. WiUard
be and he hereby is authorised to draw a plan of a monument,
projected on a large scale, to be painted for the purpose of exhi
bition to the legislature and the citizens of Boston and vicinity."
This plan was executed agreeably to the request of the commit
tee, and proved to be satisfactory, as will be seen by the vote
and correspondence which followed.
On the 17th of January, 1825, the Standing Committee ac
cepted the form of an advertisement for a "plan," offering a
premium of one hundred dollars for the best design which should
be accepted. The committee desired to avail itself of the artistic
skill of the country, and received in response to their call about
fifty designs of different styles and characteristics, a portion of
which are yet preserved among the archives of the association,
but no one of them was ever accepted by the Directors, nor was
the premium offered ever awarded.
On the 16th of March, in the Standing Committee, it was
"Voted, that the Secretary address a letter of thanks to Mr.
Solomon Willard, soliciting permission to keep his plan and to

72 memoir of SOLOMON WILLARD.
compensate him for his trouble." Mr. Everett's letter to Mr.
Willard is as follows : — " Cambridge, March 22, 1825.
" Dear Sir, — I beg leave to inform you, that at a meeting of
the Standing Committee of the Bunker Hill Monument Associ
ation, on the 16th instant, the following vote was unanimously
passed : —
" That the thanks of the Committee be expressed to Mr. S.
Willard for the preparation of a very beautiful plan of a monu
mental column at their request ; that, though the Committee
have felt it their duty, at this stage of the business, in discharge
of a public trust, to make a general advertisement to the artists
of the country, yet nothing is farther from their purpose in so
doing, than to undervalue the very beautiful plan prepared by
Mr. Willard, whose services on this occasion, the Committee
highly appreciate and desire to acknowledge by ample and hon
orable compensation.
" Permit me, dear sir, in communicating this vote, to offer
you my private tribute of thanks for the display of talent, science
and taste, in the plan prepared by you.
I am, very respectfully, yours,
Edward Everett,
Secretary of the Committee."
The following is Mr. Willard's reply :
" Boston, April 11th, 1825.
" Dear Sir, — I did not receive your note of the 22d of Mai-ch
until this evening. As I do not often call at the post office, it
had remained there until sent to me by the post.
" I should be very sorry to have the Committee suppose that
I question the propriety of their advertising for designs. On my
own account merely, I should have preferred knowing their in
tentions at thc outset, as I inight thereby have avoided commit
ting myself, and have chosen a course that might have been more

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 73
successful. It requires some management to make and exhibit
a design which will please the multitude. The purest design
does not make the most catching picture, and an artist who in
tends to succeed in such a case should not draw what he thinks
it proper to build, but that which he thinks will please. The
design should be light and fanciful and the drawing deceptive
and highly colored.
" I am not insensible to the honor that has been conferred on
me by the Committee, and if my slender efforts have been of any
service, they are entirely welcome. As respects the sketches,
I think it due to myself to state that they were made under
great disadvantages.
" Yours, respectfully, Solomon Willard."
Up to this time, notwithstanding the many suggestions which
had been made and the various designs offered, the impression
appears to have been in favor of a monumental column, in
preference to any other form. The subject had been for a
long time and yet continued to be discussed in the Board of
Directors, among the people, and in the public papers, and
numerous plans were proposed. The Board of Directors was
composed of distinguished gentlemen — lawyers, scholars and
artists ; and the discussion was so full and thorough that, if
learning, ability and a desire tq arrive at a wise conclusion could
secure a wise result, it was scarcely possible that a mistake
could be committed.
No less than three committees of the Board of Directors were
appointed on this subject. On the 5th of April, it was resolved
that a final decision " in regard to the kind of monument to be
erected shall be made only at a meeting of the Directors warned
by special notice to each individual and also by advertisement in
two newspapers in Boston, twenty days before the time of such
meeting." It was also resolved, " that whenever the Directors
shall judge [it] expedient to take measures to come to a decision
in regard to the kind of monument to be erected, they shall elect
10

74 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON- WILLARD.
a board to whom shall be submitted all plans and designs which
may be presented, in order that this board may give an opinion
as to the superiority of any plan or design thus presented ; and
further that said board of artists be requested to give their
opinion in regard to any other plan which may occur to them,
besides those which may have been laid before them by the
Directors." riRST COMMITTTEE ON THE DESIGN.
It was determined that this board should consist of seven
members, and the Standing Committee was requested to make
the nomination : This committee nominated the five following
gentlemen, viz. Daniel Webster, Gilbert Stuart, Washington
AUston, Loammi Baldwin and George Ticknor, — a constellation
of eminent men, statesmen, scholars and artists, equal to the full
discussion and final decision of any question that may be pre
sented to a committee, in law, literature or art. The report of
the committee was accepted, " both as to the persons named and
the number of them."
To this "board of artists" fell the duty of examining the
designs offered for the premium, and on the 12th of April the
following proceedings took place :
" A report in part was made by the committee appointed at
the last meeting to examine plans for the monument, &c.
" Ordered that this report be laid on the table ; that the fiir
ther consideration thereof be postponed to the next meeting, and
that the committee have leave to make a further report.
" Ordered that the same comniittee be requested to report
which of the plans submitted be entitled to the premium of one
hundred dollars, as the best submitted plan." [The committee
were not previously instructed in this matter.]
At the next meeting, on the 26th of April, the following pro
ceedings took place :
" A report was made by the committee on the subject of
awarding a premium to the author of the best plan or model. —

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 75
On motion and after discussion of the principles of the report,
it was voted to lay this report on the table.?' [It does not appear
that this report included a decision in regard to the premium,
nor that the report itself was ever farther considered.]
" Voted that a meeting of the Directors be notified for 19th
of May, for the purpose of deciding on a plan ofa monument."
SECOND COMMITTEE ON THE DESIGN.
On the 19th, "the proceedings of the last meeting having been
read, a discussion arose upon the subject for which the present
meeting was called, viz : the plan of a monument. After debate
it was voted, that a committee of five be appointed to report the
plan of an obelisk, and also of a column, with estimates of the
expense of each. That this committee consist of the following
gentlemen : H. A. S. Dearborn, Edward Everett, Seth Knowles,
Samuel D. Harris, and Thomas H. Perkins."
On the 7th of June, ten days only before the great initiation-
ceremony was to take place, the question had practically come
to be between a monumental column and an obelisk : The fol
lowing were the proceedings as recorded :
" The committee appointed to report a plan of an obelisk and
of a column, with estimates of the expense of each, made a
statement on the subject, by General Dearborn, their chairman.
This statement is placed on the files of the association." [It is
not now to be found ; but was no doubt in favor of a column, as
the votes of a majority of the committee indicate.]
" A proposition was then made and supported, which was as
follows : That the Directors of this Association do now decide
on and adopt a column as the form of the object for the propos
ed monument.
" This proposal having been discussed at great length, the
question was finally taken by yeas and nays, and each Director
being called on in turn, answered as follows :
" Yeas : H. A. S. Dearborn, George Blake, Samuel D. Harris,
Jesse Putnam, Seth Knowles, — 5.

76 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
"Nays : Daniel Webster, President, Joseph Story, Vice Pre
sident, Nathan Appleton, Loammi Baldwin, Isaac P. Davis,
Amos Lawrence, Samuel Swett, WilUam SulUvan, David Sears,
George Ticknor, John C. Warren, — 11.
" So, there being five m the affirmative and eleven in the
negative, the proposition was rejected.
" It was then Voted, That the form of an obeUsk shaU be
adopted for the proposed monument ; or in other words, a pyra
midal structure such as may hereafter be agreed on."
THIED COMMITTEE ON THE DESIGN.
" A committee was then chosen by ballot to report a design of
an obelisk, or pyramidal structure ; and to consider and report
on the subject generally.
" This committee consisted of the following gentlemen, viz :
Loammi Baldwin, George Ticknor, Jacob Bigelow, Washington
Allston, and Samuel Swett."
While this committee had the subject in consideration, the
ceremony of laying the corner-stone of the monument took place,
on the fiftieth anniversary of the battle — arrangements having
been hastened for the purpose of marking the half-century, and
also to secure the august presence of General Lafayette, at the
time the guest of the nation.
At the meeting on the 24th of June, " The chairman of the
committee to present the design of an obeUsk stated that he
should be ready to report in about ten days."
July 1, 1825. " A report from the committee on the plan of
the monument was, in the absence of Colonel Baldwin, chairman
of the committee, read by Mr. Ticknor, and after a short discus
sion, the further consideration of the same was referred to the
next meeting of the directors."
July 5. " After a short discussion, it was voted, nem. con.
to accept tho report of the committee on the plan of the monu
ment."

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 77
These are the proceedings of the Directors as they stand upon
the records. It having been determined, to the satisfaction of
the whole board, " that the form of an obelisk shall be adopted,
or in other words, a pyramidal structure, such as may hereafter
be agreed on," the remaining questions relative to its propor
tions, height and accessories, (although settled, in a general
way, by publications already made, and by plans prepared by
Mr. Willard, to test the question of cost,) were finally determin
ed by the acceptance of the
FINAL EEPORT OF COLONEL BALDWIN.
We have obtained the original of Colonel Baldwin's report, —
one of the few papers of importance which have been preserved
among what are by courtesy called " the archives of the associa
tion." It recommends "an obelisk or frustum of a quadran
gular pyramid, the base of which shall be a square of thirty feet
on each side, to rise two hundred and twenty feet from the plat
form or ground on which it is to be erected, to be surmounted
with an apex having its upper angle ninety degrees, and to be
fifteen feet square at the top, agreeably to the plans and section
herewith presented."
It further recommends, " that its four faces shall be respec
tively opposite the four cardinal pojnts of the compass, and the
north and south faces shall intersect at right angles, the plane of
the meridian passing through the axis of the monument."
Also that the foundation shall be twelve feet in depth and fifty
feet square, with offsets, and built of stones of large dimensions ;
and that in order to obtain a sufficient knowledge of the soil, &c.
it is expedient to sink a well near the proposed site.
That the site shall be carefully examined, " to ascertain at
what level, in relation to the surface of the hill about it, the
platform should be fixed, so that in forming the terre-plein, or
suitable and convenient area round the monument, an economical
disposition of the earth shall be obtained. . . . Upon this
point the committee consider it very essential to preserve as high

78 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
a level for the platform as the nature of the land will admit,
consistent with that easy approach to, and promenade round, a
public monument of so much grandeur and importance."
That "the obeUsk shall be erected ofthe dimensions and pro
portions and in the manner represented in the plan and section
of the drawing herewith presented," — the general outlines of
which are described and have been mainly followed in the struc
ture as now completed.
The report also recommends that contracts be made for sup
plying the material, making the excavations, dressing and ham
mering the stones, &c., but that the erection of the obeUsk shall
be " entrusted to the care and superintendence of an experienced
stone-mason, of known industry and integrity, and the work to
be' performed by hired workmen under his direction."
That "some skilful architect should be employed, in whom
the public as well as the board may justly have confidence, who
shall make and prepare the detailed and working plans, and who
shall see that the execution of the monument shaU be through
out, faithfully and substantially performed, agreeably to the
plans and directions to be adopted and delivered by the board,
or a committee by them appoiated for that purpose."
The report further recommends the appointment of a Building
Committee of three members, with full authority to employ
an architect, make contracts, &c. By a vote of the Directors
the number was increased to five.
After the completion of the monument, " and not before,"
the committee recommend around the obelisk, "a firm platform
of broad, well-hammered stones, resting on foundation walls, and
extending to the distance of twenty feet from each face of the
building, having at the exterior boundary three steps, of not
more than eight inches rise each, running round the whole plat
form." This terre-plein, it is suggested, should now be con
structed according to the original design.
In concluding their report the committee state that " several
other propositions have been examined, which presented dimen-

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 79
sions and proportions varying from those of the plan they herein
recommend. One scheme was to preserve the relative propor
tion of base and top, and to make the base a square of forty feet
and the top twenty feet. Another was to enlarge the base to
forty or fifty feet, and give the top a proportionally smaller area,
so as to present an outline more distinctly pyramidal ; but your
committee having taken into consideration the funds already
provided or probably attainable, as well as the practical compli
ance %ith the general wishes of the board and the public, had no
hesitation in adopting the plan recommended, as the one most
Ukely to be finally and satisfactorily accompUshed."
The following copy of a letter shows that pending the discus
sion, an obeUsk had been suggested by Mr. Ticknor, and also
what Mr. Willard's views were upon the subject :
" Dear Sir, - — I have made another slight sketch of the obe
Usk you suggested. I have supposed that the monument would
be enclosed by an iron fence and have sketched the frustums of
pyramids, in the Egyptian style, at the angles, which may serve
as accompaniments and also for a lodge, watch house, &c. The
obelisk and base is as sketched before, with the addition of a
broad platform and a subterranean entrance.
" It has always seemed to me that any of the three figures
which have been proposed, if well designed, would make a re
spectable monument. The obeUsk I have always preferred for
its severe cast and its nearer approach to the simplicity of nature
than the others. The column might be more splendid. The
character of the obelisk, without a pedestal, seems to me to be
strictly appropriate for the occasion and I think would rank first
as a specimen of art and be highly creditable to the taste of
the age. " Yours, respectfully,
" George Ticknor, Esq. Solomon Willard."

80 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
In the report of the Building Committee, made the next year,
June 17, 1826, referring to the presentation to them of a plan
" of an edifice m the form of a Gothic church," it is said :
" While this committee were disposed to give their respectful
attention to the representation alluded to, they could not take a
measure of any description thereon. Whatever the individual
opinions of this committee may have been, they are sensible that
the design had the sanction of two Boards of Directors in two
different years ; that it underwent discussions perhaps without
example in this country, if the time and labor employed in them
are considered, and the talents of those who took part in them,
are estimated as they should be. Moreover it has seemed to
them, so far as they have been able to judge, that the choice of
the Directors has been sanctioned by pubUc opinion, as fully as
any design of this description ever was or can be."
During the whole period of discussion and action, on the sub
ject of a design for the monument, Mr. Willard appears to have
been on the most intimate terms with the Standing Committee,
the Directors and the several committees of the association to
whose consideration it was successively referred. He was free
ly and constantly consulted by them and not only sketched out
lines of various designs but prepared one or more models of his
plans for their use. His views of the matter are shown in the
following remarks :
" The general dimensions of the obelisk that was adopted were
thirty feet at the base, and two hundred and twenty feet high ;
with stairs to the top ; and a foundation twelve feet deep and
fifty feet in diameter at the bottom. The directors would have
preferred a structure of greater magnitude, had the state of the
finances warranted it.
" In order to ascertain the size of the largest obeUsk that could
be safely undertaken, estimates were made of the expense of

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 81
three, of different dimensions ; all, however, of two hundred and
twenty feet m height.
" An estimate was made for one of fifteen feet base, with a
pedestal, in imitation of one of the Roman antiquities. Another
estimate was made for one of the dimensions finally adopted ;
and a third for one of forty feet base. But after mature consid
eration, it was decided that one of thirty feet base was as large
as could be safely undertaken with the means at disposal.
" It will be perceived, therefore, that the size of the obelisk
had necessarily to conform to the means available ; and it was
so decided by the committee on the designs. But whatever re
lated to the form and arrangement of the details — the construc
tion, and mode of carrying the work into execution — was left
entirely to the architect and superintendent ofthe work."*

* "Plans and Sections ofthe ObeUsk on Bunker's HUl, with detaUs ofthe
Experiments made in quarrying the Granite. By S. WUlard, Architect and
Superintendent of the work." Boston, 1843. Quarto, pp. 31.

11

82 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER XI.

AUTHORSHIP OF THE DESIGN FOR THE MONUMENT.

We have given in the preceding chapter as fuU an account of
the proceedings of the Board of Directors, regarding the design
or plan of the monument, as their records allow. It is incom
plete and unsatisfactory, affording no decisive evidence as to the
authorship of the design or of the part several persons are said
to have had in its production — its suggestion or modification.
We have never supposed that there was a great deal of credit
due to any one person, or in fact to any number of persons, for
the mere form of the monument, since it is entirely without any
claim to originality of design, and if it is indicative of genius in
this respect, it belongs to a remote antiquity. The form of a
column is nature's own, exhibited in almost endless proportions
in the vegetable kingdom ; the form of an obeUsk — simply mak
ing the column quadrangular — is so readily accomplished that,
though not simultaneous, must have soon succeeded the column,
wherever either was applicable in art or architecture. The only
claim that can be set up in relation to the design of the Bunker
Hill Monument is for the first suggestion, not for the copying
of any particular form, or expanding the proportions of any par
ticular structure. So far as the external form of the monument
is concerned, the merit of that belongs not to the builders of
the present age. Nevertheless there are those who claim tbe
design, for themselves or others, and also the reward publicly

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 83
offered by the Directors. And still there is no pretension of
originaUty, unless it be in some additions or ornamentations, all
of which were rejected.
The obelisk form, in contradistinction to a monumental col
umn, was not the suggestion of a single mind, but was present
ed to the committee, from two or three sources, as appears from
Mr. Willard's letter to Mr. Ticknor, already quoted, and the
report of the Building Committee of 1826. In the course of the
discussion in the Board of Directors, which was continued so
long and sustained with so much ability, learning and investiga
tion, the merits ofthe various forms were elaborately presented,
and when the vote was proposed the minds of all were made up
and the result showed a decision not again to be disturbed, — the
friends of the obelisk form were more than two to one. Of the
second committee, of which General Dearborn was the chairman,
three members voted in favor of a monumental column and the
two other members did not vote on the question.
We have seen that Mr. Willard made the earliest designs for
the monument, before the offer of a premium, which were exhib
ited at the first meeting of the Standing Committee, and there is
satisfactory evidence in the bound volume of designs and plans,*
preserved by the association, that he made the last, which was
adopted, and in strict conformity with which the monument has
been constructed ; and notwithstanding all that has been said and
claimed on the subject, for modifications and improvements, is in
wonderful conformity with the earliest ideas entertained and
published by the friends of the enterprise.
We have no disposition to claim for Mr. Willard what he did
not think it necessary to claim for himself; and what we, with-

* There is in this volume a large plan, drawn by Mr. WUlard, which is
undoubtedly the plan reported by Colonel Baldwin. It shows a section of the
whole structure, from foimdation to cap-stone, with the interior and exterior
waUs, the courses of the foundation, the circular steps, and also a ground plan
of the foundation — ¦ precisely as delineated in Mr. Willard's priated volume. —
In conformity wtih this design the working plans were made.

84 MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD.
out any intention to underrate the importance of the question of
a design, esteem of less moment than some others, on the score
of merit. But it is very clear, we think, that the merit, what
ever that may be, of the design as finally adopted and carried
out, belongs chiefly to Mr. Willard, by whom it was reached
through what was very nearly an experimental process. In
the greater merit of the work, — the construction, - — - of which
we shall speak hereafter, Mr. Willard's claims are beyond Uie
reach of question or cavil.
The premium offered by the Directors for the best design sub
mitted, was never awarded, and the action of the board in regard
to it indicates that no one of the competitors was, in their judg
ment, entitled to receive it. The premium proposed was one
hundred dollars, and the only money paid, (Mr. Willard de
cUned to charge or receive anything for the various services
rendered by him,) on account of the design, was the amount of
fifty dollars paid to Captain Alexander Parris, " For plans and
estimates made for the intended monument, made by direction of
H. A. S. Dearborn."
The reader will not be surprised, after what has been said,
to know that the question of the authorship of the design is by
some parties smartly controverted, — though we know of no
pretensions that can for a moment exclude those of Mr. Willard.
The following letter to Mr. Ticknor, and the enclosui-e from Mr.
Mills, on this subject, form a part of the history of the work and
are deemed proper for insertion in this place :
" Boston, October 4th, 1832.
" Sir, — The enclosed is a letter written by Mr. R. Mills, a
respectable architect residing at the south, and will speak for
itself. It was put into my hands some months ago, and I have
sent it to you, presuming that you were better acquamted with
the subject than any other person. I recollect seeing at the
exhibition, the drawings in oil referred to ; but had always sup
posed they were the production of Mr. Allston or Mr. Morse.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 85
I propose to publish a work in relation to the monument, show
ing the construction and giving to the public the results of our
experiments, and should like to be able to give credit wherever
it is due. There has been something from the beginning in
relation to the subject that I have not been able to understand.
On the plate that is deposited, Mr. Parris is said to be architect ;
in the North American Review for July, 1830,* Mr. Greenough
is said to be the inventor, and Mr. Mills's letter shows that he
considers himself the designer. I was not aware that either of
them had anything to do with the design that is in progress. —
Indeed so far as relates to the accessories, and the height, I did
not know that the design was yet determined on.f
" If you can give me any information where the design origi
nated, or in relation to Mr. Mills's claims, or can refer to the
paper containing the advertisement for the design, it would
oblige much. Mr. Mills evidently thinks there has been some
unfairness — and I consider it due to myself to inform him that
it does not attach to me.
" Yours, respectfully, &c., Solomon Willard.
" George Ticknor, Esq,, Park street."
We have not been able to find any answer to this letter : it
probably was not answered, as no reference is made to the sub
ject in Mr. Willard's published " work." Our inference from
the letter, is that he was a little annoyed by the disputatious

* This must be a mistake : the North American Review does not contain
any article on the subject between the years 1824 and 1882.
t In 1834, May 5th, the Directors on the report of the Executive Commit
tee, discussed and passed the following vote, viz : "That the Monument be
raised to the height of one hundred and fifty-nine feet six inches, and be con
sidered as completed, when raised to that elevation, as to the effort to be made
at this time." Records of the Association.
This was long after Mr. WiUard's letter was written. He, of course, was op
posed to the measure. The " effort to be made" was that undertaken by the
Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association.

86 MEMOIR OF SOLOMO;sr WILLARD.
character which the question had assumed and the "something
in the beginning" that he could not understand. He had work
ed in good faith, and had made and modified several designs,
to make them acceptable to the committee and within the proba
ble means of the association. If suggestions were made to him,
he could not know whether they were original or purloined, and
was in no way responsible for their use — • if any such were used,
as Mr. Mills rather broadly insinuates.
In reference to the inscribing of Captain Parris's name on the
plate, as architect, the only explanation to be given is, that it was
his own act, authorized, (as he seems to have supposed,) by the
circumstance that he was employed by Dr. Warren to " make
preparations for the laying the corner-stone," and the fact that
he was a prominent candidate for the office. Among other du
ties he procured the engraving of the plate. His bill for this
service contains the following particulars (omitting the items.) :
For expenses, labor, materials, &c., $336.48 ; For engraving
plate, $131.00 ; Total, $467.48. On the face of this biU is the
following memorandum : " My own services I will not at present
make any account of." Subsequently, Captain Parris presented
a bill, which was paid, containing two charges : the one above-
mentioned for " plans and estimates," and another : " For
services in making preparations for the laying the corner-stone,
by order of Dr. John C. Warren, f 50.00." The wrong done
to Mr. Willard, inadvertently and certainly without any design
on the part of Captain Parris, is almost irreparable ; and so,
doubtless, Mr. Willard felt it to be when, with his own hands,
he placed the box containing the plate, under the true corner
stone, more than a year after the ceremony the professional
part of which Captain Parris superintended.
The advertisement for a design, which appears not to have
been seen by Mr. WUlard, we judge had a very Umited circula
tion. It was inserted only once in the Boston paper in which
we found it, and was left to the voluntary action of other pub-
Ushers, who might not see it, or might not choose to do the work

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 87
at their own expense. As its statements and requirements are
somewhat pecuUar, we copy the principal portion of it :
" The Committee esteem it their duty on this occasion, to act
altogether in conformity with the public taste and judgment. — ¦
For this reason, although there are some obvious recommenda
tions of a Column as the best form for a monumental structure,
on the spot in question, yet the committee are determined to
propose no plan whatever to the association till they have had
the means of comparing all the suggestions which may be offered
by the architectural skill and genius of the country. They
accordingly pubUsh their invitation to artists, without any limi
tation ; and are desirous of receiving proposals and plans for a
monumental structure of whatever character or design. But as
a column is recommended, by various local circumstances, and
appears to enjoy a general preference, the comniittee are partic
ularly desirous to receive plans of a Monumental Column of
about 220 feet in height, to be built of hewn granite.
" It is wished that proposals should contain two plans : one,
the architectural plan and elevation of the work, with a suitable
scale ; vertical and horizontal sections of the interior ; particular
statements of the proportions and magnitudes of the members ;
and if a column, drawings of the ornamental portions of the ped
estal : and the other, a handsomely finished perspective view of
the work. For the plan of this description, which shall appear
to merit the preference, the committee offer a reward of one
hundred dollars." ME. EOBEET MILLS'S LETTEE.
The following is the letter from Mr. Mills, addressed to his
friend, Richard Wallack, Esq., which was handed to Mr. Wil
lard, and by him sent to Mr. Ticknor : —
" City of Washington, July 1st, 1832.
" Dear Sir, — Understanding that you will remain in Boston
some time, I would take the Uberty of asking you to represent

88 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
me in a case in which I am professionally interested : When
the Bunker HiU Monument committee advertised for designs for
the monument, I took a good deal of pains to study one which
should do honor to the memory of those worthies it was intended
to commemorate, and prove an ornament to the city which it
was to overlook. I went into some detail on the subject of
monuments generally, and in sending them two designs, I re
commended in strong terms the adoption of the Obelisk design,
not only from its combining simplicity and economy with gran
deur, but as there was already a column of massy proportions
erected in Baltimore, we ought not, therefore, to repeat this
figure, but construct one of equally imposing figure. I was
then residing in South Carolina, and was at much trouble to
forward the roll of drawings to their place of destination.. I
never heard anything on the subject of these drawings until it
was announced that the committee had adopted the Obelisk form
for the Bunker Hill Monument, and I was left to conjecture
what part of my design was taken and what left, until some time
after, when I saw that all the decorations were omitted, and the
naked pillar preserved in all its original proportions. (By the
way, I would observe that the committee have erred in omitting
the simple decorations proposed in my design ; the grand gallery
about one-third the height of the shaft would have been usefiil
as a lookout platform as well as presenting an appropriate deco
ration, as the outUne of the gallery showed the monumental
character used by the Egyptians, from which nation originated
the obelisk form.)
" From the obeUsk design being adopted, and my having re
commended this form to them, I thought it was a courtesy due
from the gentlemen to have dropped me a line of thanks for the
trouble I had taken in the business, though they may have not
awarded me the premium, as they may have made a design
themselves, and simpUfied that sent, which however does not
obliterate the idea. [Mr. Mills has just remarked that the idea
originated with the Egyptians, to which he certamly had no

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 89
personal or professional claim. As the Egyptian obelisks were
erected before the Christian era, the idea had been public prop
erty for many centuries.]
" I would ask the favor of you, my dear sir, to see or inquire
of any gentleman of the committee if there was any other design
of tbe obelisk form presented for adoption to the committee with
mine, and where this design came from, and if such design was
offered, whether it was not made in Boston, or neighborhood,
and if so, should not some credit be given to me at the distance
I was, for suggesting the same idea ? The design now carrying
into execution bears all the proportions of that I sent them, and
I ought reasonably to infer that some reference must have been
had to my drawings. If the committee are not disposed to
award me any credit for my design, I would thank you to pro
cure my drawings, and when you have an opportunity forward
them to me. The drawings were on a large scale and finished
in oil colors, with a distant view of Boston in the back-ground.
" With sentiments of respect, and esteem, dear sir, I salute
you, Robert Mills."

The following is that portion of the remarks of Mr. Mills, in
his communication to the Standing Committee, in which he
recommends the Obelisk form. Plans were to be received until
the first of April, and this communication is dated at Columbia,
S. C, March 20, 1825 :
" In the designs for the monument which I now have the
honor to lay before you, I would recommend the adoption of the
Obelisk form in preference to the Column. The details I have
affixed to this species of pillar will be found to give it a peculi
arly interesting character, embracing originality of effect with
simplicity of design, economy in execution, great solidity and
capacity for decoration, reaching the highest degree of splendor
cons'istunt with good taste.
12

90 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
" The Obelisk form is, for monuments, of greater antiquity
than the Column, as appears from history, being used as early
as the days of Rameses, King of Egypt, in the time of the Tro
jan War. Kercher reckons up fourteen Obelisks, that were
celebrated above the rest, namely, that of Alexander ; that of
the Barberines ; those of Constantinople ; of the Mons Esquli-
nus ; of the Campus Flaminius ; of Florence ; of HeliopoUs ;
of Ludovisco ; of Saint Makut ; of the Medici ; of the Vatican ;
of M. CoeUus, and that of Pamphila. The highest on record
mentioned is that of Ptolemy Philadelphus in memory of Ar
sinoe. " The Obelisk form is peculiarly adapted to commemorate
great transactions, for its lofty character, great strength, and
furnishing a fuie surface for inscriptions. There is a degree of
lightness and beauty in it that affords a finer relief to the eye
than can be obtained in the regular proportioned column."

We have given to Mr. Mills the benefit of his letter and his
original recommendations of the Obelisk form. They present
his case in its strongest light, and in a manner which seems to
require either explanation or answer. This, perhaps, is not de
manded here. Probably the committee regarded his design as
a whole — not in parts — and as such, whatever they might have
thought of its proportions, it was not accepted by them. They
could not accept a part of it, or modify and then accept it as a
whole. Besides, the decorative parts, which alone were truly
his, were certainly not acceptable to the committee, and when
stripped of these, only the "naked pillar" was left — which
was an Egyptian obelisk, such as others had suggested and
such as, under the circumstances, was not entitled to the offered
reward. As to the " original proportions," claimed by Mr.
Mills, the principal measurement, which more or less controlled
tliii vest, — the height, — ¦5\as determined by the committee in

MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD. 91
their advertisement ; the diameters had also been mentioned and
estimates made of others by Mr. Willard, and "after mature
deliberation it was decided that one of thirty feet base was as
large as. could be safely undertaken." Evidently Mr. Mills
relied much upon the "simple decorations proposed in his de
sign," and thought the committee made a mistake in not adopt
ing them ; but they desired a structure which should be substan
tial and grand, not decorative. In short, they did not approve
or accept Mr. Mills's design, and therefore could not give to
him the reward. Ths intimation in Mr. Mills's letter, of any
unfairness in the matter, Mr. Willard did well promptly to re-
pudi-ate as not 'attaching to him. As against the committee or
the Board of Directors, such an implication is not to be credited
for a moment.
So far as Mr. Willard is concerned in the remarks of Mr.
Mills, he has answered, with all the force of brevity and truth,
in the letter to Mr. Ticknor, " I was not aware that either of
them, [Messrs. Parris, Greenough, or Mills,] had anything to do
with the design that is in progress." This was said by Mr.
Willard after he had become aware of the claims of each of these
parties. As he made the design that was in progress, he ought
to have known whether either of them had anything to do with
it or not. It is presumed that neither Mr. Mills or any other
artist will claim a premium for the idea of the obelisk form, and
as regards the proportions, we know that Mr. Willard made
designs of three different diameters for the last committee. How
many he had previously made, some of which he modelled also,
we are not able to say ; but we think he spent weeks in the ser
vice of the association in making designs and estimates, where
Mr. Mills or any other artist, spent hours, — and at no time
did he ask for or accept any compensation for his labor, his
expenses or his time.
We conclude, if the premium offered by the committee for a
design was justly to be claimed by any one it was Mr. Willard.
He never claimed it, and if it had been awarded to him he would

92 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
have placed it in the treasury of the association. Notwithstand
ing his untiring study and long labor upon it, he professed,
honestly no doubt, not to know to whom the credit of the first
suggestion belonged. If it did not belong to him, it is quite
certain that in every other respect, he was the true and only
architect of the work, the evidence of which, it is due to his
public spirit and devoted patriotism, should be preserved, and
the fact made distinctly manifest by the association.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 93

CHAPTER XII.

CEREMONY OF LATING THE CORNER-STONE.

The corner-stone of the monument was laid, — rather figura
tively than permanently, for it was a mere ceremony, — on the
17th of June, 1825, by the Grand Lodge of Freemasons in
Massachusetts, and strange as it may seem, Mr. Willard had no
part assigned to him in the arrangements. It was one of
the most imposing spectacles ever witnessed in this country, or,
in some respects, in any other country. It was not simply that
such a work — the spontaneous undertaking of a free and grate
ful people, — was to be inaugurated ; there were other induce
ments to a general observance of the day and the occasion, which
operated upon all classes. The usual recurrence of this anniver
sary was heightened in interest by the circumstance that fifty
years had elapsed since this famous battle, and the fact that but
few of the undisciplined heroes of that day still survived to par
ticipate in a work designed to commemorate the event in which
they alone, of all Uving, had taken an active part. In addition
to this, the patriotic sentiments of the country had been stirred
and gratified by the presence as the Nation's Guest, of General
Lafayette, the early and devoted friend of the country and the
associate in arms of our venerated Washington. The story of
his services to this country in^ the struggles which commenced on
Bunker Hill, and the trials and sufferings he had endured for the
establishment^ of the principles that inspired him, was patent to

94 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
the people ; and the Directors of the monument association, for
many reasons, desired his presence on the occasion. To these
considerations, Ukely to be as highly appreciated by the pubUc
as by the Directors, may be added the name and reputation of
the Orator, whose profound thought and massive eloquence were
known to be so admirably adapted to the subject and the place ;
and which will preserve the remembrance of the occasion and its
associations to the remotest posterity.
Inspired by the feeling of national pride and national fame,
which in that memorable year filled the whole country ; when
prosperity and abundance, peace and happiness crowned the
land; when all the people lived in harmony, honoring and
blessing the benignant government which blessed and protected
them — the event of which we speak, local only geographically
and belonging to the whole country, was everywhere hailed with
joy by the people, and all hearts present or absent, beat in
unison with the patriotic sentiments of the day. Then we were
ONE PEOPLE — united, prosperous, happy — having no anxious
moments about the future and never dreaming of those terrible
disasters which have destroyed our peace and people, desolated
our land and threatened our existence as a nation.
Such was the extent of popular interest and patriotic feeUng
on this anniversary, that the directors and architect, — whose
joint labors had been employed, in conjunction with the pubUc
press, to interest and arouse the people, — beheld with wonder
the spectacle presented to them, on the morning of the seven
teenth ; and felt a new impulse to effort in order that the con
templated work should be worthy of the purpose for which it
was undertaken and the noble patriotism of a community so aUve
to the value of their inheritance — an inheritance which to-day
is more estimable than ever before and which is to be preserved
as it was obtained by sacrifice and blood.
The people had assembled in numbers almost too large to esti
mate, thronging not merely the streets of Charlestown and Bos
ton, but covering the battle-field with a Uving mass as it never

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 95
had been covered before. They came from all parts of New
England, in societies and associations, with music and banners,
arms, emblems and patriotic devices, and even from distant
parts of the country — all as to the great National Altar of law
and Uberty. They came not as their fathers came, at the
roll of the drum, to lay down their lives if need be, for their
just rights ; not as then, armed with fowUng-piece and rifle ;
nor came they now for conflict of any kind, but rather as a
people filled with gratitude, to manifest their sense of obligation
to the fathers, to revive the fire of patriotism in their souls, and
perform an act of justice to an ancestry such as no country had
before seen ; and worthy of the renown which embalms their
memories. At the appointed hour there moved through the crowded streets
of these cities, on the way to the battle-field, crossing the
bridge which now spanned the " royal Charles," a procession of
military, civic and social bodies, all existing in virtue of princi
ples there baptized in blood and now emblazoned on the banners
of a people absolutely revelling in their enjoyment. Such a
sight as this moving mass afforded to the more numerous
thousands that gazed upon it, its venerable men, and the august
patriot whose fame is the just property of two great nations,
has rarely been seen in this, and as a voluntary exhibition never
in any other country. It was a spontaneous outpouring of the
people and seemed to demonstrate, more than anything else, how
correctly the movers in this enterprise had judged of their feel
ings in proposing the structure now to be commenced. Those
venerable men who were so early called upon to defend their
homes and maintain the rights they claimed, and who had alone
survived their compatriots in arms to behold this glorious and
grateful day, were everywhere greeted with enthusiastic cheers ;
while the acknowledged Apostle of Liberty, whose presence
connected a nation with the occasion, received from the gathered
thousands that grateful homage of mind and heart which would
have been the breath of life to Gesler, and was ne^er before so

96 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
rendered to any man. It was a day well spent for the nation,
and worthily by the people.
Judging from what we know of Mr. Willard's views of the
purpose of this work and his sympathy with the undertaking,
his heart must have swelled with emotion at the enthusiasm,
and he realized more forcibly than ever, how inadequate were
his powers to embody the sentiments of the occasion and give
expression to the gushing gratitude of the people in the struc
ture to be erected.
After the completion of the ceremony by the fraternity charged
with its performance, Mr. Webster, in his admirable oration on
the occasion, said,
" The foundation of that monument we have now laid. With
solemnities suited to the occasion, with prayers to Almighty God
for his blessing, and in the midst of this cloud of witnesses, we
have begun the work. We trust that it will be prosecuted, and
that, springing from a broad foundation, rising high in massive
solidity and unadorned grandeur, it may remain as long as
Heaven permits the works of man to last, a fit emblem both of
the events in memory of which it is raised, and of the gratitude
of those who have reared it."
Another purpose of Bunker Hill ]\Ionument, suggested by the
orator, in his muscular EngUsh, is peculiarly applicable at the
present time and marks the profound thought of the statesman :
" We wish that, in those days of disaster, which, as they come
upon all nations, must be expected to come upon us also, des
ponding patriotism may turn its eyes hitherward, and be assured
that the foundations of our national power are still sti-ong."
After what has been said of Mr. Willard's interest in the pro
posed monument, his continued service and his intercourse with
thc directors, it must a.ppear singular to the reader that he was
not employed to superintend the laying of the corner-stone in
preference to any other person. We do not attempt to account

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 97
for the omission, but presume it to have been inadvertent, — if
that is to be considered a sufficient excuse for the neglect. Mr.
Willard, as was to be expected of him, has not mentioned the
circumstance even in his famiUar correspondence ; and perhaps
felt that he had no right to complain. It is true that he had
not then been elected architect ; but it is also true that no other
person had been elected. No other architect had been employ
ed by the directors as he had been ; no other had been elected
to membership as he had been : for these and other considera
tions, it seems to us now that he should have been selected in
stead of a less interested party.
Nevertheless, while the laying of this corner-stone was very
properly regarded as the inauguration of the work, the true
corner-stone of the monument, upon which the structure rests,
was laid by Mr. Willard, in a workman-Uke manner, at a sub
sequent period.

13

98 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER xm.

ELECTION AS ARCHITECT AND SUPERINTENDENT.

Next in importance to the selection of a design for the mon
ument, if not in fact first in importance, was the election of an
Architect and Superintendent of the work. Great responsi
bility, — to the contributors and to posterity, — would rest upon
this officer for the faithful and skilful performance of his work,
and upon the Building Committee for his appointment. They
were not long, however, in making a selection, for at their first
meeting, October 31st, 1825, Mr. Solomon Willard was chosen
without a division. It is not too much to say that, notwith
standing what had been done four months previously, the Board
of Directors and the pubUc were prepared for this result : the
skill and judgment, the fidelity and perseverance of Mr. Willard,
and the final completion of the work under his careful superin
tendence, confirm the propriety of the choice and attest the
faithfulness with which he discharged the trust.
On the 2d of November, Mr. Willard received the following
notice of his appointment from the chairman :
" Mr. Solomon Willard, — Sir, I beg leave to inform you
that you have been chosen Architect and Superintendent of the
Monument to be erected on Bunker Hill. You will please to
inform me whether you would accept this office, and on what
terms, for a year. The duty wUl be to prepare the requisite

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 99
plans, to make contracts, and to do such other duties as may be
required for this construction under the direction of the Build
ing Conunittee. John C. Warren, Chairman."
To which Mr. WiUard, on the succeeding day, sent the fol
lowing reply :
"Dear Sir, — In reply to your note of the 2d instant, I
should be willing to render any service, in my power to forward
the views of the committee ; and as respects compensation, it
must depend on the portion of time required. If my whole time
should be thought necessary, the pay ought to be about three
dollars per day. For many reasons, however, I think that the
interests of the association would be best served by having the
services gratuitous, and if it should be thought so by the com
mittee, I will agree to it.
" I should like to haye a few minutes' conversation with you,
when other engagements will permit.
"Yours, respectfully,
Solomon Willard."
" John C. Warren, M. D., Chairman."
At the time of this appointment, Mr. WiUard, by reason of
his skill and connection with works already accomplished or in
progress ; from his acknowledged soundness of judgment and
constructive talent ; his eminent reliability of character, origi
naUty of thought and mechanical ingenuity, in some respects, to
say the least, was at the head of his profession, and had fairly
earned his position. His appointment, therefore, as architect of
the monument and superintendent of the work, was wise and
judicious, and as the result has shown, a fortunate selection on
the part of the Building Committee. We do not absolutely
know the fact, but as no other architect seems to have competed
with him for the office, we have reason to beUeve that his ap
pointment was made with the concurrence of the ablest and best

100 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
artists and architects in Boston. All things considered no one
of them, had they been disposed to seek the position and respon
sibility, could have served the association more faithfully, more
successfully or more skilfully, than did Mr. Willard.
That Mr. Willard had an honorable ambition to do this work is
undoubtedly true, and he thought the honor of the office a suffi
cient reward for the services required. It was national in its
character and in its purposes. It was an undertaking which,
at this time in his experience, he would desire, on account of its
novelty and for the reason that it might make new and profound
demands upon his mechanical as well as artistic skill. It was
the kind of excitement that he wanted, germane to his taste and
genius, consonant with his ambition, and afforded an opportunity
for that experience in the use of a building material, which he
desired to possess. If ever a man entered upon such a piece of
work, con amore, with his time, money and heart in it, it was
Mr. Willard upon this work — and he pursued it with a quiet
greatness of skill and interest worthy of a noble record and the
remembrance of every patriotic and generous heart. His soul
was in the work : it lived in his thoughts, journeyed with him,
and tarried wherever he tarried. During the progress of it,
he was at the quarry, the railway, the site of the monument,
ready with hahd to help or word to direct ; and while working
without pay and employing the best mechanics at Uberal wages,
he exerted himself to avoid every unnecessary expense. The
reader of his letters, estimates and calculations, would infer that
his leading purpose was to see how cheaply stone could be got
out and worked, and with how Uttle expense the monument
could be built.
On the 9th instant, the following contract was drawn up and
signed by the parties, and by an understanding between them,
was to continue in force for one year :
" Memorandum of an agreement made by Solomon Willard,
on the one part, and John C. Warren, in the capacity of Chair-

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 101
man ofthe Building Committee of the Bunker HiU Monument,
on the other part, — Witnesseth, That the said Willard agrees
to prepare the requisite models and drawings for an Obelisk, to
be erected on Bunker HUl ; to aid in making the contracts, and
to superintend the completion of the same ; and also to do such
other duties as may be required — In consideration of five hun
dred dollars per year, to be paid for such services by the said
Warren. " In testimony whereof, the parties have hereunto set their
hands this ninth day of November, eighteen hundred and
twenty-five.
John C. Warren.
Solomon Willard."
Previously to his election, in June, 1825, after the committee
had decided upon the form of the monument, Mr. WiUard
addressed a letter of which the following is the substance,* to
Mr. Ticknor, giving his views as to the best manner of carrying
forward the work :
" I have seen by the papers that the committee have adopted
the obelisk for the monument, and as I have more than a com
mon interest in its being carried into effect in a spirited and
economical manner, I hope that a few hints, respecting the best
course, will not be considered impertinent.
" A Building Committee should be chosen, who are favorably
disposed to the design, and who will unite heartily in carrying
it into execution. An agent may be employed to assist in mak
ing the contracts, and an architect, if his services are considered
necessary. The services of the committee and agents should be
gratuitous, as the honor of the employment will be a sufficient
compensation. The committee should mature the designs in all

* This is the letter referred to on page 59, ante.

102 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
their details. The form, dimension and tonnage of every block
of stone in the structure, should be kiiown, and the manage
ment of the contracts should be the same as would be employed
in an individual concern.
" After the dimensions, the quantity and quality of the stock
wanted, is known, it might be well to advertise for proposals for
supplying it. I do not apprehend much difficulty in procuring
any of the stone at a fair price, except the blocks for the outside,
which being of considerable dimensions, and required to be of
stock which is very valuable to those who have it, will prob
ably be held very high. Should this be the case, it might be
better for the association to buy the quarry and to employ a
skilful superintendent to see the stone quarried. An experiment
might also be made to ascertain the cost of dressing the stone
per foot, that the committee may judge of the economy of having
them done at the Prison — and also to determine the probable
cost of the work.
"It is estimated that the stock quarried would be worth
twelve and a half cents per foot cubic measure, at the quarry ;
dressing for twenty-five cents per foot superficial, including cost
of tools, and twelve and a half cents for the beds. The transpor
tation may cost two dollars per ton, deUvered at the Hill or
State Prison.
" Taking a block of stone of mean dimensions, of ten feet long,
three feet wide, and one foot six inches thick, it will contain
forty-five cubic feet, which at twelve and a half cents per foot,
will amount to $5 62J
30 feet of face dressing, at 25 cents, 7 50
30 feet of beds, at 12^ cents, 3 75
Transportation of 3J tons, at $2, 6 50

Total cost per block, $23 37J

" A stone of the given dimensions, according to the foregoing
estimate, will cost twenty-three dollars thirty-seven and a half

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 103
cents, if it be transported in the usual way ; but should a rail
way be constructed, as has been suggested, it may save much
expense in so large an undertaking.
" I should Uke to have the work commenced skilfully and in
a spirited manner, and to see it finished before the public become
tired and disgusted as is usually the case. I feel some soUcita-
tion for the good management, having given estimates and know
ing from experience that false steps at the outset are with diffi
culty corrected, and not generally perceived until too late for a
remedy. " The quarry which I mentioned the other day, has been
purchased expressly for the work ; but if on examination, the
Directors should not think it the most eUgible, it will be no loss.
Yours, respectfully, &c.
Solomon Willard.
These suggestions were favorably considered and acted upon
in each distinct particular by the Directors, but they were not
permitted to see the work finished as speedily as desired by Mr.
WiUard. Of his election the Building Comniittee, in their first
report, June 17th, 1826, speak as follows : —
" No sooner was the Building Committee organized than they
proceeded to the election of an architect and superintendent, and
chose Mr. Solomon Willard, a gentleman whose talents and per
severance had already called forth in his favor a distinct expres
sion of the opinion that he was well qualified to execute a new
and difficult structure. Mr. Willard readily undertook the office,
but he was desirous of making it a condition of his acceptance
that his services should be gratuitously rendered to a work origi
nating from sentiments of patriotism. To this proposal, however,
the committee did not feel justified in acceding. They knew
that the Superintendent would be called upon to devote a large
part of his time to the objects connected with so great a work.
They therefore, felt bound to provide him with a proper salary

104 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
for his support, and with this, though much less than what his
merits might, have demanded, Mr. Willard declared himself
perfectly satisfied."
Notwithstanding these remarks of the committee, readers of
the present day wUl be inclined to the opinion that they did, m
¦point of fact, accede to Mr. WiUard's proposition, for in no just
sense, either then or now, can a compensation of five hundred
dollars per annum, be regarded as a " proper salary for his sup
port." A really proper salary for such services as were to be
rendered by Mr. Willard, would be as many thousands as the
committee adjudged him hundreds ; and from first to last, his
services were gratuitously rendered, he receiving, as Mr. Amos
Lawrence says, "merely his necessary expenses, which were
very small."
It seems fitting to pause here for a moment, to consider the
position which Mr. Willard had gained to himself and the means
and appliances by which he had gained it. The honorable char
acter of the position will readily be admitted. As to the means,
they were such, and such only, as every young man, in our
favored country, has within himself His advantages of reading
and education, adequate as these have proved to be in so many
instances, by prompting to higher efforts, were quite inferior to
those enjoyed by the young men of the present day. In the
latter he had no other opportunities than those afforded by the
public schools of his native town, probably open only a portion
of each year, and his attendance was doubtless interrupted by
his labors in the field and the shop. Without pubUc Ubraries,
few books were to be obtained in a country town seventy or
eighty years ago ; and these few most likely unsuited to his taste
or desires, and not the best calculated to engage his attention or
develope his mind. As in the case of Dr. FrankUn, whose first
books were on matters of " polemic divinity," they answered the
purpose of the moment and created the desire for more congenial
reading and study. Men in humble life, who have shown any

MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD. 105
remarkable qualities or become celebrated in the world's history,
have generally been devourers of books, reading all which they
were able to obtain, almost without regard to their contents.
Mr. Willard's mind in youth, turned naturally to mechanics,
and probably there were not half a dozen books in his native
town, on any branch of science or art, of a character calculated
to afford him any instruction which he could make available to
his taste or inclinations. It was not, therefore, until he came
to Boston, master of his own time and thereafter to be the
"architect ofhis own fortunes," that he could reach higher and
better means of self-culture, then and now open to young men
of studious and exemplary habits in the metropolitan city. How
he availed himself of these — economized his earnings and im
proved his time — is shown by his Ufe and the position to which
he had now been chosen. Wisely spending his money for books
and such instruction as he desired, he acquired information very
rapidly, and in one of his favorite pursuits, soon ceased to
be a pupil, though always a learner, and became a teacher. Not
only did he seek his own improvement, but took an interest in
affording the means of improvement to others. He was early
interested in the " Social Architectural Library of Boston,"
(November, 1809,) the "Associated Housewrights' Society,"
the "Boston Mechanics' Institution," the " Scientific Library,"
and other similar associations, and for a number of years was a
subscriber to the Athenaeum. In his efforts to educate himself
and popularize knowledge, he was associated with such men as
Bowditch, Claxton, Moody, TreadweU and others, — men who
were willing to assist in a good cause and contribute their share
to the mutual improvement and social elevation of the commu
nity. Especially did the mechanic interests of Boston profit by
their generous efforts.
With means of his own and the appliances of his industry,
Mr. Willard became preeminently qualified for the position to
which he was elected. So well known was this that the public
judgment pointed him out as the man to be entrusted with such
14

106 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
an enterprise. In the commencement of the work, he entered
at once into plans for its speedy and economical accompUshment ;
made suggestions to the Directors and Building Committee, and
responded readily to any suggestions they had to make to him.
He felt at all times the responsibility of his position and the
necessity there was for certainty and accuracy in his calcula
tions, — and he looked forward with ardent desire for the ac
compUshment of his designs and the attainment of a just reward
for his labors.
At the time of his election, Mr. Willard was forty-two years
of age, having been twenty-one years, almost to a day, in the
city, (with the exception of his visits to the south, ) working
and pursuing his education.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 107

CHAPTER XlV.

PURCHASE OF THE BUNKER HILL QUARRY.

While the Board of Directors was engaged in devising plans
to obtain the means wherewith to build the monument, Mr. Wil
lard was seeking for a suitable material of which to construct it.
He took care to inform himself on the subject of monuments
generally, and especially of their peculiar characteristics, the
nature of the material used and the manner of construction. —
His idea, — though not at. all pecuUar to himself, but held in
common with the whole community, — was that the work should
be of extraordinary magnitude and built of durable and massive
materials. His taste and experience were opposed to outside-
show as a quality in architecture, and especially against every
thing of that nature in construction. No brick-and-mortar
work, however grand the proportions, would have met his views,
not even were the outside to be of a durable and unexceptionable
material. An occasion so well worthy of a monument, com
mended itself to all as worthy of one which should be massive,
soUd and durable ; something bolder, nobler and grander, than
art had yet furnished ; something more adequate to the com
memoration — not of a man, or a battle-field merely, but of a
code of great principles, and of the gratitude of a whole
people. Everybody felt what was wanted, but time and labor
were required for its attainment — much more of each, before

108 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
the end, than was contemplated, or peradventure the work would
hardly have been undertaken.
Interesting as this question of material was to the commu-
munity, it was much more so to Mr. Willard and called forth
exertions as extraordinary as they were necessary and success
ful. As already intimated, before the design of the monument
had been decided, he hfed been actively occupied in exploring the
country in pursuit of a quarry from which could be obtaiaed
blocks of sufficient size for the purpose, and in a location to be
made available with existing means of transportation. This
was one of the most laborious undertakings of Mr. Willard in
connection with the monument, and he was indefatigable in its
accomplishment. We have no means, from any record of his
own, of ascertaining the extent or cost of these explorations, but
they were in both respects very considerable. The only refer
ence to them which we have found is the following note, in the
hand-writing of Mr. Lawrence, on a blank leaf preceding the
records of the Building Committee, of which he was for three
years, (from June, 1827, to June, 1830,) the Secretary :
" Solomon Willard walked three hundred miles to examine
" granite quarries, (Hallowell and other places,) gave a thous-
" and dollars to the monument association, and worked Uke a
" dog for the association for years, for merely his necessary ex-
" penses, (which were very small,) and is now at work at
" Quincy. Boston, August, 1849.
(Signed,) Amos Lawrence."
The result of these journeyings was the selection of what was
subsequently known as the " Bunker Hill Quarry," m Quincy,
— a most fortunate selection and one manifestly made with a
wise judgment. A quarry was also purchased by a member of
the Building Committee, (Mr. Lawrence,) at Rockport, Cape
Ann, where it was supposed pecuUar facilities would be secured
in shipping the blocks to Charlestown ; but this was not

memoir of SOLOMON WILLARD. 109
considered as desirable as the quarry at Quincy, and was never
owned by the association.
The quarry discovered by Mr. Willard, was purchased in
June, 1825, by Mr. Gridley Bryant, of Frederick Hardwick,
and conveyed to him by deed, dated the 9th of that month. The
conveyance was of " all the rocks or stones, on and in a certain
piece of woodland, lying in the town of Quincy aforesaid, in the
— lot, so called, and was part of the estate of Nathaniel Savil,
containing four acres, more or less, and is bounded and butted
as foUows, viz : southerly on woodland formerly owned by Cap
tain John Hall, deceased, now owned by said Hardwick, Ebene
zer Crane and George Nightingale ; westerly, northwardly and
eastwardly,- on woodland of Hon. John Quincy Adams, and
however bounded, or reputed to be bounded, together with the
privilege of taking away or removing said rocks or stones, at
any time hereafter, to suit said Bryant's convenience — and
fiirther it being understood by the parties, that the said Bryant
shall have a right to cut, clear off any of the wood, or remove
any other obstacle that may hinder or prevent the said Bryant
from taking and carting off the rocks or stone, whenever he
pleases, on or in said lot — and it is hereby agreed between said
parties, that all the wood that said Bryant shall cut on said lot,
, shall belong to said Frederick Hardwick." The consideration
paid by Mr. Bryant was two hundred and fifty dollars. [This
is the quarry referred to in the letter to Mr. Ticknor in the
preceding chapter.]
In November, immediately after the election of Mr. Willard,
and upon his recommendation, the quarry was purchased, and
Mr. Bryant conveyed to the Bunker Hill Monument Associa
tion "the privilege of quarrying any quantity of stone which
may be wanted in erecting said monument, from a quarry which
said Bryant purchased of Frederick Hardwick, in June last, the
same lying in Quincy — in consideration of the sum of three
hundred and twenty-five dollars," Mr. Bryant, like most other

110 MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD.
men, regarding it as an ordinary business transaction and
taking a handsome profit.
On the sixteenth of this month, the committee pubUshed an
advertisement for proposals for furnishing the stone required for
the monument ; but it is presumed, from what had already been
suggested by Mr. Willard, that no proposals which the committee
could accept, were looked for, — at any rate, however this might
be, the committee deemed it prudent to secure the ledge while
it was at their option.
The location of the " Bunker Hill Ledge" is described above
in the words of the deed of conveyance ; its distance from the
site of the monument, by the land route thi-ough. Boston, was
measured under the direction of Mr. Alexander Wadsworth, who
reported as follows : — " Boston, November 10th, 1834.
" Solomon Willard, Esq., — Sir, The measures reported by
my chainman, who measured for me the distance by the road,
from the Bunker Hill Ledge, in Quincy, to the monument on
Bunker Hill, are as follows, to wit :
Feom Bunker Hill Ledge to — m:
Howard's Corner,
Railway House,
Stone marked "8 M. to Boston,"
Commencement of lower road, at mills.
Road leading to Neponset Bridge,
Turnpike, Glover's Corner, ....
Draw of Free Bridge [to South Boston,]
Church, head of Sea street,
Hanover St., through Federal and Marshall,
Bunker Hill Monument, .
" Very truly, yours,
Alexander Wadsworth."

[LES.

QES.

EODi

0

3

40

2

2

58

2

3

0

4

2

0

5

2

40

6

0

44

7

1

40

10

0

16

10

2

4

11

0

72

12

1

29 1

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. Ill
The Building Committee, in their first report, speak of the
purchase of this quarry as follows :¦ — ¦
" On the recommendation of the Superintendent, they then
proceeded to examine a ledge of rocks discovered by him in the
town of Quincy, and found there a magnificent range of granite
containing materials inexhaustible, the use of which they imme
diately, for a trifling sum, secured for the benefit of this cor
poration. " The design of the committee in making this purchase was
to quarry the stone on account of the corporation, instead of
buying it ; and this mode they have the strongest reason to be
Ueve, will put it in their power to make a great saving of ex
pense. Their intention at the time of- the purchase was to have
begun the cutting of the stone immediately ; and they expected
to have been able to convey it by land, a distance of two miles
only, with greatest economy in the winter season, so that by
spring a sufficient quantity might be ready at the water's edge,
in Quincy, to be transported by water to Charlestown, and
afford materials for beginning the work and carrying it forward
with rapidity. The quarry was accordingly opened, and its
excellence fully answered the expectations which had been
formed."* It appears by later records and papers that Mr. Willard stiU
retained an interest in this quarry. When it was proposed to
take the stone wanted, from Pine HiU Ledge, in order to save
distance and expense in the buildmg of the railway, one of the
conditions of the change required by Mr. WiUard, was the fol
lowing : " 1st, It will be requisite that the railway company
should refund the money which has been expended at the
 '• 
I * Report of Building Committee, June, 1826.

112 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD".
Bunker HiU Ledge, and pay me the fair value of my right in
that ledge."
The change was not made. The quarry was opened and
worked, and at the end of six months, with all the preliminary
preparations, the committee say, " Under the eye of the indefat
igable Superintendent, more than three thousand tons of stone
have been spUt from the beds in form, and Ue ready to roll down
the railway as soon as it is opened to them." A little reflection
will suggest to the intelligent reader how much labor, in
preparation, opening and working the ledge, is included in this
statement. Mr. Willard's estimate of the importance of a good quarry
for the work to be done, may be seen in the following sentence
from a report written by him in November, 1827 : " The most
important object of attention in erecting a work of the magnitude
and construction of the one in progress, is a good quarry — ¦ as
the getting out of the stone required is an arduous and expensive
undertaking, and indeed, I consider a good ledge in such a case
as not only the flrst requisite to success, but (as has been said
in another case,) the second and the third also."
The Directors, however, seem to have had a different view
of this matter, for in their address to the pubUc, in 1830, they
express themselves as follows : " The Directors thought that the
chief precaution to be observed was to engage the services of an
architect of acknowledged taste and skiU, (and such an one they
were so fortunate as to find in Mr. Willai-d,) and to take all
practicable means to ensure economy in the expenditures made
necessary in the progress ofthe work."
The purchase of this quarry, according to Mr. Willard's cal
culation, fixed the cost of the material for the monument in the
ledge, at about a quarter of a cent per cubic foot.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 113

CHAPTER XV.

THE RAILWAY ENTERPRISE AND CONTRACT.

The circumstance has been noticed that the proposition to
build the Bunker Hill Monument was the immediate suggestion
and reason for introducing the Railroad into this country ; and
it is true that the first work of the kind on this continent was
built and used 'for the transportation of the material to erect
that monument. Insignificant as this now seems, it was an
enterprise of considerable importance, and probably would not
have been undertaken, at the time, but for the patriotic motive
connected with it in the minds of the builders : it is therefore
right to say we should not as early as 1825, have adopted this
species of " internal improvements," regarded even at a later
period as an experiment, excepting for the intention of building
Bunker Hill Monument — and might have had to-day, instead
of that magnificent line of railroads which crosses the State,
Colonel Baldwin's gigantic canal flowing through the "Hoosac
tunnel" and meandering along the valUes either side of it, be
tween the Hudson River and Boston Harbor.
Tramways and Railways had been in operation in England,
at the coal mines, for several years — the result of a gradual
progress towards the great achievements of the present day. —
The success which had attended the use of these in the transpor
tation of heavy burdens to tide-water, naturally led to the belief
that they would be found equally advantageous and economical
15

114 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
at the granite quarries in Quincy, and a considerable saving of
expense was expected by the monument association from their
introduction. It was therefore determined to await the con
struction of the railway before the removal of the stone for the
work should be commenced.
In January, 1826,* a petition was presented to the Massachu
setts Legislature for an act of incorporation to construct a rail
way, in the following form : —
" The undersigned petitioners represent that it would be of
great public utility to establish a Railway from certain quarries
in the town of Quincy to the tide-waters, for the carrying of
stone to be used in building ; that your petitioners are disposed
to establish the same, or to aid in effecting it ; but that it will
require a voluntary subscription and employment of a large sum
of money, and that such sum can only be obtained by extending
the subscription among many persons, and that it would greatly
facilitate the enterprise if those who engage in it should act un
der corporate powers."
This petition was signed by Thomas H. Perkins, WiUiam
Sullivan, Amos Lawrence, Solomon Willard, David Moody and
Gridley Bryant. An act of incorporation was granted by the
legislature, and was approved on the fourth of March, 1826. —
The company was immediately organized and Colonel Thomas
H. Perkins chosen President. The route was surveyed and the
railway built during the year, but not without the most tedious

* The " Report of the Commissioners of the State of Massachusetts, on
the routes of Canals from Boston Harbor to Connecticut and Hudson Rivers,"
(including Colonel Baldwin's various surveys,) was sent to the Legislature, by
Governor Lincoln, on the 11th of January 1826, the very day on which an
" order of notice" was issued on the, petition for the raUway. It is understood
that Colonel Baldwin declined to serve on the BuUding Committee of the Mon
ument Association, partly for the reason that he was engaged on these surveys
and expected to be occupied in carrying forward the great public work then
contemplated.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 115
delays ; and on the twenty-seventh of March, 1827, a contract
was made with the Building Committee for the transportation of
the stone from the quarry to the wharf in Charlestown. By
this contract -the railway company agrees " to receive on the
said company's railway, during the year eighteen hundred and
twenty-seven, three thousand tons of hewn stone, to be used in
building the monument aforesaid, at such times during the said
year as the said John C. Warren, or the Superintendent, shall
offer to be carried, and not exceeding thirty tons in any one
day — and that said company will carry the same hewn stone
from the place where the same shall be delivered on the railway
to the wharf of the said company, and thence by water to
Devens's wharf in the town of Charlestown, and there deliver
the same, .... and the said company hereby promise
to do the said carrying with all reasonable care and fidelity and
without doing any injury to the stone which can be avoided with
due care and reasonable diligence."
Like those in England, until the successful experiments
of Blackett and Stephenson, in the invention of the locomotive
and the application of steam, this railway was operated by
horse-power, and as it has not been extended, has required
no other motor. The first proposition of the railway company
was to transport the stone from the quarry to the tide-water, at
fifty cents per ton, and from thence by lighters to the wharf at
Charlestown, at forty cents ; but the contract, which was negotiat
ed by General Dearborn and Mr. Lawrence, on the part of the
association, fixed the price at seventy-five cents per ton for the
whole distance. For some reason not now apparent, Mr. Wil
lard, a part of whose duty it was to assist in making contracts
for the work, declined to take part in this negotiation, and seems
to have become early dissatisfied with the contract and the " de
linquencies," as he calls them, of the company.
Two months after the completion of the contract, in May,
1827, Mr. WiUard had become impatient of the delays which

116 MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD.
annoyed him, asked for a copy of the contract, and suggested
to the Building Committee the propriety of discharging the
workmen at the hUl. He wrote to the chairman. Dr. Warren,
as follows : —
" The Railway Company, through mismanagement, have been
rather unfortunate, and there is little prospect of our stone which
are first wanted, being carried very soon. Mr. Savage called on
me at Quincy for direction, and suggested the idea of discharging
the men at the hill for the present. . . . We have been in
readiness to commence the mason work for a month and have
been waiting ever since for the stone to be carried. As I never
had any confidence in the contract being fulfilled, on the part of
the railway company, and as the agreement was made by the
committee contrary to my wishes, I consider myself free from
responsibility for any hindrance or loss which may be sustained
in consequence of this contract."
Mr. Willard, however, had recommended that a contract with
the railway company should be made, only a month before it
was completed, and the ground of his complaint seems to have
been that it was " unskilfully made." On the fifteenth of May,
Mr. Lawrence informed Mr. Willard of a modification of the
contract, by which Mr. Gridley Bryant, the agent of the railway
company, had agreed "for you to load the stone upon the raU
way carriages at five cents per ton." But the trouble was a
continuous annoyance ; and on the twenty-third of September,
Mr. Willard writes sharply to Mr. Bryant, " As we have nearly
a hundred tons of stone ready to move, we wish to see your
carriages at our shed to-morrow morning. Our work will close
• for the season in about eight weeks, and we shall prepare a
freight of seventy tons each week, if no accident occurs. It
will be important that we shall be kept clear."
In a letter of the next year addressed to General Dearborn,
as one of the committee on accounts, Mr. WiUard explains this

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 117
matter and endeavors to show that as a means of facilitating
or cheapening the work on the monument, the railway had failed
of its purpose : — " Quincy, [date left blank,] 1828.
"Dear Sir, — I have enclosed a copy of the instructions
which I received from the Building Committee a year ago. It
will be seen by these instructions that the committee had author
ized me to make all the contracts which were required in the
prosecution of the work of erecting the monument for the season
past. In one case, however, courtesy induced me to refer back
the power given me, and I allowed the committee to make a
contract which I considered injurious to the interests of our
employers. I refer to that made with the Railway Company.
This appeared to me unskilfully made in two respects : the
Railway Company were neither accountable for the fracture of
the stone, nor bound to fulfil their agreement. And this con
tract has not only proved an expensive thing to the association,
but a source of infinite trouble to me.
" There has been a strange misapprehension respecting the
importance of the railway to us. The following statement, I
think, will illustrate this point : The whole quantity of stone
carried from our ledge to the water, is 2287 tons, which at 35
cents per ton, comes to $800 45. The price offered by a re
spectable company for hauling in the common way, was 50 cents
per ton, — so that, all the gain that was ever expected, provided
they had fulfilled their agreement, was only the difference
between 35 and 50 cents, on 2287 tons, $343 05, in a work
where $28,000 had been expended.
" On the other side ofthe account we must reckon the loss of
two years in waiting for this company to perform a job wliich
amounts to little more than $800. For loss in time no estimate
in money can be made. It has been, however, an injury which
is irreparable. The loss in cash paid to men with their hands
tied in consequence of the deUnquency of the railway company,

118 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
(I should say, to speak within bounds,) was ten times the whole
cost of carrying 2287 tons to the water, to which must be added
the sacrifice of an invaluable quarry.
" It would have been much better for my own interest and
reputation, had I paid the $343 and carried the stone in the
common way, and it would also have saved thousands to. the
association. "It will be seen by the above statements that the railway
has been of little consequence to us, nor can it be, provided the
company were well disposed, as it costs them to carry our stone
twice what we give them for it."
This last statement, repeated on the authority of Mr. Bry
ant, probably accounts for, if it does not excuse, some portion
of the neglect or mismanagement alleged against the railway
company, which appears to have been so vexatious and trouble
some to Mr. Willard, who undoubtedly, we think, is somewhat
to blame in this matter : he encouraged the building of the road
and making of the contract, and while he asserts that " the
agreement was made by the committee contrary to his wishes,"
he also says " I allowed the committee to make a contract which "
I considered injurious to the interests of our employers.'' On
this statement he was blamable — though possibly he "allowed"
what he could not prevent in the hope that his apprehensions
might prove groundless. Mr. Willard was probably wi'ong also
in supposing the railway company not well disposed towards the
monument association, as the President was one of its earhest
and firmest friends.
As the use of this railway was continued for many years after
the date of these transactions, by jMr. Willard himself, and is
still used, it is probable that its services were found to be
valuable and its earnings remunerative to the proprietors,
especially after they became the owners of the quarry.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 119

CHAPTER XVI.

PRELIMINARY WORK ON THE MONUMENT.

The first year of Mr. Willard's service, from November,
1825, to November, 1826, was mostly devoted to preliminary
matters, under a general vote of the committee, " authorising
and empowering the chairman to take measures for proceeding
in the construction of the monument, with all expedition, and
that whenever he may think necessary he call a meeting of this
committee." The purchase of the quarry had been effected, as
already stated, and the supply of stone secured. The railway
act had been obtained and the work began. The old foundation of
the monument had been taken up and preparations for the new
foundation made. It was soon after practically decided to do the
hammering of the stone at the ledge, and a boarding-house and
other buildings were erected there' to accommodate the workmen.
A contract was also made fbr the transportation of the stone.
In reporting upon the work done in thirteen months, Mr.
Willard says, ' ' From a recent examination of the accounts kept
at the ledge, it is ascertained that the whole sum paid out of the
funds of the association, from the 15th of November, 1825, to
the 15th of December, 1826, little exceeds ten thousand dollars,
of which $348 has been paid for digging out the foundation on
Bunker Hill ; $195 for four acres of land near the quarry, and
$712 for building a boarding-house for the workmen. The
quarrying apparatus has cost $2000, and is now on hand, partly

120 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
worn, but is probably worth two-thirds its first cost. It consists
of machinery, lumber, iron, steel, hammers, bars, wedges, &c.
The house and land are probably worth what they cost. If we
deduct the above from the sum stated, there would be left $6,-
745, total expended in opening the quarry, making roads, quar
rying and rough dressing 20,000 feet of foundation stone and
10,000 feet of fine hammering — to which must be added the
cost of transporting 125 tons of stone to Charlestown.
" Much time has been necessarily spent in clearing and open
ing the ledge, making roads, and much unnecessarily wasted by
the delinquency of the railway company. The 20,000 feet of
foundation, although but a small part of the work executed with
in the thirteen months, would come to more, at the prices charged
for similar work at the prison, than the whole sum paid out."
The experiments instituted by Mr. Willard at this time, to
ascertain the cost of dressing the different blocks of stone, net
measure, whether circular or straight,* and allowing two feet of
coarse dressing for one of fine dressing, resulted as follows : —
433 feet quoins and hollow cone, 36 cents per foot ; 81 feet
platform and steps, 39 cents ; steps jobbed out in winter, 26
cents ; large quantity of hollow cone by sundry persons, 30
cents — average 32f cents per foot, to which six cents per- foot
may be added for tools.
In view of the work which had been done and the plans to be
pursued for the coming year, Mr. Willai-d addi-essed to the
chairman the following letter : —
" Quincy, November 6th, 1826.
"Dear Sir: — As my engagement expires on the 9th of
November, a new agreement becomes necessary. I should Uke
to engage for another year, if past services have met the appro
bation of the committee ; and as a compensation, I would engage
on the condition that the necessary expenses of Uving should be
paid by the association.
" The past month having been an important one to us, it has

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 121
been thought expedient to employ an extra number of workmen,
and the monthly expenditure has increased proportionately. —
On the 4th of November, there was due from the association to
various persons, the sum of nineteen hundred dollars. It might
be well to have these bills all paid before the ninth of the pre
sent month.
" If the committee should consider it for their interest to give
me charge of the work another year, I should Uke to have the
plan in all its details for prosecuting the work agreed on by
them, with written instructions to me. The experience of the
last year induces me to suggest the following for their consid
eration : —
" I should not think it for the interest of the association to
attempt the transportation of any of the stock to Bunker Hill
this fall, as it is late and the carriages for transporting on the
railway and machinery for loading, are not in readiness at
Quincy. " For unloading in Charlestown it will require an apparatus
of considerable expense, which would be exposed • through the
winter, and the loss would over-balance any advantage which
could be derived from it. I would rather spend the time, be
tween this and March, in making the necessary preparations for
a rapid movement in the spring. Should the hammering be
done at the ledge, a shed should be erected to shelter the work
men. A large space should be levelled in and about the shed.
The rough and the hammered stone should be removed out of
the way, and the ledge should also be cleared of every incum
brance. " The timber-run from the ledge should be repaired and all the
quarrying apparatus put in the best order. The winter would
be a favorable time to finish the drawings and models which are
requisite, and experiments may be made in order to ascertain the
exact value [cost] of hammering each of the blocks of the stone
used in the construction of the monument. This is indispensable
16

122 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
whether the stone are hammered at the prison or not, as the
experiment will enable us to detect any overcharge in their bills,
and if the work is done at the ledge, the fair value per foot wiU
be determined.
" For the above service a small number of men will be suffi
cient. For the building of the sheds, clearing and levelUng, it
might requne six men, including the master quarryman. The
experiment might require four hammerers, and it would be
necessary to have two blacksmiths to make new hammers, sledges,
jacks and other quarrying apparatus wanted. The winter months
are profitable for doing the blacksmith's work, and the only loss
in doing it at this season is the interest of the money on the
stock for a few months, which would be greatly over-balanced
by the convenience of having the tools ready.
" In commencing the work next season, I suppose the railway
company will deliver the stone at the wharf and furnish appa
ratus for loading, and they intend to furnish vessels to transport
the stone, which are to be towed by a steamboat. Should these
vessels not be ready by the time the ice leaves the river, we can
employ lighters.
" At the landing in Charlestown, (at Devens's wharf,) it may
become necessary to erect a kind of crane to unload the stone.
From the wharf the stone will be carried to the hill on a wagon
already constructed, and by the persons who have agreed to do
it. I should recommend that a rigger should be employed by
the day to fit up the machinery, and to do the hoisting, and a
good mason, to see to the laying of the stone under my direc
tion. The lime, sand, and iron for cramps, may be bought by
the quantity as they are wanted.
" Bunker Hill, on the south side, where the road will pass, is
rather steep and springy, and it has been suggested that it might
be economy for us to lay flags of granite for the wheels to run
on in the manner of an Italian railway, [?] which would proba
bly make a difference in the draft of a common load of one yoke
of oxen. These flags may be got out this winter, and laid m

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 123
the spring, and when the work is completed, may be taken up
and sold.
" The work requires the aid of all its friends, to forward it with
the desired expedition, and if I should be engaged another year,
I should Uke to have the Chairman of the Committee give more
attention to it than in the past, or if this is inconvenient, to
authorize some other person. If it becomes a necessary part of
my duty to receive and pay out money, I should like to have
such an arrangement made as that I could receive it by calling
on a suigle individual. " Yours, respectfully,
Solomon Willard."
"John C. Warren, Chairman of Committee."
On the 7th of September, 1826, the Building Committee held
a meeting at Quincy, when there were present, the Chairman,
(Dr. Warren,) George Blake, H. A. S. Dearborn, and Amos
Lawrence. There were present also Edward Everett, Nathaniel
P. Russell, and Nathan Appleton, of the Board of Directors. —
After examining the Railway, which was then in progress, " the
Committee next examined the Bunker HiU Ledge, and were
fully satisfied with the progress made in getting out stone, and
at the economy and dexterity of the processes employed for the
purpose."*

* Records of the Building Committee, 1826.

124 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER XVII.

NEW CONTRACT AND INSTRUCTIONS.

In November, 1826, the contract with Mr. WUlard expired,
of course with an understanding that it would be renewed ; and
on the 7th of December, the Chairman forwarded to -him copies
of a new contract, which were signed and executed as foUows :
" Contract between John C. Warren, as chairman, etc., on the
one part, and Solomon WiUard, architect, on the other part,
Witnesseth, The said WiUard having been appointed Architect
and Superintendent of the Bunker Hill Monument, doth agree
to prepare the requisite models and di-awings ; to aid in making
the contracts ; to superintend the completion of the same ; and
to do such other duties as may be required to faciUtate the erec
tion of said monument : In consideration of five hundred dollars
a-year, so long as he may perform the above duties, to be paid
by said Warren in behalf of the above-named corporation.
" And this contract is to remain in force until the monument
is erected ; or the funds of the corporation are exhausted ; unless
revoked by consent of the two contracting parties.
John C. Warren.
Solomon Willard."
" Boston, December 7, 1826."
This contract differed materially from the former one but was
StiU not what Mr. Willard wanted. It made the appointment

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 125
permanent, but continued a fixed nominal salary wbich was dis
agreeable to him. The original copy of this contract, found
among Mr. Lawrence's papers, bears the following endorsement,
in his hand-vrriting : " Mem,. Mr. Willard's intention was not
to have a salary, but a support, which up to the period of Jan
uary, 1829, has not exceeded the sum named as a salary."
The instructions given to Mr. Willard, in accordance with his
own request, were the following :
" The Building Committee of the Bunker Hill Monument Asso
ciation, in the name and behalf of the corporation for erecting
a monument on Bunker Hill, to Solomon Willard, Esq.,
" Whereas this Committee, having special confidence in your
abilities and integrity, do hereby appoint you Architect for the
construction of said monument, and furthermore they do also
appoint you Superintendent of the execution of the same, in all
its details ; and also commit these important trusts to your
charge in full confidence that you will employ your best ability
to complete the same with all the economy and despatch so
great a 'work will permit.
"In the execution of the monument, you will take for your
guide a plan drawn by yourself and accepted by the Directors of
the Bunker Hill Monument Association, which plan is now in
your hands — and all the models and plans are to be formed on
the ground of the above plan, and you are requested to have all
plans, models and all parts of the work under your care, so ar
ranged that m case of any accident befalling to you, (which may
a good Providence avert,) the plans, models and other works
may be delivered over to your successor, so that the great work
which you have conducted thus far, may be continued without
impediment. " As a considerable quantity of material for the construction
of the monument is afready got out, and as your experience on
this subject wiU guide you as to the quantities and times of

126 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
preparing them, it is not necessary to give any instructions on
this head. Our wish is that a sufficient quantity of stone should
be got ready to begin the construction of the monument as early
in the spring as the weather will allow ; and to carry it on with
out delay through the following season.
" We do not consider it best to transport any stone to Charles- -
town this season, except a small quantity, as an experiment
made to gratify the public curiosity. But we should wish that
contracts should be made for the transportation of the stone to
Charlestown, in season to open the spring without delay. It
would be best also to make all other contracts in season to pre
vent loss of time ; and therefore we authorize you to make such
contracts for the sand, lime and other materials, and also for
masons' and carpenters' and blacksmiths' work, as far forward
as you can see the necessity of employing such workmen.
" In order to determine whether it will be best to have the
stone hammered at the quarry, or in Charlestown, we wish you
to make an experiment of the cost of hammering stone of the
various forms you may require ; and this being done, to apply
to the Superintendent of the State Prison to ascertain what the
hammering- of similar stones would cost at the prison. In case
we should decide to have the hammering done at the quarry, we
authorize you to erect the necessary buildings, procm-e the
requisite apparatus, and to employ as many hands as may be
required for such work — and the sooner this is done after
the principal point is settled the better.
" You will no doubt employ this winter in making such plans
and models as may be wanted ; in getting all machinery in good
order, and placing it in the most convenient situation, and for
these purposes you are authorized to employ suitable artificers.
It will be best to see that a proper wharf or place for landing
the stone at Charlestown, is secured for the benefit of our ope
rations, as long as may be required, provided the expense thereof
be not ,great. Also that the wharf thus procured be in a proper
condition to receive the material, and all necessary works be

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 127
erected there in good time. We also authorize you to lay flag
stones of granite on that part of Bunker Hill where you deter
mine to carry up the stone.
" In case of any deficiency in your instructions or the occur
rence of any new question, you will refer to the committee
through the Chairman, and whenever the case is important this
should be done in writing.
' ' You will be provided with such monies as you may require
by applying to the Chairman, giving him sufficient notice, so
that he may have time to draw the money from the Treasury ;
and you will exhibit the state of your accounts monthly, or as
nearly so as your duties permit, to Amos Lawrence, Esq., who
with the Chairman, constitute the Committee of Accounts.
" Should you find it necessary, in order that you may devote
your time to more impprtant objects, officers will be appointed
under you, for writing, payment of monies, and the performance
of other duties which might interfere with higher concerns.
" By order of the Building Committee of the Bunker Hill
Monument Association. John C. Warren, Chairman."
" Boston, December 1, 1826."

128 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER XVm.

MISUNDERSTANDING AND RECONCILIATION.

It is no purpose of this memoir to revive or pubUsh any per
sonal misunderstandings, which may, perhaps very naturally,
have arisen between the parties having a duty to perform or an
interest in the progress of the work on the monument. Nor
must it be inferred from this remark that anything of a serious
character as to persons, or of importance as regards the public,
ever occurred to disturb the harmony which existed in the Board
of Directors and the Building Committee, and characterized the
relations between these bodies and the. Superintendent. On the
contrary, in all the discussions in relation to the adoption of a
design for the monument, in the selection of an architect, in the
initiation of measures for the advancement of the enterprise, in
the suggestion of a lottery for the same purpose, in the proposi
tion for the sale of the land comprising the battle-field, and in
other matters, where there might arise differences of opinion, all
feelings were consulted, the great interests of the work consid
ered, and unity of action as of purpose,, generally obtained. In
some of these cases, personal opinions and preferences were
readily yielded to promote the paramount purposes of the
association. In the early part of 1827, there grew up from various causes
and influences, some dissatisfiiction on the part of the Superin
tendent ; which, as soon as expressed by him, was promptly ex-

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 129
plained and adjusted in a manner especially honorable to the
Building Committee, the RaUway Company and the Architect.
Annoyed as Mr. Willard had been by the delays in the progress
of the railway and the operations of the company, and probably
a little restless under the suggestion made to change the design
of the monument, to which he refers in a letter of February,
1827, as follows : " A vote of the Directors at the last meeting
to adhere to the plan first adopted, settles the question as
respects any change in the form," — he was perhaps too sensi
tive to some action of the Directors or the Building Committee,
which he alleges took place on the 17th of June. The follow
ing note suddenly opened the correspondence and the difficulty :
" Wednesday morning, June 20th, 1827.
" Dear Sir, — The vote of the Association [?] on the 17th,
leaves me but one course to pursue : I shall remove whatever
belongs to me in Quincy, this day, and shall give no farther
direction to the workmen. Your interests there may require
attention. I should have given you earlier notice had you called
on me yesterday. " Yours, respectfully,
Solomon Willard.
" Amos Lawrence, Esq."
How far this letter was censurable or justifiable, — and it cer
tainly seems to have been somewhat hasty, — we have now no
means of deciding, as both mystery and confusion envelop the
subject. We have two copies of Mr. Willard's note, each in
his hand- writing and precisely alike, — .yet, according to its
own date, the 17th must have been Sunday, on which day a
meeting of the Association, or of the Directors, would not have
been held. Nor are there any proceedings on record, at this
time, having a particular or even a general reference to Mr.
Willard. The only action recorded that might be displeasing
to him, was the choice at a meeting of the BuUding Committee,
on the 18th, of the President of the Railway company, Colonel
17

130 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
Perkins, to be chairman of the Committee, in the place of
Dr. Warren, who had declined a reelection. Mr. WUlard's
displeasure with the Railway company would very naturally
extend to its President.
Mr. Lawrence's reply to Mr. Willard is as follows : —
"June 23d, 1827.
"My Dear Sir, — I called at your office this morning, and
not finding you, wish you to inform me what your wishes are,
that will obviate your objections to remaining in the superinten
dence of the great work thus far so favorably prosecuted by
you. The inference you gathered fi-om the late doings of the
Directors, having in them anything intended to be disrespectful
to yourself, I do most solemnly assure you is without founda
tion. I need not again assure you how much I desire the work
to go on under your care.
Amos Lawrence.
" Solomon Willard, Superintendent."
The reply of Mr. Willard to this assurance of respect and
to the personal desire of his friend, — who, from the be
ginning of the enterprise to the end, had manifested the highest
appreciation of his services, his disinterested patriotism and his
devotion to the work, — is out-spoken, characteristic and decided.
He calls it " Copy of a letter fi-om the e.r- Superintendent to
Amos Lawrence, Esq., in answer to the foregoing," and it is
dated on the same day : —
"Dear Sir, — The thought of returning to take charge of
the work in Quincy, never occurred to me until this morning,
and although maney will not induce me to return, there are
other considerations which might have some weighty were certain
objections removed, which may be easily done by the committee
if they choose.
" First. I should want a new agreement with the association,
wherein the condition shall read thus : and the said Superin
tendent shall have for his services the necessary expenses of

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 131
living paid by the Association, — this being one of the original
terms of the agreement, but altered to the specific sum of five
hundred dollars per year, by the Chairman, when the contract
was executed, which sum is something more than is required for
the purpose.
" Without reflection this may seem trifling. As it stands, I
perform the service without money or credit ; altered, I should
have due credit for what I do, viz : of rendering my services
gratuitously. The practice of the [late] Chairman, [Dr. War
ren,] in certain cases, will illustrate the case, who frequently
performs his services gratis rather than degrade his profession
by accepting a low charge.
" Second. I should also wish the Committee to agree to fur
nish the means requisite to finish the work as speedily as a due
regard to economy will permit, as the sum wanted is trifling
and it is for the credit of all concerned to terminate the work in
a rapid and masterly manner.
" Yours, respectfully, Solomon Willard.
"Amos Lawrence, Esq., one ofthe Committee."
On the 25th, General Dearborn addressed to Mr. Willard a
note, which he transcribed under this heading — " Copy of a
letter from General Dearborn, one of the Building Committee,
to the ear-Superintendent," — as follows : —
" My Dear Sir, — At a meeting of the Building Committee
of the Bunker Hill Monument Association, I was appointed a
committee to wait on you to state the results of their delibera
tions ; but not finding you in your room, must communicate
by letter.
" The Railway company will appropriate to your use, or
to the Bunker Hill Monument Association, as you may think
proper, one thousand dollars, for the right you had in the

132 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
quarry. Colonel Perkins entertains the highest opinion of your
integrity, talents and uniform efforts for the accomplishment of
the great undertaking which you have so zealously undertaken,
and you can rely upon his harmonious support in the prosecu
tion of the work. You will go on pleasantly beyond all doubt.*
"As to your compensation, a vote was taken as you desired,
altering the former vote so that it now stands that your expenses
are to be paid instead of an annual compensation of five hun
dred dollars. Thus, I trust, every difficulty is removed, and
that you will return to the works as soon as possible, as much
depends on your presence there.
" If you can call out to my house, [in Roxbury,] this even
ing, I shall be glad to see you. As I am obUged to leave town
in the morning, in the steamboat, at 5 o'clock, for. Maine, and
shall be absent eight or ten days, I have no other means of
communicating with you than this, unless you can spare time
to call at my house this evening.
" But, at all events, let me entreat you to return to the
works, which we all most ardently desire.
" With great esteem, your obedient servant,
H. A. S. Dearborn.
" Solomon Willard, Architect."
The arrangement proposed, it appears, was deemed or made
satisfactory, and was immediately cai-ried into effect, to the honor
of all the parties. The thousand dollars was justly due to Mr.
Willard, who had probably expended nearly as large a sum in
his explorations for a quarry ; but, regarding it fi-om his stand
point as a profit gained by reason of his connection with the
monument, he promptly rejected the idea — suggested by fi-iends
who knew what sacrifices he had made — of appropriating the

"¦ A note from Colonel Perkins to Mr. Lawrence, three days after the date
pf this note, June 28th, says, " I was at Bunker HUl Quarry yesterday, and
found Willard very pleasant,"

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 133
amount to his own use,* and in the same month prepared and
signed the following subscription paper. Mr. Lawrence thought
the pleasure of contributing this large sum to the great patriotic
enterprise of the day, was the chief inducement with Mr.
Willard to return to the work. He also induced most of his
workmen to make themselves members of the association by
contributing the requisite sum to its funds : —
" Copy ofa subscription paper originated at the Bunker Hill
Quarry, in Quincy, June, 1827 : —
" The subscribers, having been engaged in the executive de
partment of the work of erecting a Monument on Bunker Hill,
and wishing to contribute our share towards the means for
prosecuting a work so successfully begun, and also wishing to
become proprietors in the work, and sharers in the honor of
erecting an appropriate monument to commemorate an important
event, will cheerfully pay for this purpose the sums annexed to
our several names. The aid also of every citizen is respectfully
requested, that means sufficient may be obtained to terminate
the work in a spirit and manner worthy of the heroic deeds
which it is intended to commemorate.
" Note.. The whole sum expended on the work to the sev
enteenth of June, 1827, is $15,000. The work has been in
progress nineteen months, in which time a new quarry has been
opened, the foundation of the monument quarried, dressed and
laid. The quantity in the foundation has been estimated at
1500 tons, (1167 measured on the work,) on which there has
been more than 30,000 feet of rough dressing. There is also a

* " A friend proposed to him to lay aside that sum for a time of need ; but
he decisively rejected the proposal with the remark : ' Do you suppose I would
soU my hands by making money out of the Bunker HiU Monument. ' Had
other men, with much larger means, possessed the same spirit, the monument
would have been completed at a much earUer period, and without the embar
rassments and delays which caused the best friends of the project so much
mortification and discomfort." History of the Bunker HUl Monument, by
Professor Packard, of Bowdoin College,

134 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD
quantity of stone finely dressed for quoins, steps and hoUow
cone, to the amount of 6,000 feet, and every preparation has
been made for prosecuting the work with facility and economy.
Names Subsceibed.
Solomon Willard,
Ezra Badger,
Hazen Abbott,
Theodore Rogers,
John White,
Joseph French,
Daniel Leonard,
Jacob B. Collins,
William Frederic,
D. M. C. Knox,
Samuel Ames,
Andrew Bunten,
John Adams,
John C. Knox,
John Frederic,
George Frederic, jr. .
John Robertson, .
Samuel Ela,
Eli Stebbins,
Eleazer Frederic,
Daniel Ela,
Almoran Holmes,
Total,
The receipt of the above amount is properly acknowledged by
N. P. Russell, Treasurer of the Monument Association, under
date of December 13th, 1827.

Am

0UNI3

$1,

000

00

20

00

5

00

5
00
.
5
00
5
00
5
00
5
00
5
00
5
00
5
00
5
00
5
00
5
00
5
00
5 00
5
00
5
00
5 00
5
00
5
00
50
00
fl;
,165 00*
* A copy of this document among Mr. Lawrence's papers, contains several
other names, as follows : Luther Marble,. John Devanny, aud Thomas Pike, jr.
five doUars each, and James S. Savage, fifty dollars, making the aggregate
$1,230 ; but Mr. RusseU's receipt is for f 1,165, as above.
MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 135

CHAPTER XIX.

LEGISLATIVE AID TO THE MONUMENT.

Two years after the incorporation of the association, in Jan
uary, 1825, the attention of the legislature was called to the
contemplated monument, by Governor Eustis. in his annual
message of that year. He suggested that the model should be
submitted for approval to the legislature — a body much less
competent at any time to decide upon the merits of such a work
than the then Board of Directors — and commended the under
taking in the following language : — •
" Should the funds prove insufficient for the completion of
such a work as is worthy of the occasion and becoming the
character of the State, I do not permit myself to doubt, that
aid will be afforded by an enlightened legislature.
" To commemorate one of the principal events of the Revo
lution, to consecrate the field in Massachusetts on which in the
first stages of the war, our heroes and statesmen sealed with
their blood the principles they had sworn to maintain, when a
disciplined enemy received from untutored yeomanry a lesson
which produced the most beneficial consequences through the
whole of the revolutionary war, is worthy of the care of the
patriot and statesman. The splendid column on Bunker Hill
will unite principle with history, and patriotism with glory. It
will be read by all ; its moral will strike deep into the heart,
and leave an indelible impression on the mind."

136 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
With a liberal disposition to assist in the erection of the pro
posed monument, the legislature passed a law, which was ap
proved on the 26th of February, 1825, authorizing the associa
tion " to have the stone of which their intended monument may
be constructed, hammered and prepared to be used, at the State
Prison, in Charlestown," ..." Provided, that the ham
mering of stone under the provisions of this section, shall never
exceed in value the sum of ten thousand dollars," and also that
no existing contract shall be interfered with or retarded. The
same act authorized the association to receive " the two cannon
called the Hancock and Adams, to adorn the intended monument,
and to be preserved, as the earUest of the relics of the revolu
tionary struggle, and also for the same purpose two other can
non, used in the revolutionary war, and now belonging to the
State, as to the Governor and Council may seem proper."*
The same act gave to the Directors authority to " take and
appropriate to the legal uses of said association any land on
Breed's hill, in Charlestown, which said Directors may find
to be necessary in the design of erecting a monument and laying
out the surrounding ground in the appropriate manner, not
exceeding five acres." The necessity which called for the
grant of this high prerogative of government — the right of
eminent domain — affords a remarkable contrast to the conduct
of Mr. Willard and an instance of cupidity and avariciousness
almost too gross to be beUeved. While Mr. Willard declined to
accept the slightest profit or commission for any service rendered
to the association, or any compensation for his many years of
labor, from high patriotic considerations, there was found a man
willing to sacrifice his integrity, degrade his very nature and

* The two cannons hei-o mentioned as the " Hancock" and " Adams," are
now in the chamber in the top of the Monument. The inscriptions upon them
say they originally belonged " to a number of citizens of Boston, aud were
used in many engagements during the war." No otiiers have ever been re
ceived by the Association.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 137
soil his own conscience, to gain by a trick,* an advance in the
price of his land beyond that at which he had agreed to dispose
of it to the association. Although he succeeded in this instance,
it is a satisfaction to be able to believe that, if men who act
from as high motives as those which governed Mr. Willard, are
rare, those who act from such sordid and unmanly impulses are
still more rare.
There had always been some doubt as to the availability of
this grant by the legislature ; Mr. Willard certainly never had
much confidence in it ; and ui 1827, the Directors petitioned the
legislature, praying that "the ten thousand dollars granted by
a law of this Commonwealth to said association, to be paid in the
labor of hammering stone at the State Prison, may be paid to
said association in money." A hearing of the parties was had
before a committee of the legislature, in January, when it was
made apparent that the proposed change would be advantageous
to both parties, and especially to the Commonwealth.
For the purpose of this hearing Mr. Willard estimated the
rough blocks to weigh twenty-five per cent, more than when
dressed ; the delay in passing the di-aws of two bridges at five
per cent. ; allowed considerable expense for extra apparatus for
handUng and loading the large blocks at the prison, and con
cluded his statement with the following " Recapitulation" : —
" The first and second items make the extra expense of trans
portation thirty per cent, and the third, fourth and fifth, cannot
amount to less than five, making the aggregate extra expense of

*The proprietors of the lands on Breed's HiU had consented to have their
valuation fixed by appraisers and entered into bonds to abide by their decision.
One of the ovmers, after the other proprietors had conveyed their portions,
" deUberately paid over the forfeiture agreed upon, five hundred doUars, and
demanded five thousand doUars for his land. The Committee were struck
dumb  but, reflecting that a contention at that time might delay
the whole enterprise for an indefinite period, they reluctantly paid the ungen
erous and exorbitant exaction." Prof. Packard.
We are sorry to say we have never heard this story contradicted.
18

138 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
transportation at least thirty-five per cent. ; besides the great
delay in the prosecution of the work which must inevitably
ensue from this mode of carrying it on. From items six and
seven it appears that the difference of cost in hammering the
blocks at the quarry and at the State Prison, taking thirty
cents as the mean price per square foot at the former, is as 30
to 210, or as 1 to 7."
The results of Mr. Willard's experiments and his calculation
of the extra cost of transportation, were so clear a demonstration
that the work of dressing the blocks at the ledge could be done
much more economically than at the State Prison as to put
at rest that question in the minds of the directors. But the
testimony of Mr. Harris, Warden of the State Prison, was much
more to the purpose, so far as the Commonwealth was concern
ed, for he testified that the work could not be done at the State
Prison, irrespective of the price, without great pecuniary disad
vantages to the institution : The work of its regular customers
would be delayed and finally lost ; the convicts "could eam
thirteen thousand dollars, in the usual mode of doing business,
with less inconvenience, than they could hammer ten thousand
dollars' worth of stone for the monument," and in addition to
these conclusions, the Warden testified that if they did the work
they would have to draw from the Treasury ten thousand
dollars extra for the work on the new prison. In short, Mr.
Willard's evidence decided the question of economy as regarded
the association, and Mr. Harris's testimony decided the question
of profit as regarded the Commonwealth.
With such evidence presented to them, the committee could
do no otherwise than report a resolve according to the wishes of
the petitioners. Good policy, prudence and economy, on the
part of the State, demanded the measure, and good taste — vio
lated in the original act — approved of it. It was shown quite
conclusively that a loss of not less than tliree thousand dollars,
— not to mention the cost of various alterations and additions

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 139
at the prison, and the probable injury to its business — would
accrue to the Commonwealth, in the effort to fulfil the contract
with the association. But the legislature — at the suggestion
of some member more prudent and less patriotic than the rest —
did not think ten thousand dollars' worth of convict labor quite
equal to that sum in money, notwithstanding it was shown that
it would bring thirteen thousand in the market. Ready to make
a saving for the Commonwealth, in what no doubt was supposed
to be an honorable way, the legislature readily adopted the
suggestion of its prudent member and amended the resolution
of the committee by reducing the sum named in it to seven
thousand dollars, as the equivalent of the grant of their predeces
sors — thus effecting an actual saving to the Commonwealth of
six thousand dollars and a probable saving of a much larger
sum. The proceeding was no doubt regarded at the time as ad
vantageous to the Commonwealth, and was a better arrangement
for the association than that for which it was substituted : which
would have proved troublesome and unsatisfactory, if not abso
lutely impracticable. It would have been almost impossible
to adjust the prices to be charged for the work in a way
which would have been satisfactory to both parties, as Mr.
Willard, in the example quoted by him, made the charges at
the prison six or seven times greater than the cost of similar
work at the quarry. Besides the objection to having the work
done by convicts, in which Mr. WUlard participated, (for he
wished all his workmen to be members of the association,) the
cost would have been greater and the actual result less advanta
geous than the reduced grant in money.
The " Resolve," as finally passed by the legislature, on the
second of March, authorized the payment of seven thousand
dollars in money, in annual payments in three years. This was
accepted by the directors, and the stone used in the construc
tion of the monument was hammered at the ledge in Quincy. —
It is a satisfaction to every member of the association be able to
say that none of it was done at the State Prison.

140 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
This seven thousand dollars is the whole amount of aid ever
received from the public authorities towards the monument — a
sum probably not equal to the interest-account against the
association — and, with this exception, it may be said that the
entire cost of the monument, the land, fences, &c. was raised by
voluntary contributions and efforts. Subsequently, in 1829, a
petition was prepared for presentation to the legislature, at the
instance of a majority of the directors, praying for the grant of
a "Lottery" to raise fifty thousand dollars for the completion
of the monument ; but it was ascertained that the general sen
timent of the members was opposed to such a grant and it was
abandoned — notwithstanding only four years before. Lottery
Tickets were aUowed to be sold in aid of the monument.* A
later application for State aid was ineffectual.

* Some amusement was indulged in among the dealers in Lottery Tickets,
in Boston, in 1825, (when the subject of suppressing their sale engaged
the pubUc attention,) in connection with the proposed monument. Mr. John
Jay Jerome had advertised to sell lottery tickets for the benefit of the Bunker
HUl Monument Association, whereupon Messrs. Gilbert & Sons made the foUow
ing announcement : " For our own Benefit ! Several of our brother venders
have set apart particular days to seU lottery tickets for the benefit of a particu
lar institution, &c. such as ' for the benefit of the Bunier HUl Monument ;'
' in aid of the Greeks,' &c. &c. Now we frankly confess that we cannot afford
to sell tickets except for our own benefit," &c.
To this gentle innuendo Mr. Jerome repUed : "My neighbors in Exchange
street are very facetious in their advertisement of yesterday relative to the Bun
ker Hill Monument, &c. They say they cannot afford to seU tickets for the ben
efit of the Monument, in aid of the Greeks, &c. Fie on such patriotism ! Gen
tlemen Sirs, would ye not afford the members of the Legislatui-e another oppor
tunity of contributing something towards so praiseworthy an object as the Bun
ker HUl Monument ! N. B. On the 22d inst. [Washington's Bii-th-day,] the
profits on the sale of Lottery Tickets wUl be appropriated towards the erection
of a monument on Bunker HUl."
Messrs. Dean & Hooper, referring to these cross-firings of their neighbors,
concluded their announcement as foUows : " Now we are wilUng to sell them
for the benefit of the purchaser ; and those who wish to be benefitted are re
quested to call at the Old Stand and obtain some of the foUowing prizes."
We think the monument was not benefitted much by any of these propositions.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 141

CHAPTER XX.

CONTRACTS AND WORK ON THE MONUMENT — 1827 — 1828.

The making of the contracts for carrying forward the work
on the monument was a part of the duty of the Superintendent ;
but these were not necessary until the actual commencement
of the construction in 1827. It seems but justice to the
contractors that their connection with the work under Mr. Wil
lard should be mentioned. Besides the contract with the Rail
way company already mentioned, there were three others, made
by Mr. Willard in the name of the chairman : 1. Contract with
James SulUvan Savage, of Boston, in which he agreed to take
charge of the Mason's Department and " perform any other duty
which the interest of the association may require, and to do the
same as if it were his individual concern." 2. Contract with
Almoran Holmes, of Boston, " to take the charge and duty of
hoisting the stone to build the said monument," and to " super
intend this department in all its details and employ competent
and faithful men to perform the service, without profit on their
work." 3. Contract with Thomas 0. Nichols and John Peirce,
of Charlestown, to " take at Devens's wharf, . . and carry
thence to the site of the intended monument, three thousand
tons of stone, at forty three cents per ton," &c.
These contracts completed Mr. Willard's arrangements for the
progress of the work. He was to prepare every block of stone
according to the position it was to occupy, ready to be laid when

142 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
delivered upon the hill. The machinery, mechanical and human
agencies, were arranged and only required to be put in operation
and kept in operation by the oversight of one master mind, for
the regular, systematic and rapid advancement of the work. —
All the operations were designed and all the forces directed to
this end, and they were so nicely adjusted as to constitute a
single machine, by which had the means been suppUed, the
stone would have been quarried and the monument erected
without delay or impediment. This was Mr. WiUard's hope
and expectation, and it is not possible to estimate the disappouit-
ment and chagrin he suffered in consequence of its failure. He
knew the means were not in possession of the association, but he
beUeved they would be furnished. The failure had an effect
upon his whole after Ufe, affecting his spirits and ambition,
changing his plans, purposes and hopes.
Peogeess on the Monument in 1827.
The contracts were performed in a satisfactory and exemplary
manner by the parties named, during the years the work was
in progress, though before the monument was completed an
entire change in the methods of proceeding took place.
When they were made, Mr. Willard expected to go on with the
work, as he expressed it, " in a spirited and masterly manner."
He had long waited for the opportunity to show to the people,
and to the "combination" which hoped to see his plan of
construction fail, what could really be done with that compara
tively new buUding material, the " gray Quincy granite," m
massive structures. In February, he spoke of the " dif
ficulties which had so long hindered the work," as likely to
be soon removed ; but in May, he complained that he " had
been in readiness to commence the mason work for a month,
waiting for stone to be carried." The work, however, was be
gan at this time, and up to the seventeenth of June, twenty-four
thousand two hundred and sisty-three dollars had been expended
by the association — only fifteen thousand dollars of which was

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 143
considered as directly for the monument. The committee ap
pointed to audit the accounts of the Superintendent, on the
eighteenth of July reported as follows : —
" The work is now in a favorable course of prosecution : the
daily expenses at the quarry are for twenty-seven men, $42 98 ;
for tools, including the steel, coal and time of the blacksmith,
$8 33 ; together $51 31. This gang of men wiU get out one
course of the monument in twelve days. The first course of
stone wUl contain one hundred and twenty-four tons four feet
and four inches, in which are sixteen hundred and nineteen feet
three inches of hammering, including the hoUow cone. The
average contents of the first eight courses is one hundred and
twenty tons, and the expense of a course may be calculated thus :
Say for twelve days' work at the quarry,
at $51 31, per day, is . . . $615 72
Transportation to Devens's wharf, at 75 cts. 90 00
Do. from wharf to the hill, at 48 cents,* 57 60
Expense of laying including everything, at
66 and 2-3ds cents per ton, . . 80 00

$843 32

" But we suppose it may amount to near nine hundred dollars.
. . . . Mr. Willard, our disinterested Superintendent, has
been paid his expenses from the ninth of November, 1825, to
the seventeenth of June last, eight hundred and two dollars, in
fuU satisfaction of his services, and has also subscribed to the
funds of the association one thousand dollars in addition to his
time thus given." Signed by H. A. S. Dearborn and Amos
Lawrence, as a sub-committee, July 18th, 1827.
In November, 1827, at the close of the work for that year,
¦•¦ The contract price was forty-three cents per ton.

144 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
which appears not to have equalled the desires of the Directors,
Mr. WiUard made a report to the committee in which he gives
an account of one ofhis "experiments," from which we extract
the following paragraphs : —
" It may be seen by the roll, which I wish the committee to
examine, that the number of working days, from the 16th of
July to the 17th of November, inclusive, amounts to 108. The
whole number of days' labor, done in the hammerers' depart
ment at the ledge, during that time, is 2257 — equal to 20 and
97-108 days' work each day. If the time spent in fitting the
stone on Bunker Hill, viz. 181 days be taken into the account,
it will increase the average per day to 22 and 62-108.
' ' By the roll also it will be seen that the average labor on
the ledge, during the same period of time has been only 6 and
38-108 days' work, having been performed by three splitters
and three capstan men. In the one hundred and eight days
referred to, these six men have spUt and run down one hundred
and eleven blocks of stone, which will average over six tons each
after being dressed ; and they have also split and run down one
hundred and eighty blocks for skirting and hollow cone, which
will average two-thirds of a ton each, besides clearing away the
cellar and wharf stone, which though valuable to those who come
after, is waste to us. In the description of work which has been
quarried at our ledge, there is much greater difference in the
tonnage, before and after being dressed, than usual : I should
think that the difference, including the cellar stone, would
amount to one-third of the whole.
"The large and small blocks together amount to seven hun
dred and eighty-seven tons, to which if we add three hundred
and ninety-three for loss of tonnage in dressing and for cellar
stone, the whole number of tons will be eleven hundred and
ninety, quarried and delivered by six men in one hundred and
eight days : equal to eleven tons per day for one hundred and
eight days in succession. The expenses of the six men to the
association were $10 45 per day, which sum divided by eleven,

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 145
the number of tons got out daUy, gives nmety-five cents per ton.
Then the cost per ton divided by thirteen, the number of cubic
feet in a ton, gives seven cents and three mills for the cost per
cubic foot for the rough stone."
" Our stock, according to the last experiment, costs us ten
cents per cubic foot, measured after it is dressed. Then, if we
add nine and a half cents for carrying, it will amount to nineteen
and a half cents per cubic foot delivered on Bunker Hill. —
I do not beUeve that stock as good could, now be obtained at
any other place, within twenty miles of Boston, for four times
this sum. The original estimate was sixteen and a quarter
cents, and with the facilities anticipated, I have no doubt the
actual expense would have corresponded with the first estimate."
The following extracts from the same report will exhibit in
their proper Ught the high spirit and patriotic feeling which
influenced Mr. Willard in undertaking and conducting this
great work : —
" For executing the work I have thought it the best policy to
hire good men, to pay them fair wages, and to see that their
labor is well directed. In this way you can obtain good men
and keep them, and by using the proper means to excite emula
tion, they will not only be faithful but the work will go on with
a spirit and economy which cannot be attained in any other
way. No graduate from our penitentiary or foreigner has been
employed. The workmen are Americans ; natives of neighbor
ing States ; some are relatives of those who fought on Bunker
Hill and inherit a genuine spirit for the work. Thus far there
has been an uncommon degree of harmony among them. In a
few instances I have discovered a disposition in some to tyrannize
which I have thought proper to discountenance. It seems to
me an improper place to act the Bashaw, the slave or the syco
phant. The work which we are engaged in is a work of patri
otism, where all should be on equal terms.
19

146 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD
" In the prosecution of the work there is nothing required,
(as I conceive,) but to follow the original plan. Provision
should be made immediately for the carrying of the stone. This
although a trifling part of the expense, is important, as a faUure
subjects us to hindrance and heavy loss. I do not see any
propriety in having it in the power of any evil disposed person
to stop our work at his pleasure. If my written instructions
from the Building Committee, given a year ago, do not authorize
me to provide for the carrying of the stone, I wish them to
make such amendments as to make that a part of my duty.
"It is now two years since we commenced quarrying at our
ledge. Time has already elapsed sufficient to have built two
such monuments, if the work had been prosecuted with a spirit
worthy the occasion. What has been done thus far, has been
done with our hands tied, and the way we are going on it will
require another year to finish the work. To me the sacrifice
of three years of my life, together with the labor and vexation
which has attended every movement since the commencement of
the work, is trifling compared with the mortification occasioned
by its tardy progress."
This was Mr. Willard's feeling at the end of two year's
labor, "under difficulties," if not with his "hands tied." He
little dreamed that fifteen years more would elapse before he
should see the work fully completed.
Peogeess on the Monument in 1828.
The work for the season of 1827, having closed, the com
mittee to audit Mr. Willard's accounts reported the amount of
expenditures through -him, from June 17th to December 17th, at
thirteen thousand four hundred and forty-two dollars. Now
that the monument was rising above the surface, the committee
looked forward to a more rapid progress in the coming season.
At a meeting on the 10th of December, it was " Voted, that
the committee entertain and think it due to Mr. Solomon WU-

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 147
lard, to express to him their very high sense and respect for his
able and faithful services and unwearied assiduity in accomplish
ing the patriotic object of the association, and that a copy of this
vote be presented to him." Another vote was passed authoriz
ing him " to employ a suitable number of hands, at such times
as he thinks best, to complete twenty courses of the monument."
In communicating the above vote, Mr. Lawrence, Secretary
of the committee, wrote to Mr. Willard as follows : —
" January 9th, 1828.
" Dear Sir, — Permit me to hand you a vote of the Building
Committee of the Bunker Hill Monument, passed at their last
meeting, (which gives me the more pleasure in communicating,
as the expression of every individual ofthe committee,) with the
assurance of the ardent wish I feel that the great work you
have so long been so faithfully and earnestly engaged in accom-
pUshing, may be completed in a style worthy the conception of
its author, and that your name and fame may go down with the
Bunker Hill Monument to the latest posterity, which I deem
next in honor to sharing the glory of the event this monument
is intended to commemorate.
" With great sincerity, yours, &c.
Amos Lawrence."
The committee were very anxious to complete twenty courses
of the monument, as expressed in their vote, the present season ;
and the chairman. General Dearborn, addressed a letter with
interrogatories to Mr. Willard directly upon this point : In reply
to the fifth question, — " What will be the expense of complet
ing twenty courses, and what will be the daily expenses?" —
Mr. Willard stated the cost at about one hundred dollars per
day, or ten thousand dollars to accompUsh the work by the 4th
of July, in one hundred days ; but, taught by the experience
of the past, he added in a note, " No allowance is made in the
above estimate for unnecessary hindrance which may be occa-

148 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
sioned by the stone remaining in our way after they are dressed."
— The work was commenced at Charlestown, about the middle
of April. Mr. Lawrence previously wrote to Mr. Willard,
' ' I have come to the conclusion that you had better have enough
stone on the ground for five or six courses before beginning, as
the stone can be laid up faster than they can be got out with
our fifty men ; and we have the advantage of making an im
pression at once upon the pubUc mind, which last thmg is
essential to our obtaining the needful for carrying it on."
The directors and architect were zealous and active — the
former giving the work much of their attention and encouraging
by their frequent visits the labors of the latter. During the
two years, Mr. Lawrence was almost a daily visiter to the
hill, and has left the remark that however early in the mormng
he arrived there, he was sure to find Mr. WiUard on the ground.
He was devoted to the work, and the success of his plan for
carrying it on seems to have been complete and satisfactory. —
It could not have been otherwise with the system which he had
inaugurated. Superior workmanship was obtained at the cost
of half the price of ordinary material and work, and had the
means not failed, the whole would have been accomphshed
on the same terms.
With respect to the work done up to this time, the amount of
stone quarried and required, together with the cost of the same
per foot, the committee placed on record the following : —
" By a statement furnished by the architect, it appears that
the quantity of stone actually laid, is, in the foundation eleven
hundred and sixty-seven tons ; in the fourteen courses complet
ed, fifteen hundred and eighty-two tons ; and that there is now
lying on Bunker Hill, hammered, four hundred and ninety-four
tons, (and one hundred tons of flag-stone not wanted for the
monument,) together for the monument, three thousand two
hundred and forty-three tons. The whole quantity required

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 149
[dressed] is six thousand six hundred and eighty-six tons : —
There is quarried at Quincy, twelve hundred and thirty-two
tons ; a very small part of this is also hammered ; and to com
plete the monument, twenty-two hundred and ten tons more are
required to be quarried. The south-eastern section of the ledge
is now prepared and in the best possible order to take out this
whole quantity, the expense of which, at the rate we have paid,
will faU a Uttle short of three thousand dollars. The price paid
for quarrying is seven and a half cents per cubic foot, in the
rough state, which is equal to ten cents in a finished state, or
one dollar and thirty cents per ton finished."

The following "account of the original plan of carrying on
the work, with the success which has attended it," was prepared
by Mr. Willard, for the Committee in 1828, and is a history of
the commencement and progress of the work almost wholly
unknown to the pubUc : —
"Gentlemen — In consequence of the state of the finances
of the Bunker Hill Monument Association, being such as to
require the best possible management in the fiiture prosecution
of the work, Mr. Lawrence has been induced to suggest some
improvements in the mode of conducting it, which may be wor
thy of consideration by the committee ; but previously to acting
on them, it might be well for the committee to take a brief
review of the original plan which occurred to me more than
three years ago, on my first discovery of the quarry, and which
plan has been foUowed, so far as circumstances would permit.
" The outUne of the plan may be seen in a correspondence with
a member of the Committee on the Design, before the Building
Committee were chosen. It was there recommended to choose a
Building Committee of members who were friendly to the design
adopted; to employ agents to conduct the work, who would
manage it with the economy of an individual concern, and the

150 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
services of the committee and agents to be gratuitous. It was
also recommended that the design should be matured, the form
and construction determined, and after the dimensions, quantity
and quality of the stock required were settled, to advertise for
proposals for furnishing it. In case of the proposals coming too
high, it was recommended to the association to purchase a quarry
and to employ men by the day to get out the stock, and also to
make experiments to ascertain the cost of dressing it.
" A quarry had been purchased and kept in reserve expressly
for the work, for a year previous to this time, and all the
estimates for the different designs were based on the supposition
that the stock might be obtained there with great faciUty and
economy. This may be seen by the following estimate made at
the time : the whole quantity required was estimated at about
nine thousand tons, equal to 117,000 cubic feet. The right to.
quarry the stock required for the monument cost $325, equal
to one-quarter of a cent per foot, ^
Cost of quarrying, 6
Cost of transportation to the hill, 10

Total cost per foot, 16^ cents.
" The Building Committee were chosen — the agent appoint
ed — the Plan matured, and the following advertisement was
inserted in the Columbian Centinel, of November 16, 1825, by
the Chairman : —
" ' Proposals will be received for fiirnishing the granite for an
obelisk to be erected on Bunker Hill. The quantity required
will be about 9000 tons, and must be delivered at the prison in
Charlestown, or at a wharf near the navy yard, as may be re
quired. The dimensions of the blocks to be about two feet six
inches Avide and twelve feet long. The granite for the founda
tion may be of a coarse kind, and it will require about 1400
tons. The outside courses of the obelisk must be of the best
Quincy granite, of uniform color, of which about 2600 tons

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 151
will be required. Proposals will be received for Chelmsford
granite for the outer courses. Those who estimate may furnish
Itny quantity to suit their convenience.
" ' Proposals are to be handed to S. Willard, Architect and
Superintendent of the Monument, next to St. Paul's Church,
Boston. Mr. Willard will furnish all necessary information on
the subject. As the work will begin immediately, it is desirable
that the proposals should be sent in as soon as possible.'
" Most of the persons who furnish stone in this vicinty exam
ined the designs accordingly, but offered no proposals. AU
wished to have the construction so altered as to use small stones.
One offered verbally to furnish a part at sixty -two cents per
cubic foot. The majority, however, entered into a combination
to compel the association to change the construction, and to come
•to their terms, as respects the price, (as I was informed at the
time, by one who had been initiated into the mysteries of the
combination. )
" The object of advertising was to give every one an oppor
tunity to furnish the stock, and had their proposals been lower
than the estimates according to our original plan, the association
would have accepted their terms, and abandoned the project of
quarrying their own stock. [There was no possibility of this, for
as we have already seen, Mr. Willard found his own estimate
less than the actual cost.]
'' We commenced opening the quarry on the 16th November.
1825. A wharf was hired in Quincy, and it was intended that
a part of the foundation should have been transported on sleds
during the winter. Severe weather, however, put a stop to our
quarrying in a few weeks, and the remainder of the winter was
spent in clearing the earth and rubbish from the ledge, and
digging out the foundation on Bunker Hill.
[During the winter, Mr. Willard states, the Railway company
was projected, but it " was of no service to us until the last of
September, 1826."]

152 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
" According to the general plan referred to, the work was
divided into five departments, viz : the Quarrying, Hammering,
Carrying, Hoisting and Masons' Departments. The number'
and cost of the men, who filled the various departments, were as
follows : —
" Quarrymen^ s Department. 1 master at $2 ; 5 common
hands at - ; 3 capstan men at - ; 1 blacksmith at 1.67.
" Hammerer'' s Department. 30 hammerers at $1.73 ; 2
blacksmiths at 1.67 ; 1 pattern maker at 1.19.
" Hoister^s Departm^ent. 1 rigger -; 1 master at $2 ; 1
foreman at 1.67 ; 3 common hands, 4.50.
"Mason's Department. 1 master mason at $2.50 ; 3 jour
neymen at 1.67 ; 1 apprentice 1.00 ; 1 blacksmith; 1 tender.
" The whole was intended to move with the regularity of a
time-piece. A due proportion of strength was assigned to each
department and provision made by a reserve in case of a defi
ciency in any particular part. The number of men to be em
ployed to vary as circumstances inight require. The agent of
the association was to be authorized to make all the contracts,
to keep the roll, and to receive and pay out the money. It was
to be his duty to employ the masters in the quarrying, hoisting
and mason's departments, who were to have the Uberty to choose
their own assistants, in order to insure unity of effort. The
variety of form required for the stone, and number of men em
ployed in the hammerer's department, rendered it necessary that
it should be under the immediate direction of the agent, and
means were proposed to excite a proper emulation among those
employed, and also to insure a faithful performance of duty.
" The value of the quarry has exceeded our highest expecta
tions, and although the stone delivered in the hammerer's shed
costs us more than was first estimated, viz. 7^ cents per foot,
[instead of 6^,] it must be recollected that in the experiments
made in order to ascertain the cost, the quarrymen labored un
der disadvantages, which are not likely to occur again. In the
course of the 108-days experiment, the timber run gave way,

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 153
and it became necessary to rebuild it. The run was first con
structed to carry from five to six tons weight — - this being the
heaviest required for the foundation, oi* for the obelisk on the
original construction ; but the blocks being doubled in size, the
run was found to be insufficient to carry them, although it had
answered its first intention for more than a year. There was
also an unusual share of rainy weather during the experiment
when nothing could be done on the ledge. The quarrymen
suffered also in common with the rest, for want of room, in
consequence of the deUnquency of the railway company.
" The dressing of the stock iii the hammerer's department,
has been executed in a superior style of workmanship to what
was first intended, and has consequently cost more per foot. —
The rough dressing of the beds of the foundation, about twenty
, thousand feet, was contracted for at ten cents per foot, and
would have been profitable to the undertakers, if there had been
sufficient room, or had the railway company fulfilled their
agreement. By four experiments of some hundred days, on
blocks of stone of every form required, the cost of fine dressing
has been ascertained to be about forty-three cents per foot
superficial, net measure. A considerable proportion of our
work, however, is circular which has commonly been measured
double : this mode of measuring would reduce the price per foot
about one-third, or say to thirty cents."
" The economy with which our stock has been dressed, I
think, must give satisfaction. Notwithstanding the superiority
of the workmanship, and disadvantages under which we have
labored, it costs but about half what has been given by others
for inferior work the season past.
" The first course of the Tremont Theatre cost, as I have
been informed by the architect, |1 25 per foot. If we deduct
twenty cents per foot for the stock, , it will leave $1 05 for the
dressing. Mr. Webster's underpinning c6st one doUar per foot,
deducting twenty cents leaves eighty cents for the dressing. —
20

154 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
This is gratifying to me, as some of our particular friends bave
been very industrious in attempting to impress on the pubhc
mind, (and I think probably on the minds of the committee,)
that work so well done, and done by the day, (an expensive
mode,) by high-priced hands, must necessarily be very expen
sive. Further on many circumstances will unite to make it
come lower. The workmen will become more experienced and
the fineness of the execution may graduate as the monument
rises. And if the proper room is given to the workmen by
removing the stone when finished, I think it will make a dif
ference of half in the expense of dressing."

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 155

CHAPTER XXI.
SUSPENSION OF THE WORK — DISCHARGE OF MR. WILLARD —
PROPOSED SALE OE THE LAND  1829.

Fourteen courses of the monument above the foundation, —
or about fol-ty feet in height, — were completed with the close
of the season of 1828 ; and the result clearly demonstrated
the fact that a work of this magnitude and character could
not be put forward as rapidly as the committee and the architect
desired, nor yet as cheaply as they had calculated, the quality
of the work considered. No dissatisfaction is anywhere ex
pressed at the result, nor is any explanation of it recorded ; but
it seems certain that the expenditure was larger and the pro
gress of the work less than the committee expected at the end
of the season. Yet there was no ground of complaint : Colonel
Perkins had frequently visited the quarry, and Mr. Lawrence,
as we have said, was a daily visiter at Bunker Hill. Of Mr.
Willard and his workmen, Mr. Lawrence wrote : "Mr. Willard
is engaged in the work with all his soul, . . . and the
quarrymen have as much zeal in performing their duty as their
fathers had in seventy-five." In such hands as these the work
had gone steadily on ; but the committee had worked under
the disadvantage of inadequate means, and were very early
compelled to borrow money to continue their labors. Mr.
Willard had exerted himself to meet the expressed wishes
of the directors and so far succeeded as to have the stone for

156 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
twenty courses nearly completed and on the ground before the
close of the season, as will be seen by the following statement :
The fourteen courses laid required 4582 tons ; the six next
courses required 580 tons ; there were upon the hill ready for
use 494 tons and more at the quarry.
As early as the 16th of June, 1828, the Building Committee
appear to have become disheartened and passed an order "that
as the means of the corporation are so nearly exhausted, no
further expense be incurred beyond present engagements ;" and
on the next day another order " that the work going on at the
Bunker Hill quarry be forthwith suspended." The Secretary,
Mr. Lawrence, appends a note to this last order : " It is expect
ed that all the stone to complete sixteen courses of the monu
ment will be made ready first." It was stated at a meeting of
the committee, on the sixteenth of September, " that the monu
ment had now attained a height of about forty feet ; that the
quantity of stone prepared and on Bunker HiU is equal to car
rying the monument about fifty-eight feet, and that the quar
rying is still continued at Quipcy, the committee feeling un-
wilUng to relinquish that part of the work so long as there
appears strong expectations of raising more funds."
In partial explanation of the above result, Mr. Lawrence, in
an incidental letter to Dr. Warren, made the following state
ments : " The committtee caused the stone for forty feet of the
monument to be completed ; in getting which, owing to former
arrangements at the quarry, there has been a quantity equal to
fifty-eight feet prepared, although not in the regular order in
which it will be laid. . . . The outlay of money has been
greater than was contemplated, owing to the increased quantity
of stone which it was necessary to prepare to complete the forty
feet. The only loss to the association is the advance of the
money for work that cannot be immediately completed."
But the inevitable moment had come and could no longer be
postponed. The funds of the association were exhausted and
its landed property, as well as the balance of the seven thousand

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 157
dollars due from the Commonwealth, had been hypothecated, —
there was no possibility, therefore, of being able to continue the
work. The directors thought they had done all that the public
could require of them. The mortgaging of the land they had
most unwillingly consented to, under the belief that it would
soon be redeemed. The feeling of the committee on this subject
is very well shown in a note appended to the record of the
meeting, (July the 10th, 1828,) at which the loan of sixteen
thousand dollars was authorized: "Mem: It is contemplated
making an appeal to the pubUc "after the monument shall have
been raised forty three feet, for the means to pay off this loan,
and to preserve the land, (to be conveyed as security for the
above loan,) forever from occupation for buildings ; that the
Battle-field of Bunker Hill may remain to posterity a stimulant
to patriotism, a corrective to anarchy." With this loan the
sum of five thousand dollars previously borrowed, was paid off,
and there ' ' now was no lien upon the land excepting this one
of sixteen thousand dollars." Subsequently, however, October
third, a further loan of five thousand dollars was made ; and
again on the twenty-third of January, 1829, another loan of
fourteen hundred dollars was required, making altogether a lien
of twenty-two thousand four hundred dollars upon the land. —
This amount was further increased by the accruing interest.
At the meeting of the Building Committee, on the twenty-
third of January, 1829, "after considerable conversation was
had upon the present condition and prospects ofthe association,"
the following vote was passed : —
" Voted, That all the work at Quincy, or elsewhere, attended
with any expense to the association, be wholly suspended, the
committee having in their opinion gone to the full extent of the
value of all the disposable property of the association, and as
far as pubUc opinion would require of them, until further means
are provided for carrying on the work ; and this committee give
it as their unanimous opinion, that a subscription in some form.

158 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
should be immediately circulated for obtaining the requisite
funds for carrying forward the work."
The work had all been suspended previously to this vote : at
the hill on the first of September, and at the quarry on the
seventeenth of January following, — as stated in an "address"
prepared by a committee appointed in September and printed
in February. This address was " never circulated on account
of the depression of the times."
At the annual meeting of the association, June 17th, 1829,
an almost entirely new government was chosen, with ex- Gover
nor Levi Lincoln as President. At this meeting, after consid
ering the condition and prospects of the association and referring
to what had been done, it was formally declared that a sale of
the land had become necessary, and a resolution was passed,
authorizing the President, with the consent and approbation of
the Directors, " to make and sign any deed or deeds to convey
all or any part of the land, except an area of six hundred feet
by four hundred feet around the monument, now owned by this
association, and situate in Charlestown, in fee simple, and to
acknowledge any deed or deeds by him executed, and to cause
the seal of this corporation to be thereunto affixed — whenever
and so soon as it shall be deemed expedient and proper by him,
with consent and approbation aforesaid, so to do."
At the next director's meeting, a new Building Committee was
chosen. General Dearborn chairman, and at their first meeting,
August 8th, 1829, the subject of laying off the land of the
association into lots, was considered, and the record proceeds — ¦
" The prospect of Mr. Willard's services being further required,
(in the present state of the affairs,) being so distant, it was
voted, that the chairman give Mr. Willard his discharge from
the service of the association, with such expressions of respect
for his services as their nature and character require : the
committee only regret that they have not the control of means
sufficient to authorize him to go on and finish the great work
for which he has sacrificed so much."

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 159
The following is the note sent to Mr. Willard in accordance
with the above proceedings : —
" Brinley Place, August 18, 1829.
" My Dear Sir, — It having been found necessary to suspend
our labors on the Bunker Hill Monument until the funds have
been augmented, your valuable services in the meantime will not
be required ; but we shall rely upon them the moment it may
be in our power to prosecute that glorious work.
" It affords me sincere pleasure to assure you, that the ardu
ous and very responsible duties which devolved upon you as
Superintendent and Architect, have been discharged in the most
faithful and efficient manner, giving unqualified satisfaction to
the Building Committee, and entitling you to the gratitude of
the Association. Science, genius and taste have been so con
spicuously evinced in the plan and execution of the whole work,
as cannot fail to exalt your reputation as an artist, and secure
for you the confidence and patronage of your fellow-citizens.
" With the best wishes for, your prosperity and happiness and
assurances of my great respect and esteem, I am, dear sir, your
most obedient servant, H. A. S. Dearborn, Chairman, &c.
" S. WiUard, Esquire, Architect."
Notwithstanding these proceedings, Mr. Willard was immedi
ately employed in accordance with the vote of the association in
relation to a sale of the land, in laying it out into streets and
lots, with the reserved square around the monument ; and on
the 28th of November, the whole committee being present, it
was determined to recommend to the directors the adoption of
the foUowing vote : "That the plan herewith submitted, drawn
by Solomon Willard, the architect, for laying off the land, be
adopted, and secondly, that it is inexpedient to sell any part of
the land owned by the association at present." These votes
were reported to and adopted by the directors, and together

160 MEMOIR 0I» SOLOMON WILLARD.
with another relative to a lottery, concluded the proceedings of
the directors for the year 1829.
There was great reluctance on the part of some of the direc
tors to disposing of any portion of the land, and they were very
unwilling to do anything with that end in view. They were
encouraged at this time by the lottery scheme, and subsequently
by the hope of gaining the aid of the Commonwealth. Mr.
Willard was probably wilUng to dispose of the land with a view
to the completion of the monument, but Mr. Lawrence was
earnestly opposed to the lottery and as earnestly desirous of
preserving the battle-field intact. The following views on this
subject are fi-om his pen* : —
"It is probable that Boston and the country around, taking
in a distance of three miles from the State House, will contain
a population of more than two hundred thousand within thirty
years, which will of course fill up the most eUgible building
lots within that distance ; among the best is the land on and
about Bunker Hill ; all that part of Charlestown within the
neck will either be joined to Boston, or wiU be so intimately
connected with it as to be practically nearly the same thing to
the city. When our present worthy Mayor-|-, built his house on
Beacon street, he was as much out of town as he would be now
on Bunker Hill, and the land on and around Beacon Hill to
Charles street, was of little more value then, than the land on
and around Bunker Hill is now. Fifty years ago [i. e. eighty
years ago,] Boston Common could not have been sold for a
thousand dollars an acre ; at this time it is above price ; and
had our fathers allowed it to be sold for what seemed then a
great sum, we should now say they were not so provident for

*" March, 1846. I find this among my Bunker Hill papers, which I
prepared, and the substance was issued in 1832 or '33, without a name. Amos
Lawrence. "
¦^Ilon. Harrison Gray Otis, Mayor in 1829, 1830 and 1831 ; but the
house was built some years before.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 161
US as they ought to have been. Tbe whole Bunker Hill field
is perhaps the most beautiful open space in Charlestown ; and
besides the interest in it, growing out of its connection with a
new era in the history of man, it will have the charm of adding
directly tb the comfort of the people who reside in its neighbor
hood, or who use it for a promenade. This beautiful field,
(except a space of six hundred by four hundred feet,) is mort
gaged and must bo sold unless the means can bo raised to save
it. The Bunker Hill Monument Association owe about twenty-
five thousand dollars. It may be said perhaps that six hundred
by four hundred feet is space enough for a Monument Square.
It would be enough, if you had no more, and could get no
more ; but would one fourth part of Boston Common be enough
for the citizens if they could sell the other three-fourths for
enough to pay the city debt, and save two milUons of dollars
besides ? The Bunker Hill field is above price ; the time will
come if it is left open, when it will be the most interesting spot
in this country, perhaps the most interesting in any country,
and will exert a high moral and political influence upon pos
terity. Can we of the present day in any other way appropriate
twenty-five thousand dollars so much to their advantage ? What
man in this city, who received an inheritance from his fathers,
wishes his money had been increased by the sale fifty years ago
of our beautiful Common ? Is not his inheritance increased in
value by its being left open a hundred times the amount it
would have sold for ? . . . Whatever adds to the comforts
of our city, adds to its property ; and every citizen has an
interest in making the residence of every other citizen as com
fortable as possible. In this way we secure the best population
and keep alive a home attachment, a self-respect, of more worth
than all the coin of this Union."
21

162 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER XXII.
DIFFICULTIES IN ENTERPRISES — PLANS POR THE PROSBCUTIOIT
OF THE WORK — 1830.

It has often been remarked that if the difficulties and obsta
cles, to say nothing of disasters and accidents, which are sure to
attend the progress of every considerable enterprise, pubUc or
private, could be fore-knovra, very few of those successfiilly
accompUshed would be undertaken, unless prompted by some
imperative necessity. Fortunately it is not so — fortunately,
perhaps, the reverse is more nearly true : the best view of con
tingencies, the easy side of obstacles, the plausibiUty of theories,
the friendly circumstances, the ease with which difficulties are
to be surmounted and means to be commanded — all these are
contemplated and weighed, — and with an assured reUance
upon our own judgment and energies, no undertaking within
the scope of man's capacity to plan is supposed to be beyond
his abiUty to execute ; and reasoning from what has been accom
plished, in ancient time and in our own time, the conclusion is
neither illogical or without substantial basis.
The Directors of the Bunker Hill Monument Association
were too inteUigent to be misled by any mere plausibiUty ; but
were liable, from the warmth of their own patriotic and generous
impulses, to over-estimate the weight of these upon the public
mind and the readiness with which they would be responded to
by the people at large. This mistake, it is thought, they did

MEMOIR OP SOLO-MON WILLARD. 163
make — honorable to them as showing their confidence in the
patriotism and abiUty of the people, — but productive of the re
sult which ensued. They believed that all the means, however
considerable, required for the work which they proposed to do,
would be ready for their asking : In the address of August,
1830, the Directors say, " The funds on hand were adequate
to a considerable progress in the structure, and reliance was
placed on the public spirit, liberality and patriotism of the com
munity to furnish the means which should be eventually
wanting to complete it :" and Mr. Willard, whose interest
and ardor were equal to their own, placed entire confidence
in their judgment in this matter, and in their ability in any
event to forward the noble work which they had undertaken. —
He was very much averse to "begging," as he called it, and
hoped as the directors did, that the worthiness of the object
would command the means. They appear to have thought, in
the first place, that the contributions would be so general that
a small sum from each individual would be sufficient to accom
plish the object ; but it was a mistake to suppose that all would
or could give the same sum : the least able in hundreds of in
stances, gave the amount apparently desired, and the wealthy,
in other hundreds of instances, contented themselves with sub
scribing the same amount. The records of the association show
that in the towns and cities of the Commonwealth, the sums
subscribed by the rich were almost invariably of the small
amount required for membership, — as if membership and a
diploma and not the monument were the object ; — those who
could not give that sum did not give at all — so that the lowest
amount was obtained from the rich, and the same or nothing,
from all other classes.
The work having been suspended, the directors earnestly
engaged in plans and efforts to provide means for its prosecution,
when the next season opened. The proposed lottery scheme
having been abandoned, the committee charged with the prose
cution of that measure were instructed to petition the legislature

164 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD
for "a grant in money or land, or aid in such other manner as
the general court might deem most expedient." But the gen
eral court had no idea of aiding the work, and never did so ex
cepting as already stated. Mr. Willard was opposed to these re
peated applications and preferred to rely on the people. Upon
being repulsed again at the door of the State House, the com
mittee on the sixth of April, reported as follows : " We are thus
thrown back upon public patronage for obtaining the requisite
funds for completing the monument ; and have no doubt of
ultimate success ; for the cause is honorable, patriotic and
sacred, and the people will assuredly go on with a work which
they have commenced with ardor, and will glory in prosecuting
until it towers aloft in completed magnificence." This was
entirely in accordance with Mr. Willard's hopes and feeUngs.
The proposition of Mrs. Sarah J. Hale to inaugurate an effort
to raise funds to complete the monument by an appeal to the
Ladies of New England, made to the Building Committee in
January, was laid before the Directors in April, 1830. It was
accepted with avidity, and it was voted "that this commendable
effort . . . merits the grateful acknowledgments of the
Directors, . . . and that whatever sum of money may be
obtained shall be considered sacred and appUed for the sole
purpose of completing the monument." This effort produced
something over twenty-two hundred dollars, which was deposited
with the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company, and
when appUed to the work amounted to about three thousand
dollars. Notwithstanding the confident language of the committee
above quoted, at the annual meeting in June, the Directors
were instructed to petition the legislature again for a grant of
money from the amount at that time expected from the general
government "on account of the militia services rendered by the
State during the last war." They were also instructed to pre
pare an address to the people explanatory of the views of the
association, of its operations and condition, and to distribute the

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 165
same in every town in the Commonwealth. The address, from
the pen of Mr. Everett, was submitted on the thirteenth day of
August, and was an earnest, argumentative and eloquent appeal
to the people and the legislature for aid in the completion of
their patriotic undertaking. In confirmation, as it would seem,
of the remarks in the opening of this chapter, the committee
speak of their labors as follows : "In short, the Directors ask
permission to observe that their labors have been arduous be
yond what would be thought by those unacquainted from expe
rience with similar undertakings ; that they are conscious of
having been actuated by no motives but those of public duty ;
that with a single eye to the completion of this great public
work, many of them have bestowed more time, attention and
labor upon it, than can often be spared from private avocations ;
and that they have done this without the hope of any other re
ward than that of being regarded as faithful agents of an im
portant, public trust."
Referring to the history of the debt due to the State and as
sumed by the general government, the address says, " In the
debate on the assumption [of this debt] in the first Congress, it
was particularly stated (as we are informed by Chief Justice
Marshall,) ' that the ammunition which repulsed the enemy at
Bunker Hill was purchased by Massachusetts and formed a part
of the debt of that State.' In the war of 1812, this fund was
again expended by Massachusetts in active preparation to repel
an anticipated invasion. Being a second time returned by the
general government to the coffers of the State, what more ap
propriate use could be made of a small portion of it than to
grant it for the completion of this grand and interesting memo
rial of that ever memorable achievement of the militia of Mas
sachusetts and her sister New England States which will render
this portion of our soil sacred and famous to the end of time. —
. . . The fund originally bestowed in providing warlike sup
plies of the seventeenth of June, 1775, will then, as it were, be
visibly embodied and preserved upon the field of that day's un-

166 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
dying glory. There it will exist for the admiration of posterity,
ages after every vestige of the ordinary disbursements of the
State shall have passed away ; teaching the children of America,
who from every portion of the RepubUc will make their pilgrim
age to this sacred spot, while they behold the majestic structure
that crowns it, that the people of Massachusetts of this genera
tion are resolved that the gallant deeds of their fathers shall not
pass uncommemorated."
This appeal of reason and eloquence was lost upon the legis
lature, the petition never receiving its attention.
Mr. Willard thought to aid these efforts of the directors by
preparing a pamphlet for the press, containing the act of incor
poration and by-laws, a list of contributors and the amount
subscribed by each, a statement showing the magnitude and
purpose of the work and the original estimate of its cost. The
manuscript copy of this pamphlet, now among the papers in
possession of the association, is an evidence of the industry and
application of Mr. Willard in whatever he undertook. It com
prises nearly one hundred pages of copying, including several
thousand names, arranged under the headings of the counties
and towns in which the contributors resided. At the meeting
on the seventeenth of June, the association voted to pay the cost
of printing the pamphlet and ordered copies to be distributed
among the members.
The last meeting of the Building Committee was held on the
the sixteenth of June, 1830. The report of the Treasurer, at
this time, shew a balance of $2025 34, in his hands, nearly one
half of which had been received from the ladies.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 167

CHAPTER XXm.
INTERRUPTION IN THE GOVERNMENT — EFFORTS OF THE
MECHANICS' ASSOCIATION — 1831 — 1833.

The appUcation to the legislature and the appeal to the
people, eloquent and forcible as these were, and sustained in the
one case by a most respectable committee and in the other by
the entire government of the association, may have made an
impression on the public mind, but produced no direct results in
the prosecution of the work. Other measures, inaugurated to
wards the end of the last year, were not prosecuted during the
winter, and the recurrence of the annual meeting in June, 1831,
found the monument covered in, and all the work in statu quo.
Only forty persons attended the meeting of the association, and
a majority of these were prominent among the leaders of a
newly-formed poUtical party,* who were violently opposed to
those proceedings of the association which admitted the Masonic
fraternity to a participation in the service of laying the corner
stone in 1825 ; and they succeeded in electing themselves and
their friends to office — a measure preliminary, it was said but
since denied, to changes of a more objectionable character on ,
the work itself At this meeting the President was elected by
twenty-eight votes, being a majority of seven. The offices,
heretofore filled by the projectors and early friends of the mon-
*Th;s party was known as the " Anti-Masonic party "

168 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
ument, were thus taken possession of by those who had other
purposes to subserve than the completion of the work which they
proposed to assume. The designs of this party, however, what
ever they were, were thwarted by their failure to elect a fiiU
board of directors and by measures which were adopted at an
adjournment of the meeting when the existing vacancies were
filled. The meeting for this purpose was held in Faneuil Hall,
when five hundred and eighty-two members of the association
were present and voted. The remainder of the directors were
elected by a nearly unanimous vote, no one of them having less
than five hundred and seventy-nine votes. Not only the mem
bers of the association but the whole community condemned
the proceedings which rendered a second meeting necessary.
The new party held numerous meetings, — generally without
a quorum, — during their year of service, but did not attempt
to organize a Building Committee, nor succeed in inaugurating
any measures to forward the work. In a "report," printed but
never presented to the association, the President and his coiv-
freres attempted to justify their proceedings, establish the hon
esty and disinterestedness of their motives, and throw blame and
odium upon the honorable, patriotic and devoted gentlemen who
both preceded and succeeded them in office. The conclusion,
however, to which they came very early in their "report," was
that " They found the monument incompleted, . . . and
they left as they found it." This was precisely what it was
feared they would not do ; but they were held in subjection by
their associates and the still stronger bias of public sentiment.
It may be said of their " report" that " what there is true in it
is not new, and what is new is not true." The true portions
are admitted ; the untrue it has never been deemed necessary
to answer. Among the truths which form the exceptions to its
general character, are the words bestowed upon the patriotic
architect, whom they accurately describe as "the indefatigable
and extraordinarily disinterested architect." The argument
intended to demonstrate the fact that Mr. Willard was the true

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 169
architect of the monument, was wholly uncalled-for from them
and only necessary for a sinister purpose, — that of casting
odium upon the masonic fraternity and the proceedings in which
they took part.
At the annual meeting in June, 1832, the association re
deemed itself and restored the government to those to whom it
rightfully belonged. Mr. William Prescott, who had been so
unceremoniously displaced, was again elected President by over
four hundred votes. Nothing was done towards the completion
of the monument during the year. In December a committee
was appointed " to consider what measures it will be expedient
to adopt with reference to raising funds for the completion of
the work ;" but its services were never made available.
In May, 1833, the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Asso
ciation, " not less in accordance with their own feelings than in
compliance with the desire of others," undertook the inaugura
tion of measures for the immediate completion of the monument.
They adopted resolutions, published an address to the people,
held a great public meeting in Faneuil Hall, and in other ways
entered earnestly upon the undertaking. In all their measures
they had the consent, the sympathy and the cooperation of the
Monument Association, the Directors having promptly voted,
" That this Board are highly gratified by this manifestation of
interest in a great national work on the part of the Massachu
setts Charitable Mechanic Association ; that this Board respect
fully recommend to all the members of the Bunker Hill Monu
ment Association to render all the aid and support in their
power in this highly acceptable and praiseworthy interposition
to do honor to the past and to the present age, and to deserve
the gratitude df ages to come."
The public meeting. in Faneuil Hall, was held on the 28th of
May ; the Directors determined to attend in a body and invited
the members of the association to be present " in testimony of
their accordance in the honorable and patriotic feelings which
have influenced the Mechanic Association to take these meas-
22

170 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
ures." The principal address on this occasion was by Mr.
Edward Everett, whose heart had been interested in the subject
from the first suggestion of the work. This speech, Mr. Law
rence wrote, was "the most eloquent he ever made." It was
" touching and beautiful, and was considered at the time as deci
sive and that the money would be subscribed for finishing the
monument and saving the whole field, at once." Mr. Lawrence
was sick, could do nothing himself and became impressed with
the idea that the mechanics had failed in this instance, "to
strike while the iron was hot." " If I had been in health," he
wrote on a copy of this address, " I would have had the whole
thing done, so far as collecting fifty thousand dollars would have
done it, in forty-eight hours after the adjournment of this meet
ing." We feel justified in quoting a brief passage from the
address of Mr. Everett, as the argument may be almost as ne
cessary with some persons today as when first deUvered : —
" But I am met with the great objection. What good will
the Monument do 7 I beg leave, sir, to exercise my birth
right as a Yankee, and answer this question by asking two or
' three more, to which I believe it will be quite as difficult to
furnish a satisfactory reply. I am asked. What good will the
Monument do ? And I ask. What good does anything do ?
What is good ? Does anything do any good ? The persons who
suggest this objection, of course, think that there are some pro
jects and undertakings that do good ; and I should therefore
like to have the idea of good explained and analyzed, and run
out to its elements. When this is done, if I do not demonstrate
in about two minutes, that the Monument does the same kind of
good that anything else does, I will consent that the huge blocks
of granite already laid, should be reduced to gravel, and carted
off to fill up the mill-pond : for that I suppose is one of the
good things. Does a railroad or canal do good ? Answer, Yes.
And how ? It facilitates intercourse, opens markets and in
creases the wealth of the country. But what is this good for ?

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 171
Why, individuals prosper and get rich. And what good does
that do ? Is mere wealth, as an ultimate end, — gold and silver
without an inquiry as to their use, — are these a good ? Cer
tainly not. I should insult this audience by attempting to prove
that a rich man, as such, was neither better nor happier, than a
poor one. But as men grow rich, they live better. Is there
any good in this, stopping here ? Is mere animal life, — feed
ing, working, and sleeping like an ox, entitled to be called good ?
Certainly not. But these improvements increase the population.
And what good does that do ? Where is the good in counting
twelve milUons instead of six of mere feeding, working, sleeping
animals ? There is then no good in the mere animal life, ex
cept that it is the basis of that higher moral existence which
resides in the soul, the heart, the mind, the conscience ; in good
principles, good feelings, and the good actions, (and the more
disinterested, the better entitled to be called good,) which flow
from them. Now, sir, I say that generous and patriotic senti
ments ; sentiments which prepare us to serve our country, to
live for our country, to die for our country, — feelings like those
which carried Prescott, and Warren, and Putnam, to the battle
field, are good ; — good, humanly speaking, of the highest order.
It is good to have them, good to encourage them, good to honor
them, good to commemorate them ; and whatever tends to cher
ish, animate and strengthen such feelings, does as much right
down practical good as filUng up flats and building railroads.
This is my demonstration."
This eloquent and beautiful address, and especially the en-
nobUng lesson we have quoted, as well as the celebrated orations
by Mr. Webster, is to be counted among the "good thmgs"
which the erection of the monument has produced.
That the Directors of the Monument Association fully appre
ciated the "interposition" of the Mechanic Association has al
ready been shown. As a further acknowledgment of the inter
est manifested and the service proposed to be rendered, the by-

172 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
aws were altered so as to enlarge the Board of Directors, and
the office of first Vice President was made inherent in the per
son holding the office of President of the Mechanic Association.
At the annual meeting in June, in accordance with these pur
poses, Mr. J. T. Buckingham was elected fiist Vice President,
and a number of gentlemen in the same interest chosen on the
Board of Directors.
Thus were the different classes of society, as represented by
the various occupations and professions, again united as in rev
olutionary times, in a common object of public interest. Then,
the merchants, the lawyers, the doctors and the clergy, united
with the mechanics ; now, the mechanics had come to the aid
of the professions, in a cause of much less magnitude, but one
entirely worthy of an united effort.
As a means of promoting subscriptions, a new certificate of
membership was prepared in the name of the two associations ;
and this, while it afforded a slight encouragement to art, requir
ed the expenditure of a thousand dollars, which of course, was
added to the amount to be raised for the monument. The design
of this diploma included a view of the battle-field, and one of the
completed monument with the city in the back ground.
In July, at a meeting of the Directors, an Executive Com
mittee of nine was appointed, with Mr. Buckingham as chair
man. They were instructed to inquire into various matters
pertaining to the progress and completion of the work and
state of the subscriptions, and to report their opinion as to the
best mode of future proceedings. Two other meetings were held
this year, but the committee were not then prepared to report.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 173

CHAPTER XXIV.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE — -MR. WILLARD'S REVIEW OF IT.
The year 1834, it was hoped and beUeved, would see the
monument re-commenced and completed. It had been for ten
years before the public, and nearly nine years had elapsed since
the ceremony of laying the corner-stone was performed — at
which time no one supposed it would require more than a year
or two to complete the work. When the Mechanic Association
inaugurated the present movement, public confidence revived
and there was a general desire to see the roofing removed from
the monument and the work begun.
In January, Mr. Buckingham reported that the Mechanic
Association had obtained subscriptions to the amount of about
thirty thousand dollars, mostly on the condition that fifty thous
and dollars should be subscribed. In May, the same gentleman
presented the report of the Executive Committee in detail. —
The following extract is from this report : —
" The report [of a sub-committee] is herewith submitted, and
it will be seen therefrom that the work already done under the
direction of the architect, Mr. Solomon Willard, is well and
faithfully done, and at less cost than it could have been done by
any person but Solomon Willard, who has devoted himself to
the monument with extraordinary enthusiasm.
" The sub-committee estimate the future work at one dollar
and thirty cents per cubic foot. Mr. Willard estimates it at
eighty-nine and a half cents. The former estimate is assumed

174 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
for the present purpose as the safest, and on that basis the sub
committee report that it wUl cost —
" To raise the monument 121 feet, $28,967 36
" " " 159 feet 6 inches, 42,922 40
" " " 220 feet, 55,576 40
" The Committee are of opinion that the present effort should
be limited to raising the monument [to the height of] one hun
dred and fifty-nine feet six inches.
" The corporation owes $30,000. This debt arose from the
purchase of the battle-ground in the hope that it might be kept
open and sacred forever  Assuming two things for
the present purpose, viz : 1st, That the battle-ground must go
to common uses. 2d, That the monument shall be considered
completed, as to the present effort, when raised to the elevation
of one hundred and fifty-nine feet six inches, — Can means be
found to complete it ?
" The Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association have
subscriptions for about thirty thousand dollars, on condition
that the whole amount subscribed rise to fifty thousand doUars
by the first of June, 1834. Supposing that this condition can
be complied with, then the case would stand thus : —
" Cost of building 159 feet 6 in., - - $42,922 40
" Present debt, - - - 30,000 00

Total, .... $72,922 40
" It is hoped that a company can be formed to take the land
of the corporation in shares of five hundred dollars each, leaving
a four hundred feet Square and streets on each side fifty feet
wide. If so, there would be raised —
" Towards the debt, - - - $25,000
" Present subscriptions, - _ . 30,000
" Expected subscriptions, - - 20,000
" Sale of machinery, (cost $10,000) 2,000
*' Ladies' fund, 3,000

Total, - - . $80,000"

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 175
In view of this state of affairs, the Monument Association
consented that the Mechanic Association should " forthwith
proceed with what means they have and can collect, to raise the
monument one hundred and fifty-nine feet six inches," and that
the "Ladies' Fund" and the new Certificates of Membership,
should be placed at their disposal ¦ — and votes were passed ac
cordingly at the same meeting, on the 5th of May.
Mr. Willard was a member of the Mechanic Association, and
of course was cognizant of all these proceedings. Although
discharged from the work, he was constantly consulted by the
Executive Committee, both in relation to the laying out and
sale of the land and the work on the monument, done and to be
done. Mr. Peres Loring was employed by the committee to
make a survey of the whole work and estimates of the amount
of stone already in the monument or prepared for use, and of
the amount required to complete the work.
The condition of things at this time, as now briefly stated,
and especially the report of the sub-committee, drew from Mr.
Willard the following characteristic letter :
" Boston, May, 1834.
" Dear Sir, — After reviewing the report of the committee,
which was the subject of a conversation at your office the other
day, I still think that there are parts of it which may be con
sidered by some as wanting in accuracy. I apprehend that there
are those who may be disposed to question the truth of the asser
tion that the work has been done " at a less cost than it could
have been done by any" other. Indeed it is quite obvious that
this could not have been known to be true ; and, admitting it to
be so, it gives no definite idea of the value of the services ren
dered by the one who conducted the work, which appears to
have been the principal object in making the statement. The
services referred to had undoubtedly a value of a substantial
kind, — a value in dollars and cents, — a mode of estimating
things with which Bostonians are known to be competent judges.

176 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
And the exact sum might have been shown by merely stating
the market value of the work done and deducting therefrom the
sum expended.
" I have always felt solicitous to have this point settled, and
it appears now to be a favorable time : One of the principal
objects of my engaging in the enterprize was to ascertain by
actual experiment the prime cost of a building material which
was much wanted, and the design of erecting the monument
presented a favorable opportunity.
" The plan for prosecuting the work was suggested by myself,
and adopted by the Building Committee who then had charge
of the work, and who are about to resign the trust into other
hands. I think, therefore, at the conclusion of their labors, it
would be satisfactory to all concerned to know the result of the
experiment which has been made, whether favorably or not, and
I think also that it is a duty which the committee owe to them
selves to make a proper' statement,- as those who are about to
take their places will not be backward in assuming whatever
credit may fairly belong to them. I think also that a true ahd
faithful account of their stewardship is due from the committee
to those who have contributed to the funds, as by satisfying
them that their money has been well expended is the most Ukely
way to obtain more. A clamor has been kept up from the
commencement of the work to the present time, in relation to
the expenditure of the funds, and should it be found on exami
nation that the work has actually cost more than has been paid
for corresponding work at other places, it will undoubtedly be a
proof of injudicious planning, and show conclusively that the
services of their committee and agent have been of no advantage
to the association, whatever their endeavor may have been to
render them so. On the contrary, if it be found that the work
has cost less than others have paid for similar work, there will
be a credit due for skilful management, and its exact value will
be indicated by the balance found.
" The quantities of stone and dressing that have been delivered

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 177
are already known by actual survey. According to Loring' s
measurement, there are 57,802 feet of stone, cubic measure,
already spUt out and a larger part delivered on Breed's Hill.
The market value of such a lot of stone, I shall estimate at 75
cents per cubic foot, and the whole would amount to $43,351.50
at that price. The number of feet of dressing, according to the
same survey and measured in the customary way, is 52,569
feet, superficial measure. The average price of first rate work,
for fifteen years past, is assumed to be 50 cents, and the whole
wiU amount at that price to $26,284 50. The number of cubic
feet laid up, according to the same survey, is 35,878, and the
market price per foot, is assumed to be 30 cents, including the
fitting, hoisting, laying, mortar, iron cramps, and scaffolding,
with the wear on the machinery, and every other expense con
nected, and would amount at the above price to $10,763 40, —
and the total amount of the three items at the assumed prices,
would be $80,399 40.
" The question to be settled is whether the assumed prices
are an average of those paid for similar work for the last fifteen
years, or whether they are above or below the current prices.
" In order to ascertain this it will be necessary to refer to the
bills paid for similar work at different places. And in relation
to the cost of the stone, of the dimensions of those used at the
monument, we may refer to the bills paid at the General Hos
pital, for the blocks which compose the columns, and to those
paid at the Branch Bank for the architrave pieces, and the
blocks for the columns which were originally intended to have
been in five pieces, and for which contracts were made. We
may also refer to the bills paid at the Tremont House, for the
blocks for the columns to the portico and in the cornice ; and to
those paid at the Washington Bank for the footings to the col
umns, and at the Arcade in Providence, for similar pieces. We
may also refer to the bills paid at the Dry Docks in Charles
town and Norfolk, for a large number of blocks of a correspond
ing size ; and to those paid at the new Bank now erecting in
23

178 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
State street, for the piers that support the columns. And also
to those that are to be paid at the New Court House for a large
quantity of work about to be contracted for, and to any bills
which may have been paid for blocks of four tons weight, sold
in the market within the time specified.
" In order to ascertain the value of the dressing, of first rate
work, we have only to refer to the prices paid at some of the
principal buildings that have been erected, viz : to those paid at
Mr. Sears's house, for straight and circular work ; to those paid
at the Tremont House, at the Theatre, at Mr. Webster's house,
at Mr. Cushing's house, at the New Court House, at the new
Bank, at Astor's Hotel, &c. The market value of the mason
work may be found in a similar manner, and a bill in the form
of an account current, including the three items above-named at
the prices found, would probably stand as follows :
[We omit the form of account mentioned as being simply a
recapitulation of the above statements.]
" Allowing the prices assumed to be the market prices, the
above bill shows that the work already done would have cost the
association the sum of eighty thousand three hundred and ninety-
nine dollars, had they paid the current price, — a sum far ex
ceeding the one actually paid out.
" But the advantages already derived are not all that are
possessed by the association, in consequence of the labors and
good planning of those who commenced the work. There are
still nearly thirty-four thousand feet of stone required to carry
the monument to the height proposed, for which the association
would have to pay the market price were they excluded from
the quarry they now possess, and from other advantages derived
from the exertions of those who have been early engaged.
" The current prices may be found as in other cases, namely,
by collecting an account of sales for the time specified. With
respect to ascertaining the prices which have been paid for the
dressing and mason's work, there will be little difficulty. The

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 179
prices paid for blocks of granite, of the dimensions used at the
monument, will not be so easily ascertained, as care has gener
ally been taken to conceal the amount paid. This has been
accompUshed either by a secret contract or evasive answers, or
by " lumping" the high and low priced stone together. The
prices which have been paid per cubic foot at the different places
referred to, are supposed to be nearly as foUows :

At the General Hospital, for columns,
At the Branch Bank, for architrave.
Which were to have been paid for columns.
At the Tremont House, for columns,

blocks for cornice,

Per Cubic foot.
1 00
2 00
1 00
1 00
60
1 00
1 00
• 60 70
1 00
1 00

» At the Washington Bank, for footing.
At the Arcade in Providence, for do.,
At the Dry Dock in Charlestown,
At Norfolk for Dry Dock,
At the New Bank in State street, for piers.
For the New Court House,
Average price of these sales, 99 cents.
" It will be observed that the average of the above sales is
higher than the one assumed in the account.
" Nothing appears to be necessary in order to show the value
of the plan that has been pursued, and the credit due to the
managers than to settle the market value per foot of the three
items of the foregoing bill. ....
" In relation to the estimate made by the sub-committee of the
expense of the work to be done, there is something that I do not
understand. It is stated in the report that ' the sub-committee
estimate the future work at one dollar and thirty cents the cubic
foot ; Mr. Willard estimates it at eighty-nine and a half cents.
The former price is assumed for the present purpose as the safest,
and on that basis the committee report.' That one hundred and
thirty cents per foot would be considered more safe than eighty-
nine and a half cents, I think is quite probable ; and that two

180 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
dollars per foot would be considered still more safe ; but it
strikes me that it would have been much more ingenuous for
the sub-committee to have stated the exact sum that the work
had cost per foot, and if they perceived any reason why the work
to be done should cost more, to have given their reasons and the
estimated amount. An actual experiment is a practical demon
stration, and to oppose the opinion of any one who never saw a
stone quarried to the best possible wisdom, is exceedingly absurd.
I think also that it is presuming quite too much on the guUi-
biUty of the public to present so loose an estimate.
'' The expenses connected with any great enterprise, it is well
known, consist of the outlay required in making the necessary
preparations for commencing it ; and the cost of the labor and
wear of apparatus in prosecuting the work. The preparations
for commencing the work of building the monument required a
considerable expenditure. At Breed's Hill, the preparation
consisted in sinking a foundation nearly fifty feet square and
twelve feet deep, and laying an inclined plane of flag-stone from
the road to the monument, to faciUtate the drawing up of the
large blocks of granite which it would have been difficult to do
on the soft ground. The prosecution of the work required also
an expensive hoisting apparatus, with substantial guy-posts,
planted deep in the earth and ballasted. A capstan-house was
also necessary, with sheds and blacksmiths' shops, and various
sets of tools, jacks and other apparatus. A hoisting apparatus
was also found necessary at the wharf where the stone was
landed. " The preparations at Quincy consisted in clearing and open
ing the quarry ; making roads, erecting a boarding-house, black
smiths' shop, stone cutters' sheds and other buildings ; a timber
run and machinery for lowering the stone, &c. And there was
also a large quantity of quarrying apparatus wanted, consisting
of jacks, iron bars, sledges, hammers, &c., the greater part of
which are now on hand.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 181
" The expense of all this apparatus, with the time lost ; cost
of superintendence, and various other expenses, have been car
ried to the contingent account, where they, properly belong. The
total amount of this contingent bill is about $17,400, and this
sum being divided by the whole number of feet of stone required
at the outset, namely, 87,000, would give twenty cents, as the
cost per foot for the contingent expenses in making the necessary
preparation for commencing the work, &c.
" The cost of labor and wear of apparatus per foot, for the
work already performed, have been found by experiment to be
seventy-three cents, namely, cost of quarrying per foot measured
after the blocks are brought to form, ten cents ; cost of trans
porting from the quarry to the site of the monument, nine and
a half cents per foot ; the cost of dressing one foot and one-fiftieth
of a foot, (being the quantity on each foot cubic measure,) was
about thirty-seven cents ; and the cost of fitting, hoisting, ma
son work, mortar, iron cramps, scaffolding, &c., per foot, has
been sixteen and a half cents. This has been ascertained by
dividing the whole sum paid out by the whole number of cubic
feet laid up, according to Boring's survey. And all the details
of the expense of a foot will be as follows, viz :
Cost of quarrying, per foot, . . . 10
Cost of dressing one and one-fiftieth at 36, . 37
Cost of transportation, .... 09.5
Cost of fitting, hoisting, masonry, &c. . 16.5
Total for labor and wear, ... 73
Contingent expense per foot paid, . . 20

Total expense laid in the work, . . 93 cents.
" It must be obvious that had the work been completed with
out interruption, there would have been but little further occa
sion for the kind of expense which has been carried to the con
tingent account, as all the necessary preparation had been made.
The quarry was considered in perfect order for finishing the

182 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
work without any further expense in clearing. The roads were
all made and in good repair, and most of the apparatus was in
perfect order, and consequently all the expense that could have
attended the completion of the work, was the cost of the labor
and the wear on the apparatus, which has been proved by actual
experiment to have amounted to only seventy-three cents per
cubic foot, laid in the work. And the thirty-two thousand feet
required to carry the work to the height proposed at seventy-
three cents per foot, would amount to only twenty-three thous
and three hundred and sixty dollars, ($23,360.)
" But in consequence of the suspension of the work for several
years, and the decay of various parts of the apparatus, and
other circumstances connected, there are parts of the work which
I think will cost more than similar parts that have been already
done. The quantity of dressing in proportion to the cubic foot,
is found to increase as we rise in height. The average of the
part which remains to be done is about one and a quarter feet
of dressing to each cubic foot of stone ; whereas in that which
has been already finished there is only one and one-fiftieth to
each cubic foot. But having in view all the important bearings,
I shall estimate the cost of the work to be done at the following
rates, provided it be under the direction of competent managers :
[This estimate differs from the preceding in putting the trans
portation at 12 cents per foot, making the cost for labor and
wear of machinery 76 cents ; and reducing the contingent ex
penses to 6 cents, making the total cost per foot laid in the work,
82 cents.] 32,000 feet, the quantity required to carry the
work one hundred and sixty feet high, at 82 cents, $26,240 ;
deduct for- the value of the apparatus to be sold at the end, es
timated by the sub-committee, $2,500 ; balance required to be
raised, $23,740. Balance required to be raised as estimated by
sub-committee, 'in order to be safe,' $42,922 40.
" The committee appear to have made quite a mistake in say
ing that ' Mr. Willard estimates [the future work] at eighty-
nine and a half cents.' If the committee will turn to the pamph-

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 183
let published some yeaTS ago, they will see that eighty-nine
and a hair cents is estimated as the mean average cost of the
whole work, and consequently it should have been inferred that
part of the work had cost more than that sum and that a part
would cost less. This sum of eighty-nine and a half cents covers
the expense not only of the labor and wear on the apparatus, but
also a contingent expense which has already been paid on the
work to be done as well as on that finished. If the committee
will examine my last estimate, they will see that the whole work
was estimated at eighty-five thousand seven hundred and five
dollars thirty-four cents. This sum divided by eighty-seven
thousand and thirty- five, the whole number of feet, gives ninety-
seven cents and seven mills, as the estimated cost laid ¦ in the
work. This estimate they will observe, is accompanied by a
proviso, namely, that ' the above sum is undoubtedly greater
than would have been required to have completed the work with
the advantages possessed at the time the work was suspended,
and will probably effect it now, provided men are employed who
possess equal tact and zeal with those who commenced the work ,
and who will render their service for the same compensation.'
" The ninety-seven cents seven mills includes the contingent
expense of twenty cents per foot, which is already paid and
should be deducted, which will leave seventy-seven cents seven
mills for the cost of labor and wear of apparatus per foot, in the
future work according to that estimate ; but since that estimate
was made I have examined the state of things and think it
expedient to estimate the cost per foot as high as eighty-two
cents per foot for reasons before stated.
" I have not been able to satisfy myself what the true motives
of the committee were in estimating the cost of the work so high.
It has already been shown that the expense of the work to be
done, at the cost of that which is already executed, would
amount to less than $24,000. The committee estimate the sum
required to do the same work at $42,922, without giving any
reasons, except that they consider it a more safe estimate. —

184

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

Now if these gentlemen-mechanics consider it dangerous to at
tempt to execute a piece of work as low as it has already been
done, by ' lawyers and doctors,' they had better let the old com
mittee finish the work, as it would be an immense saving to the
public of whom they beg the money.
" If the committee want the money for any other purpose
than the one assigned, it discovers a dupUcity which, I appre
hend, will not be wholly agreeable to the public. For my own
part I dislike the appearance of trick and deception anywhere,
and in the present case in particular, I think a strait forward
and manly course would be the best policy. To represent that
more money is wanted than is actuaUy required to finish the
work, I think is bad policy, as it has a tendency to discourage
the people from contributing, — and to leave them in ignorance
of the merits of the transaction is still worse. I apprehend that
not one in ten thousand of the subscribers to the funds is ac
quainted with the merits of the case. It is generally thought
that much has been spent and little done. The reverse is actu
ally the truth, and ought to have been explained to the people
before they were soUcited a second time for money. Had this
been done, I have not a shadow of doubt they would have con
tributed freely and to any amount which might have been
wanted to complete the work.
The people should have been shown what is actually true,
that Uttle had been expended and much performed, and that
little more was required ; that the proposed monument was
comparatively a small work ; that the association possessed at
the outset every natural advantage for conducting the work with
economy which the world ever afforded and that these advantages
had been improved ; that the executive parts had been in the
hands of competent managers, who were zealous, a fact which is
further shown by their performing the service gratuitously, and
by the value of the work delivered for the sum expended.
" I have always disliked the plan of sending to foreign places
to beg subscriptions. Everybody knows that we are abundantly

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 185
able to complete the work without their aid were we so disposed.
To send to France, to England, and to the Southern cities, when
so little is wanted, seems to be making a great parade about a
comparatively small matter, and appears to me to be boring our
friends in those places unnecessarily ; exposing our own mean
ness and disgracing the work on which we are engaged."*
Anxious as Mr. Willard was to have the monument complet
ed, he was averse to anything which might be distorted or ex
aggerated into the appearance of deception, and was equally
unwilling to have the reputation of the people compromised by
asking for assistance in a work that ought to have been promptly
and ungrudgingly done, — as he had done his share, — by a truly
grateful people. Some of the free remarks in the preceding
letter may appear to need the extenuation of Mr. Willard's
pecuUar views and feelings on the subject to justify the ut
terance of them. They are so indicative of his character for
independence, self-reliance, and confidence in the justice of the
people, that we have not thought it expedient to omit or
modify them.

* This letter was addressed to Mr. WiUiam SuUivan, who was a member
of the Executive Committee, first appointed on the movement of the Mechanic
Association, in July, 1833. The Executive Committee was the Uneal descend
ant of the BuUding Committee, as that was of the Standing Committee of 1824.

24

186 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER XXV.
EFFORT OF THE MECHANIC ASSOCIATION — SALE OF THE LAND:
1834 TO 1839.
The vote of the Directors of the 5th of May, 1834, already
mentioned, authorized the Mechanic Association "to proceed,
under the supervision of the Executive Committee of this corpo
ration, to apply any money which they have collected, or may
collect, to the completion of the monument, by raising the same
to the elevation of 159 feet 6 inches ; and that they commence
the work on the seventeenth of June next, and proceed there
with as speedily as may be done." In accordance with thiff
specific authority, the work both at the quarry and on the hill,
was commenced without any pubUc formaUty, under the direc
tion of Mr. Willard, as Superintendent.*

* The anniversary was observed as customary in Charlestown ; but on the
previous year, — notwithstanding the unfinished state of the structure, — on the
24th of June, 1833, a MiUtary Review took place on the hUl, intended in honor
of the visit of Gen. Jackson, President of the United States, who was expected
on the 17th. The Review took place in presence of Governor Lincoln, Secretar/
Woodbury and other official personages. The distinguished gentlemen present
ascended to the top of the monument, which was decorated with the fiags of
different nations, and enjoyed a fine view of town and city and the sur
rounding country. The President did not arrive in season for the seventeenth
and was not able to be present on the twenty-fourth on account of indisposition.
On Wednesday, 26th, the expected visit of the President, accompanied by
Secretary Cass and other distinguished gentlemen, was made, and they were

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 187
At the annual meeting of the Monument Association, 17th
of June, after the presentation of the usual reports, the subject
of the sale of the land was introduced, and as all measures for
its preservation for the purposes of the corporation had faUed,
the Directors were again authorized "to convey in fee simple
so much of the land under and near the monument, on Bunker
Hill, in Charlestown, as a majority of them shall deem
expedient." The land had already been partially plotted out
by Mr. WUlard, with the streets as then proposed.
Mr. WilUam Prescott was re-elected President ; J. T. Buck
ingham, President of the Mechanic Association, first Vice Pre
sident ; and at the fii'st meeting of the Board, thereafter, the
following gentlemen were named as the Executive Committee :
J. T. Buckingham, WilUam SuUivan, Geo. Darracott, Nathaniel
Hammond, John Skinner, Ebenezer Breed, WiUiam W. Stone,
J. P. Thorndike, and Joseph Jenkins. Votes were passed em
powering this Committee to sell and convey the land with or
without conditions of reconveyance, and to mortgage "allthe
machinery, tools, implements and personal property belonging to
this corporation," in security for the payment of a note or notes
to be signed by the Treasurer, for $5,133 68, being the amount
of interest due on the debt of the corporation, — provided that

received in an enthusiastic manner by the people and the military of the town.
A brief and beautiful address of welcome was made to him by Mr. Edward
Everett, then a resident of Charlestown, who referred to the monument in the
following language : " To designate in all coming time, the place of the first of
these eventful contests, the gratitude of this generation is raising a majestic
monument on the sacred spot. We invite you, sir, to ascend it, and behold
from its elevation, a lovely scene of town and country, — a specimen not unfa
vorable of this portion of the great Republic whose interests have been confided
to your care, as Chief Magistrate of the United States." The accounts in the
papers of the day say " The President expressed a desire to ascend the monu
ment and could uot be dissuaded from the gratification of his wish. ' '
In November, the same year, Henry Clay, the distinguished Statesman of
Kentucky, visited the monument, which had already become an object of pubUo
interest, and it fell happily to the fortune of Mr. Everett to welcome him also
tothe "sacred spot."

188 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
the Mechanic Association shall have the free use of said prop
erty so long as they continue in the building of the monument.
This was a distasteful proceeding to Mr. Willard ; but it should
be stated that the debt was paid without any resort to the
power contained in the mortgage.
On the 11th of June, the Mechanic Association appointed as
a Building Committee, the following gOAtlcmen, viz. : Charles
Wells, John P. Thorndike, George Darracott, Charles Leigh
ton and  . This blank is left by Mr. Buckingham. *
On the 4th of November, 1840, when the contract for finishing
the monument was made, the above-named gentlemen were ap
pointed the Building Committee on the part of the Monument
Association, and they were continued in office until the whole
work was completed in 1845.
" The Building Committee, immediately after their appoint
ment, engaged Solomon Willard, whose devotedness to the mon
ument for several years, had been well known, to superintend
the work. Under his direction workmen were engaged in quar
rying and dressing stone. The amount drawn from the treasury
for quarrying, hammering and transporting stone fi-om Quincy
to the monument, for new implements and repair of old ones,
for lumber, and for the superintendent's salary, from June 17,
when the work was begun, to December 31, was $4,379. "f
The whole amount collected at the end of this year, by the
Mechanic Association, was $13,978 04. The amount of fifty
thousand dollars not having been subscribed, a large portion
of the subscriptions failed by reason of non-performance of that
condition. As some additions were afterwards made to the
fund, the whole amount contributed was $19,073 03 ; to
which the " Ladies' Fund" was added, making the aggregate,
$22,010 93. According to Mr. WiUard's statement the sum of
* Annals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, t Ili'<J-

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 189
$20,421 77, was expended upon the work, up to January,
1836 — of the balance the sum of $852 66 was appUed to con
tingent expenses, and $736 50 invested in stocks. The result,
Uke the preceding effort of the ladies, was declared to be " not
equal to justifiable expectation."
In 1835, Mr. Prescott was re-elected President ; Stephen
Fairbanks, President of the Mechanic Association, first Vice
President ; and the Executive Committee of the last year, with
only one change, was re-appointed. In 1836 and the following
years to 1839, J. T. Buckingham was elected President, and
various proceedings were had relative to the land and the debt,
and various suggestions made for raising the money to complete
the monument, but nothing was accomplished, in respect to
either matter, until September of the last named year, when the
land was finaUy sold.
In September, 1838, on motion of Mr. Nathan Hale, a com
mittee was appointed " to visit Bunker Hill and after an exami
nation of the. ground, to report to the Directors whether in their
opinion it is expedient to attempt to raise the money for the
re-purchase of the whole of the land formerly belonging to the
association, or any part thereof, and in case they should recom
mend a re-purchase of the whole, or any part of said land, to
propose what measures shall be adopted by the Directors for
raising the money for the purpose and for completing the build
ing ofthe monument."
Quite promptly, on the 24th of the same month, Mr. Hale
made his report to the Directors. After rehearsing the state
ment of the original purchase of the land, its hypothecation and
sale, the reservation of the square and streets, the committee
" recommend that the proprietors of the land be notified that no
farther effort will be made to re-purchase it. . . . They
further recommend that an effort be made without delay to raise
by subscription a sufficient sum to complete the monument. —
The charge of the work still remains entrusted to
the Mechanic Association, who are ready again to lend their

190 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
efficient aid to its advancement ; the attention of the public has
been frequently caUed to the importance of putting a finishing
hand to the undertakmg ; a comparatively smaU portion of the
work remains to be completed ; the massive foundations of the
stately obelisk are laid and it is already raised to the height of
eighty-two feet from the surface of the ground — its size and
consequently its cost diminishes as its height advances. It is
computed by the architect that, exclusive of the cost of the land
and of other preparatory expenses, the part of the work already
completed, including stone quarried and not laid, is equal to
two-thirds of the building the whole monument to the height
originally proposed of two hundred and twenty feet. One third
therefore of the monument remains to be completed, supposing
it to be carried to the greatest proposed height."
This report having been accepted by the Directors, at their
meeting on the twenty-fourth of September, settled the question
of the disposition of the land. It also fixed definitely the height
to which the monument had been carried by the architect, with
the aid "of the Mechanic Association. The Directors immediately
determined to make a new effort to complete the monument, by
soliciting subscriptions from individuals and societies for the
purpose — but nothing was accomplished. The plan of the
square and streets, suggested by Mr. Willard, was adopted : —
One hundred and fifteen building lots were laid out around the
square, on a reduced grade, comprising 317,654 feet, and the
following year, September 25, 1839, were sold by public auc
tion, producing in the aggregate the sum of $48,435 06. The
Trustees,* undcr whose direction the land was sold, subsequently
contributed five hundred dollars each towards the completion of
the monument.

» Thomas B. Wales, WUliam W. Stone, and N. L Bowditch.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 191

CHAPTER XXVI.
NEW EFFORTS FOR COMPLETING THE MONUMENT — THE
LADIES' FAIR  1840 TO 1843.

Five years had elapsed since the soUcitations of the Mechanic
Association in behalf of the monument, and it began to be felt
that the unfinished condition of the work might compromise the
character of the people who had commenced it, fifteen years be
fore, with such an outburst of popular enthusiasm. Their sin
cerity, their sense of justice and their appreciation of the services
of the fathers of the revolution, might be called in question ;
and the gratitude which had been professed, the expression of
which it was proposed to make permanent, was almost sure to
be misunderstood. The whole community was in a false posi
tion, and it became absolutely necessary that the work should
be finished. The delays which had occurred, — erroneously
explained or injuriously accounted for, - — had given rise to a
prejudice against the work or the managers, and had cooled the
mterest and checked the zeal of some of its friends. Appeals
that were made in its behalf, however eloquent or forcible,
seemed to fall unheeded to the ground.
Mr. Willard, — who was personally as well as publicly inter
ested in the completion of the monument, — some years before
made an attempt to disabuse the general mind in regard to the
cost of the work, in the hope of promoting subscriptions to it, —
but the public at this time were not to be moved by reason or

192 memoir of SOLOMON WILLARD.
rhetoric, and his effort was unavaiUng. During the delay, Mr.
Willard had engaged in other work, and one of the olyects
long had in view by him, — the introduction of granite as a
building material, — was partially accompUshed ; but he was
ready to make any sacrifice, or give up any other thing, in
order to the completion of that which had occupied so much
of his attention and for which he had labored so assiduously,
always in the hope of seeing it finished. He promptly answered
all inquiries made of him and furnished estimates of cost on
various plans, favoring with his own approval only those which
looked to a completion of the obelisk according to his original
design. As an artist, and especially as architect, he could favor
no other plan, and would not regard the work as finished until
that was accomplished.
Mr. Amos Lawrence, who was always so desirous to retain
the whole field, and at one time provided for it in his WiU,
was very anxious that an effort should be made to complete the
monument, and offered ten thousand doUars to the association
towards that purpose. A similar sum was also offered by Mr.
Judah Touro, of New Orleans.
At the annual meeting, seventeenth of June, 1840, a vote
was passed authorizing the President, J. T. Buckingham, and
the Secretary, G. Washington Warren, " with such other mem
bers of the corporation as may be willing to cooperate with
them in the effort, ... to solicit and receive subscriptions
and obtain sums by Fairs or other projects, in aid of the com
pletion of the great object of the corporation, and that these
gentlemen have power to adopt such measures as they may deem
expedient in making this final appeal to the public."
In five weeks from this time, on the twenty-fifth of July, the
President " reported to the Board that under the authority of
the vote passed at the last meeting of the Board, a large com
mittee had associated themselves with him and the Secretary,
and that extensive arrangements were made to hold a ' Fair'

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 193
during the second week in September next, and to adopt other
necessary measures for the completion of the monument."
At this meeting also, a vote was passed ignoring the proposi
tion brought forward by the Mechanic Association, of reducing
the height of the monument to 159 feet 6 inches, as follows : — •
" That Messrs. Charles Wells, George Darracott and John P.
Thorndike, be a committee authorized to receive proposals for
finishing the Monument on Bunker Hill, agreeably to the plan
adopted by tlie corporation." Subsequently the vote ofthe 5th
of May, 1834, on this subject, was formally reconsidered, in
order that the original vote might be restored, and Mr. Charles
Leighton was added to the above committee.
On the seventh of September, Mr. Wells reported several
propositions for the completion of the monument, but upon open
ing them it appeared that they " were given on different bases
and data," and it was thereupon voted, " that the several pro
posals for finishing the monument be again referred to the same
committee, who are hereby requested to obtain of Mr. Solomon
Willard a plan for finishing the top of the monument, and to
receive estimates for finishing the top according to the plan
which may be adopted by them." On the ninth of October,
Mr. Wells submitted the plan of the top of the monument, as
drawn by Mr. WiUard and approved by the committee. The
proposals were then opened and read, and it was found that the
offer made by Mr. James S. Savage, was by far the lowest. He
proposed to complete the monument according to the original
design, to cover it according to the plan presented, to protect it
with suitable lightning conductors, and to pay Mr. Willard for
superintending the work, for the sum of forty-three thousand
eight hundred dollars. Mr. Savage, who was first employed by
Mr. Willard, under a special contract, had been engaged on the
work all the time during its progress, and was altogether the
most suitable person, next to Mr. Willard, to continue and
complete it. The same committee were thereupon authorized
" to contract with Mr. Savage on the basis of his offer, . . .
25

194 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
whenever they shall have ascertained that the corporation have
the means to enable them to fulfil the contract." A vote was
also passed in reference to an iron fence around the monument
and the grading of the square, under the direction of the archi
tect. On the fourth of November, the contract with Mr. Sav
age was completed, although the Directors were not officially
informed of the result of the Fair which had been held.
It is known that Mr. Willard was not in favor of this method
of completing the work on the monument, but preferred that
which had been pursued under his superintendence, and which
as the result showed, would have cost much less money. In this,
however, as in matters similarly situated, Mr. Willard content
ed himself with the expression of his opinion when it was re
quested. After the contract was made with Mr. Savage he had
nothing further to say, whatever his feelings may have been :
his great desire was to have the monument completed, and no
objections to any particular plan which he might have, would
induce him to throw any obstacles in the way of that paramount
object. Mr. Willard was urged by some of his most influential
friends to contract for the work himself, as a profltable enter
prise, (and so it proved to be,) but with his views and feelings
as to the character of the work, no such considerations could
ever have induced him to undertake it, — and we beUeve he did
not appropriate to his own use any portion of the pay received
from Mr. Savage, beyond his personal expenses. The truth
unquestionably is that Mr. WiUard should have been allowed to
complete his work in his own way, when that way had proved
undeniably advantageous. He felt this but would not ask it —
he was mistaken in supposing that Right would be done with
out any effort on his part.
On the nineteenth of November, at a meeting of the Board
of Directors, the report of Catharine G. Prescott, Sarah J.
Hale, Lucinda Chapman, Susan P. Warren, Sarah Darracott,
and Abby L. Wales, Executive Committee of the Ladies' Fair,
and the report of Mary Otis, Treasurer, were received and read.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 195
The net proceeds of the Fair amounted to $30,035 53. In
concluding their report the ladies say, " Having done what we
could, it only remains for us to hope that our days may yet see
the completion of the monument which shall stand to tell of
our fathers to coming generations." Suitable resolutions of
acknowledgment and thanks to the ladies were passed by the
Directors, one of which we copy, as a comprehensive and well-
deserved compliment to the sex :
" Resolved, That while as Directors of a corporate body we
thus in a formal manner express our gratitude, we cannot with
hold the declaration that in our opinion all those who are Uving
in the enjoyment of the blessings of a free government, and of
its civil, literary and religious institutions ; all who cherish the
sentiments of the heroes and patriots of the revolution ; all who
reverence the memories of those that suffered in defence of the
principles of liberty ; all, in fine, who admire patriotism in its
most attractive form, and love virtue in its holiest and most
beautifiil manifestation, — will admire, will applaud, and will
reverence the deed herein recorded, the motive by which it was
dictated and the agents by whom it was accomplished."
At the meeting of the Directors, on the fourteenth of Janu
ary, 1841, suitable resolutions of thanks and respect were passed
to Messrs. Amos Lawrence and Judah Touro, for their liberal
donations for the completion of the monument. During the
progress of the work, in July, 1842, a meeting of the Directors
was called "at the suggestion of several members, in conse
quence of a desire expressed by many individuals that an alter
ation should be made in the mode of finishing the top of the
monument, so that visitors might ascend to the top of the roof,
or covering, by means of a balustrade. After a full discussion
it was voted unanimously, as the sense of this Board, that
the monument be finished in accordance with the plan of Mr.
Willard, the architect." One of the most satisfactory features

196 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
in the history of this great work is the consistent adherence of
the Building Committee and Directors to the design made by
Mr. WiUard and deliberately adopted.
On the twenty-third day of the same month, the cap-stone
was placed upon the monument. The occasion is mentioned in
the records briefly as foUows : "On Saturday, July 23d, 1842,
at six o'clock in the morning, pursuant to public notice, the
Directors and several hundred citizens assembled on Bunker
Hill to witness the laying on of the top stone upon the monu
ment. As the clock struck six, a signal-gun was fired by the
members of the Charlestown Artillery, and the cap-stone, which
had been previously adjusted to the hoisting apparatus connect
ed with the steam-engine, began to ascend. It was surmounted
by the American flag. In sixteen minutes the cap-stone reach
ed the place of its destination on the top of the monument. At
half past six it was embedded in cement and a national salute,
fired by the Charlestown Artillery, announced the complete
erection of the monument." The weight of this single stone
was stated to be about two and a half tons.

fer

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 197

CHAPTER XXVII.

CELEBRATION OF THE COMPLETION OE THE MONUMENT — 1843.

The celebration of the completion of the monument was
deferred to the anniversary of the battle in 1843, when Mr.
Webster deUvered his second great oration on the same inspiring
spot, and to some extent before the same audience. It was
eighteen years from the commencement of the work, and sixty-
eight years from the day of the battle and the burning of the
town. A new town had arisen from the ashes of the old, and
the majestic monument now towered over a compact, thriving
and intelligent population. Many of the heroes of that dark
day, who had lived to see the commencement of the monument,
had since then paid the debt of nature and fallen into peaceful
and honored graves. There was no Lafayette now to call forth,
by his Uving presence, the gratitude and patriotism of the people.
He had died in May, 1834 ; but a few of his compatriots in
arms still lived as the connecting link between the past and
present times, and were again at the national altar of liberty to
dignify and honor the occasion. The patriotic feelings of the
people were awakened anew, and as a mere display, the occasion
excelled the great demonstration of 1825. Owing to the facili
ties afforded for travel by the recent introduction of railroads,
many thousands of people were present, some of whom came
long distances. The newspapers of New York urged the patri
otic sons of New England, in that city, to attend the celebra-

198 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
tion by informing them that they could leave the city on the
evening of the sixteenth, attend the celebration on the seven
teenth, and be in that city again the next morning, — thus
losing only one day from business. The same facilities were
afforded in other directions.
Among the many distinguished persons present by invitation
of the government of the Monument Association, were the Pre
sident of the United States, John Tyler, and his Secretaries
and Post Master General.* The Military Escort consisted of
four brigades of the volunteer militia, (including four companies
of the New York National Guards,) under Major General Ap
pleton Howe, and the Civic Procession was formed in four grand
divisions. There were in carriages one hundred and ten of the
survivors of the revolutionary war, one of whom was at Lexing
ton and Concord, on the nineteenth of April, 1775, and at Bun
ker Hill, on the seventeenth of June.f The Mechanic Associa
tion, King Solomon's Lodge of Charlestown and the Masonic
fraternity generally, and numerous other bodies and associations,
joined in the procession.
The various bodies assembled at an early hour in the forenoon
on and near the Common, and taking up the honored guests of
the association at the State House, moved from that point at
eleven o'clock to the hill. Such crowds of people as Uned the
streets and filled the houses, on the route of the procession, have
rarely been seen in Boston. The arrangements were admirable.

'* Hon. Hugh S. Legare, of South Carolina, Attorney General and Secre
tary of State, ad interim, was unable to attend the celebration, although in
Boston for that purpose, by reason of sickness of which he died on the morning
of the 20th. He was buried at Mount xVuburn.
t Phineas Johnson, aged 97 years, the oldest man present. Captain Josiah
Cleaveland, who came from Owego, N. Y., to attend the celebration, died at
Charlestown, ou the 30th of June, aged 89 years. He was a native of Canter
bury, Conn. , and a volunteer under Colonel Putnam. He continued in service
through the war and was in several great battles and at the capture of Corn
wallis. He was buried at Mount Aubui-n, with miUtary honors, and a monu
ment was erected over his grave.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 199
and so well conducted that, on reaching the hill, no difficulty
was experienced in establishing the whole body of the procession
on the easterly slope around the orator's stand ; and the great
audience, disposed in the form of an amphitheatre, was hemmed-
in on all sides by the vast multitude, who had come up, as it
were, to this Mecca of American Liberty, in patriotic worship.
The President of the United States and his Secretaries, the ven
erable survivors of the Revolution, the many distinguished per
sons present, and the government of the association, were seated
around the orator on the platform, and inspired while they
hstened to the thrilling eloquence which fell in such Doric
beauty from the speaker's lips.
Mr. Webster commenced his oration in the most stately man
ner, cool and unimpassioued as a statue: " A duty has been
performed. A work of gratitude and patriotism is completed."
. . . Stating the peculiar circumstance that the projectors
of the work had relied upon voluntary contributions for its con
struction and had not been disappointed, he next referred to
the labors of the directors and committees of the association, and
spoke of the architect as follows : " The architect, equally enti
tled to our thanks and commendation, will find other reward
also, for his labor and skill, in the beauty and elegance of the
obelisk itself, and the distinction, which, as a work of art, it
confers on him." After mentioning the effort and services of the
Mechanic Association towards the completion of the work, he
spoke of the crowning labors of the ladies as follows : —
" The last effort and the last contribution were from a differ
ent source. Garlands of grace and elegance were destined to
crown a work which had its commencement in manly patriotism.
The winning power of the sex addressed itself to the public, and
all that was needed to carry the monument to its proposed
height, and give to it its finish, was promptly supplied. The
mothers and the daughters of the land contributed thus, most
successfiilly to whatever of beauty is in the obeUsk itself, or

200 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
whatever of utiUty and public benefit and gratification in its
completion." We quote some further portions of this splendid oration,
although it is accessible to the reader in other forms. These
relate so distinctly to fhe monument itself and its high purposes,
that they will not be deemed out of place in this connection, and
the oftener they are presented to the people, read and pondered
by them, the better wUl it be for the country and "all succeed
ing generations' ' : —
" The Bunker HUl Monument is finished. Here it stands.
Fortunate in the natural eminence on which it is placed —
higher, infinitely higher in its objects and purpose, it rises over
the land, and over the sea, and visible, at their homes, to three
hundred thousand citizens of Massachusetts — it stands a memo
rial of the last, and a monitor to the present and all succeeding
generations. I have spoken of the loftiness of it purpose : If it
had been without any other design than the creation of a work
of art, the granite of which it is composed, would have slept in
its native bed. It has a purpose ; and that purpose gives it
character. That purpose enrobes it with dignity and moral
grandeur. That well-known purpose it is, which causes us to
look up to it with a feeling of awe. It is itself the orator of this
occasion ; it is not from my lips, it is not from any human lips,
that that strain of eloquence is this day to flow, most competent
to move and excite the vast multitudes around. The potent
speaker stands motionless before them. It is a plain shaft. It
bears no inscriptions, fronting to the rising sun, from which the
future antiquarian shall wipe the dust. Nor does the rising
sun cause tones of music to issue from its summit. But at the
rising of the sun, and at the ^setting of the sun, in the blaze of
noonday, and beneath the milder effulgence of lunar light, it
looks, it speaks, it acts, to the full comprehension of every
American mindj and the awakening of glowing enthusiasm in

MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD. 201
every American heart. Its silent, but awful utterance ; its deep
pathos, as it brings to our contemplation the seventeenth of June,
1775, and the consequences which have resulted to us, to our
country, and to the world, from the events of that day, and
which we know must continue to rain influence on the destinies
of mankind, to the end of time ; the elevation with which it
raises us high above the ordinary feeUngs of life, surpasses all
that the study of the closet, or even the inspiration of genius
can produce. To-day it speaks to us. Its future auditories
will be through successive generations of men, as they rise up
before it, and gather round it. Its speech will be of patriotism
and courage ; of civil and religious liberty ; of free govern
ment ; of the moral improvement and elevation of mankind ;
and of the immortal memory of those who, with heroic devotion,
have sacrificed their lives for their country."
There seems to be something more than mere foresight in
the following burst of eloquence upon the theme of the "Union,"
in which is included that voluminous sentence, so often quoted,
which we have put in italics : —
" Woe betide the man who brings to this day's worship feel
ing less than wholly American ! Woe betide the man who can
stand here with the fires of local resentments burning, or the
purpose of fomenting local jealousies, and the strifes of local
interests festering and rankling in his heart. Union, founded
in justice, in patriotism, and the most plain and obvious common
interest ; Union, founded on the same love of liberty, cemented
by blood shed in the same cause ; Union has been the source of
aU our glory and greatness thus far, and is the ground of all
our highest hopes. This Column stands on Union. I know
.not that it might not keep its position, if the American Union,
in the mad conflict of human passions, and in the strife of par
ties and factions, should be broken up and destroyed. I know
not that it would totter and faU to the earth, and mingle its
26

202 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
.fragments with the fragments of Liberty and the Constitution,
when State should be separated from State, and faction and
dismemberment obliterate forever all the hopes of the founders
of our Republic, and the great inheritance of their children. —
It might stand. But who, from beneath the weight of mortifi
cation and shame, that would oppress him, could look up to
behold it ? For my part, should I Uve to such a time, I shall
avert my eyes from it forever."
Happily the noble-hearted orator did not live to witness that
attempted dismemberment which he so feelingly deprecated !
This profound and patriotic oration will live as long as the
language in which it is written, and will form a prominent
chapter in the history of the growth of races and nations. —
It seems tame to turn from its study and the contemplation of
thoughts which its perusal inspires to other incidents of the day,
however pleasant these may be. The celebration was concluded
by a grand festival in Faneuil Hall, at which were present all
the distinguished guests of the association, except its modest
and retiring architect, whose absence was regretted by all who
knew him. His unwillingness to be noticed or made prominent
in such an assemblage, we have no doubt, kept him from
participating in the general joy of the occasion. He never
submitted to the trial of hearing himself or his works com
mended before the public ; and probably did not hear the com
plimentary words of the orator upon his finished work.
The President and the members of his Cabinet were present
at the festival, and responded to the calls of the chairman. The
occasion, of course, was not political, and patriotic toasts only
were proposed. The President gave ' ' The Union : Union of
purpose ; Union of feeling ; the Union established by our fath
ers." The States of Virginia and Massachusetts were coupled
in a toast by the Secretary of the Navy, and the States of South
Carolina and Massachusetts in another by a gentleman of Bos
ton. The Monument, the Orator, and the Ladies, were the

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 203
subjects of other sentiments. That referring to the Monument
was as follows: " The Bunker Hill Monument— 'It bears no
inscription, and it needs none, since the lessons of patriotism it
is designed to commemorate, can only be inscribed upon the
hearts of those who behold it."
Excepting the reference made to the architect by Mr. Web
ster, we are not aware that any allusion was made to him or his
valuable and efficient services, during the day ; but this was not
a thing to disturb him. He felt sure that justice would be
done to him in the future, and within three years from this time,
one who knew him better than any of his associates and more of
his devotion and labor in behalf of the monument, penned a
brief record of his judgment in the following words : — •
" But the work is done, and posterity ought to know that
they are more indebted to Sola. Willaj-d than to any other
person, for the monument.* It was by his labors and taste that
the plan was adopted and the stone quarry secured ; the work
done in a style that will be approved by generations to come.
Let us render, then, to Mr. WUlard, the honor that belongs
to him. Amos Lawrence."
" Boston, March 18, 1846."
If it was a happy day to anybody, that was a happy day to
Mr. Willard which saw the monument completed.
'* The itaUcs are printed as marked by Mr. Lawrence in the manuscript.

204 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

COST OF THE BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.

The cost of the Bunker Hill Monument has always been a
question of peculiar interest, not merely as a matter of curiosity,
but as having some relation to the proper and judicious expen
diture of the funds voluntarily contributed by the community
at large and the specific donations of individuals. It was un
derstood at the time of the commencement of the work, that its
size and character were to be in some degree dependent upon
the amount of the means at the disposition of the directors, and
this matter was ostensibly considered in deciding upon the de
sign. In the advertisement offering a premium of one hundred
dollars for the design " which shall appear to merit the prefer
ence," no limitation in regard to cost is contained ; but Mr.
Willard says, "it will be perceived, therefore, that the size of
the obelisk had necessarily to conform to the means available ;
and it was so decided by the committee on designs." Most of
the sketches and plans made by Mr. Willard, at the request of
the committee, were made under a limitation unknown to other
artists and apparently disregarded in the end. At the time the
design was decided upon, Mr. Willard was requested to pre
pare three separate sketches, in order " to test the question of
cost," and Colonel Baldwin, in his final report, says the com
mittee took " into consideration the funds already provided, or
probably attainable.'''' Nevertheless, ^Yith an estimate of cost

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 205
for the design proposed, amounting to one hundred thousand
dollars, and funds on hand amounting to only about one-third
of this sum, the directors determined to proceed with the work.
This estimate, made by Colonel Baldwin, has been published
by Mr. Willard and shown by him to be an estimate for small
blocks and the cheapest kind of work ; the uiner walls to be
left in a rough state, and a large part of the work to be done at
the price, whatever the quaUty, of common cellar stone. We
quote a portion of Mr. Willard's remarks upon this estimate, in
order that the subject may be properly understood and his ser
vices in the construction of the work properly appreciated :
" According to the estimate, there were to have been one hun
dred and forty-seven courses in the obelisk,* of eighteen inches ¦
rise and eighteen inches thick ; and, as no drawing accompanied
the estimate, it is to be presumed that they were to have been
from six to eight feet long, and consequently would have been
about equal to posts and caps of the same dimensions. This lot
of stone is estimated at twenty cents per cubic foot, delivered at
the site of the monument. It will be seen at once, by those
acquainted with the business, that twenty cents per cubic foot,
for stone of that quality, is a low estimate ; that it would barely
pay the prime cost, under the best management. The transpor
tation alone has generally cost about twelve cents per foot, leav
ing only eight cents per foot, for the quarrying, loading, bank-
age and tools. The average price paid at the State Prison for
such stone, for the last seventeen years, where competition has
been aUowed, and consequently, the stone has been obtained at
the lowest market price, is about thirty-four cents per foot.
" The next item in the estimate, is for twenty- three hundred
and forty-nine and two-thirds perches of stone for the interior.

* There are seventy-eight courses in the shaft of the monument, and six in
the "pointed pyramid."

206 MEMOIR OP SOLOMON WILLARD.
These are estimated at three dollars per perch, or at twelve cehts
per cubic foot ; which was the price of common cellar stone at
the time. It must be obvious, therefore, that the price was low,
or that a very ordinary material was estimated for.
" The hammering, on the outside, appears to be estimated at
about a fair rate. It should be noticed, however, that the inner
walls were to have been left in a rough state ; and in the design
which has been executed, the fine dressing on the inner walls is
about equal to the fine dressing on the outside ; and consequent
ly, there is nearly double the number of feet of fine dressing on
the design which has been executed, that there was to have been
on the one estimated for.
" The hammering of the beds and builds, amounting to one
hundred and forty-seven thousand seven hundred and thirty-five
feet, is estimated at six cents per foot. This again, it will be
seen, is a very low estimate for decent work, including tools ;
and it will be obvious to every one acquainted with the business,
that anything that could be done for six cents per foot, must
necessarily be ordinary work ; the lowest work of the kind in
the Custom House bill of prices being twenty-five cents. The
laying of three thousand five hundred and thirty-eight perches
of stone, at five dollars per perch, including scaffolding and
rigging, amounting for the whole mason work above ground, to
.seventeen thousand six hundred and ninety dollars, seems to be
a moderate estimate ; as it is understood that a sum of nearly
the amount was carried in for the last contract alone, which
was only about one-third part of the work.
" Of the remaining items no particular notice seems to be
necessary. It must be obvious, however, that the foregoing es
timate was intended for a cheap kind of work, in order to adapt
it as far as possible, to the low state of the finances ; and, not
withstanding the low rate, it amounts to the sum of one hundred
thousand dollars."
Without any disparagement of the estimate made by Colonel

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 207
Baldwin for the work proposed, we have no hesitation in saying
that no such work as that indicated by the prices fixed for it,
would ever have been done under Mr. WiUard's superintend
ence, or if done, would have been satisfactory to him. Colonel
Baldwin's estimate was for the kind of work which the dealers
and workers in granite wished Mr. Willard to adopt and which
they were prepared to execute, namely, "small blocks," such
as they were using for "posts and caps." Such blocks might
make a "grand and striking object," when thrown together in
"the form of an obelisk," but they would not constitute that
character of "natural, inherent, durable greatness," of which
Mr. Webster very early spoke and which the Directors always
desired. Mr. Willard's views as to what the proposed work should
be, and his efforts to secure a suitable quarry for the purpose,
have already been stated in the preceding pages. The plan
which he suggested and which was adopted for carrying on the
work, and the details of some of the experiments instituted by
¦him to ascertain the cost of quarrying, dressing and laying the
stone, have also been given, — not so much for the purpose of
establishing these definitively or applying the results obtained
to the whole work, as to show the system employed and methods
adopted under Mr. Willard's superintendence. That the system
was successful was demonstrated at the time : the work was done
in the best manner, by the best workmen, and at much less cost
than any similar work.
We cannot but esteem it as fortunate that the monument was
not built under Colonel Baldwin's estimate. As it now stands
complete in its massive grandeur, it is a very different work, in
material and finish, externally and internally, and in all respects
of much higher character, than it would have been under that
cheap estimate.
The actual cost of the monument, as stated by Mr. Willard,
is based upon the results of the "three experiments" conducted
by him during the progress of the work. In these are included

208 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
the actual payments on account of the work, and they are as
follows : —
1. Expenses from November 17, 1825, to Febru
ary 28, 1859, - $56,525 19
2. Expenses from June 17, 1834, to January,
1836, - - - 20,421 77
3. Expenses paid by the Contractor, - 27,016 72

Aggregate, $103,963 68
Deduct for apparatus, - 1,400
" house burnt, 800
" overcharge in transportation, 800
 3,000 00

Total, - $101,963 68

Some other items of expense for iron work, lightning conduc
tors and bankage, increase the above to the sum of one hundred
and one thousand six hundred and eighty-eight dollars, ($101,-
688.) In the above, the cost of the third experiment is not
the amount paid by the association to the contractor, but the
amount paid by the contractor for material, labor and superin
tendence, irrespective of profits.
Mr. Willard, in the publication by him already referred to,
makes several comparisons between the cost of material and
work in the monument and in other structures of the same
material in Boston. The average size of the blocks in the mon
ument is a little less than five tons, and at the cost paid for
similar blocks at the Branch Bank, in State street, " eighty-
seven thousand feet at five hundred cents per foot," for the
granite alone, Mr. Willard very justly concluded, ' ' would have
amounted to an enormous sum." The market price, at this
time, however, Mr. Willard admits, was about one dollar per
cubic foot for blocks of fifty-four feet ; or, taking the Railway

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 209
price, at one hundred and one cents, and tbe Custom House
price, seventy-nine cents, gives an average of ninety cents per
cubic foot. At this price, the cost of the granite blocks would
have amounted to over seventy-eight thousand dollars, and the
whole cost of the monument over two hundred and fifty thous
and dollars ; and this sum, we presume, would have been a
reasonable estimate for the work at the time, considering the
condition of the granite business and state of the market.
There was at one time in the community an impression that
in some way, or by somebody, the funds subscribed for the
erection of the monument had been wasted or misused ; and this
matter assumed a somewhat tangible shape in a so-called report,
printed in 1832, by the party which the year previous attempt
ed to assume control of the corporation, but we believe no
answer or explanation of the charge from that source was deemed
expedient. Mr. Willard, however, referred to it, in 1835, in
a letter from which we make the following extract : —
" The work commenced by the directors required one hun
dred and fifty thousand feet of granite to complete it, the mar
ket value of which was more than seventy cents, and conse
quently the stone alone, delivered at the site of the monument,
would have cost the sum of $105,000, had we paid the market
price of ordinary stone. The fitting, hoisting and setting, in
cluding the mortar, iron-work, &c., would probably have come
to something more than $15,000, which with the cost of the
stone, would have amounted to more than $120,000. The cash
in the Treasury at the commencement ofthe work, with $7,000
obtained from the State, amounting to about $33,000, was all
that could have been safely relied on by those who commenced
it. It must be obvioms, therefore, that a work was begun on a
scale and magnitude out of all proportion to the means at the
disposal of those who had the charge at the time, and could not
have been prosecuted had it been necessary to pay the customary
prices for the stone. It must also be obvious that the reports
27

210 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
of a waste of the fiinds, which have been current these ten years
past, are wholly unfounded, for nothing can be more self-evident
than that the managers could not have wasted what they never
had. These reports have undoubtedly arisen either from gross
ignorance of the state of the facts, or an intention to deceive ;
and have probably been circulated by those who had contributed
little or nothing to their amount.
" It should be observed, however, that the sum of $4,720 85,
spent according to the Treasurer's Report for 1830, in laying
the corner-stone, and which appears to have given the only
ground of complaint of a waste of funds, had it been appro
priated to the work, would have increased the whole sum to
only $38,000, which is less than one-third part of what was
required to complete it, had we paid the market prices. It
must be clear, therefore, that the whole sum available, with or
without that spent in laying the corner-stone, was wholly inade
quate to the purpose intended, had we pursued the usual course
in carrying our work into execution.
" All the important bearings, however, were well understood
at the time. It was well known that the granite business was
then in the hands of men of mercenary views, without science,
and was consequently conducted in an unskilful manner. It
was proposed, therefore, to keep the work in our own hands,
and after going through the usual course of advertising for pro
posals without receiving any that were satisfactory, the work
was commenced under my superintendence about the fifteenth
of November, 1825."

We copy the following statements and remarks, upon the sub
ject of this chapter, from Mr. Willard's printed book, and com
mend the conclusion arrived at to the consideration of his
friends, the members of the Monument Association and the
contributors to the work : —
" It has been shown that the actual cost of the obelisk was
about one hundred thousand dollars ; this being the total cost,

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 211
notwithstanding aU the impediments that have attended the
work. Had it been well sustained, and completed in the course
of about three years — which would have been a reasonable
time — it would have made a great difference in the final cost.
It must be obvious, however, that whatever the difference might
have been, it cannot be accurately ascertained ; but is estimated
at twenty thousand dollars, leaving eighty thousand dollars as
the probable cost of the obelisk, had the work gone on without
interruption or embarrassment.
" The suspensions at different times were disadvantageous to
the economy of the work  But notwithstanding the
unfavorable circumstances that have attended the work, it is
presumed that, in regard to economy in the execution, it will
not suffer in a comparison with any work whatever, that has
been executed in modern times. And such a comparison would
probably exhibit its merits more clearly than could be done in
any other way.
" It is found by comparison, that the Washington Monument,
in Baltimore, contains but about half the number of cubic feet
of material that are in this obelisk. It consists of a column of
about nineteen feet diameter at the base, set on a pedestal, and
altogether about one hundred and sixty feet high. It is well
executed, but of cheap construction. The foundation is of slaty
granite, in small pieces, and the body of the work is of bricks,
faced with limestone, and in ashlar courses of about one foot
rise. And, notwithstanding, has cost, as stated on good author
ity, about two hundred and twenty thousand dollars. And,
consequently, has cost twenty thousand dollars more than twice
as much as the obelisk.
"It will be seen also that the obelisk will compare still more
favorably with the work now going on at the Custom House, in
Boston. It appears by the debate in Congress, that this Cus
tom House, which it is presumed contains about an equal quan
tity of granite with the obeUsk, has already cost the sum of
seven hundred thousand dollars, and requires three hundred

212 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
thousand more to complete the work. The whole amountmg to
a milUon of dollars, and consequently equal in cost to ten such
obelisks as that on Bunker Hill. And it is presumed, that
the columns and pilasters alone, which are attached to the body
of the work, have cost as much as two such obeUsks.
" It must be obvious, therefore, that if these works have been
executed at fair rates, the obelisk has been built at a very low
rate ; and could not have been executed at such a price had not
the work been skilfully planned, and had not the plan been well
sustained by close attention and hard labor.
" It has already been shown, that the work done on the obe
lisk, had the association paid its full value, would have cost
them the round sum of two hundred thousand dollars ; whereas,
the actual sum paid out for the work is but about half that
amount ; and, consequently, there has been a clear saving of
one hundred thousand dollars, by the course taken in carrying
it on. And as the saving of that amount is equivalent to con
tributing the same amount in cash, it follows, that those who
have planned and conducted the executive parts of the work,
have in effect, borne half of the expense, by contributing to that
amount in cash or its equivalent."
These statements and remarks, which have been before the
public under Mr. Willard's authority, since 1843, have never
been disputed, questioned or even criticised, and are beUeved to
be entirely accurate. By the lowest terms of the market value
of material and labor, had the association purchased in the usual
way the one, and paid the customary profit on the other, ^-
instead of owning the quarry and employing their own work
men, — it is not possible to make the cost of the monument
less than two hundred thousand dollars ; and there is, therefore,
today, (to say nothing of Mr. Willard's unpaid work on the
design, his time and expenses in finding a suitable quarry, &c.)
not less than one hundred thousand dollars, chiefly represented
by his thought, skill and labor, in the grand structure that now

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 213
crowns the glorious battle-ground of Bunker HUl : and the '
truthfulness of Mr. Lawrence's record, " that posterity . .
are more indebted to Solomon Willard than to any other man
for the monument," must be considered as demonstrated.
In stating the actual cost of the monument at about one
hundred and one thousand dollars, ($101,688,) or even its
contingent cost, had a different course been pursued, at double
that sum, it is to be considered, that no allowance is made
for compensation of services rendered by the respective com
mittees who had the work in charge, or for superintendence,
beyond the necessary expenses, nor any profit, as such, other
than the ordinary day-wages or piece-pay of the workmen
allowed to them. It is not too much to say, that the work
actually done in behalf of the monument, — by the long and
patriotic services of its devoted Treasurer, by its diligent and
talented Secretaries, its influential and eminent Presidents, its
able and intelligent Committees and its distinguished Boards of
Directors, — and not paid for in any way, was many times
larger than the real work of building the monument, which,
excepting the profits gained by the last contractor, is all that
was ever compensated for at a money valuation.
The whole amount of money wbich was coUected or received
ahd expended by the association and its auxiliaries in the
work, — for expenses of organization, meetings, ceremonies and
celebrations, printing ard pubUcation, interest on loans and
debt, and various other pharges, — it would be almost impossi
ble now to ascertain ; but probably all these, together with the
actual cost of the work itself, will hardly amount to a greater
sum than the cost as reported of the Washington Monument, at
Baltimore, (nearly a quarter of a miUion doUars,) and less than
one quarter part of the probable cost of the Custom House
at Boston.

214

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER XXIX.

LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION OF BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.

The town of Charlestown, and by inheritance the city of
Charlestown, is made historical by the Battle of Bunker Hill, in
the opening of the American Revolution. Like Boston, it
was originally a " trimountaine" peninsula, having most promi
nent in its outline three distinct elevations : the Town Hill,
upon which Governor Winthrop's company built their stockade
houses and buried their dead ; Breed's Hill, upon which the
battle was mainly fought, and Bunker's Hill, the highest of the
three and nearest the neck of the peninsula. It seems to be
conceded that the order of General Ward, which brought on the
battle, was intended to apply to Bunker's Hill, (now generally
written Bunker Hill.) and that Breed's Hill, being much nearer
to Boston, was taken possession of as the preferable position, or
by a mistake, the consequences of which have proved so inometi-
tous in the history of the country. The anomaly in history that
the Battle of Bunker HiU was fought upon Breed's Hill, is
probably not very remarkable at this day, and the attempt
made some years ago, on a local map, to change the names of
the two hills, was simply ludicrous.
The summit of the hill is about fifty feet above the level of
tide-water. The first address of the Monument Association to
the pubUc, speaks of it as "the most interesting spot in our
country." The " Circular" of 1824, gives a more elaborate

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 215
description of the spot and its suitableness for the purposes then
in contemplation.* The views from the hill are briefly indicated
by Mr. Everett, in his Faneuil Hall speech, of May, 1833,
in which he called upon his listener ' ' to place himself, in
imagination, on the summit of the beautiful hill where the battle
was fought ; look out upon the prospect of unsurpassed loveli
ness that spreads before him, by land and by sea ; the united
features of town and country ; the long rows of buildings and
stores in the city, rising one above another upon the sides of her
triple hills ; the surrounding sweep of country, checked with
prosperous villages ; on one side the towers of the city churches,
on the other the long succession of rural spires ; the rivers that
flow on either side to the sea ; the broad expanse of harbor
and bay, spotted with verdant islands, — with a hundred ships
dancing in every direction over the waves ; the vessels of war,
keeping guard with their sleeping thunders, at the foot of the
hill ; and on its top, within the shade of venerable trees, over
the ashes of the great and good, the noble obelisk, rising to the
heavens and crowning the magnificent scene."
From its prominence in the landscape and its position at the
head of Massachusetts Bay, it was always regarded as an emi
nently suitable spot for the erection of the proposed monument.
That the engagement which here took place, — the first in the
war which may be properly called a battle, — and the conse
quences which flowed from it upon the future relations of the
colonies, made it of all others, the place for the erection of such
a memorial, was abundantly shown at the time of its com
mencement. That the time for its erection was fitly chosen, —
after the war of independence had been confirmed by a war
for national consideration, — recent unhappy events have only
too plainly demonstrated.
The majestic structure which now rises from this renowned

f Ante, p. 64.

216 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
hill, and by its massive proportions gives grace and grandeur
to the scene, is variously spoken of as simple, grand or subUme,
according to the taste or sentiment of the beholder. But as a
work of art, or as a mechanical creation, it- is very rarely that
its excellencies are appreciated, or the skill and labor which it
embodies understood. It is called both by Mr. Webster and Mr.
WiUard, an " ObeUsk," but in the words of the vote adopting
the design, it is more accurately spoken of as " in the form of
an Obelisk" being composed of sections, or courses, built up
as masonry, instead of a single block or shaft. The numerous
Egyptian obelisks which ornament modern Rome ; those of
HeliopoUs, Luxor and Carnac, all come within the authorized
definition of the term, each being " a lofty monolithic quadran
gular shaft, tapering gradually from the base to the summit,
which terminates in a pointed pyramid." These almost without
exception, are covered with inscriptions in hieroglyphic charac
ters, and are variously regarded as reUgious, historical or merely
ornamental structures, and by some have been even supposed to
be for scientific purposes. It is highly probable that they were
personal monuments, erected by kings or rulers to commemorate
their reigns, and thus to some extent historical ; and as they
were all erected many centuries B. C, may have been dedicated
to some of the heathen gods and regarded as sacred. Some of
those now standing in Rome have been surmounted with globes,
crosses or statuary.
The object and purposes of the Bunker Hill Monument are
fully set forth in history ; but should the material of this struc
ture prove more durable than history, the time may come,
centuries hence, when its purpose will be as obscure as that of
the Egyptian obeUsks and pyramids are today. But of this we
may be quite sure : it will never be removed from the place it
now occupies to adorn some future Rome, or bear down to times
more remote the effigy of some temporary ecclesiastic.
The monument differs from an Obelisk externally, only in
the fact that it is not a monolith ; but internally, as in the

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 217
arrangement of space, there is no similarity, and no compari
son between the two can be made. As a work of art, the
merit of the monument does not consist in its form, or external
appearance, but rather in its planning, scientific construction
and impressiveness as a whole. The formation of an obeUsk,
from a single block of granite, the height, dimensions of base and
apex being fiirnished, would seem to be, in the earliest times, a
comparatively easy task, involving but few of the scientific
principles which are to be found impressed on nearly every block
of stone in the Bunker Hill Monument. To erect an Egyptian
obeUsk in sections, or courses of masonry, without interior
apartments, would be a much more difficult work and require
vastly more skiU and labor, than would be required to hew it
out of a single block of whatever size. Such a work would be
equal, supposing the structure to be of the same magnitude,
only to the external walls of the present monument.
There are instead of one, as in a monolith, four wrought
surfaces in this great work, extending to the whole height of its
parts, and each differing in its diminishing line from all the
others ; and, in addition to these, there is a lofty fiight of cir
cular stairs, between the inner wall of the monument and the
outer wall of the cone, extending to the domed chamber, nearly
the whole height of the structure. Of the four wrought sur
faces, the three inside of the work are circular — two of them
fine hammered — the height of the courses and the degree of
the angles being different in the cone and the main work. The
monument, therefore, is far from being a simple obeUsk, or
even two obeUsks, one within the other. In its exterior form it
is a quadrangular structure, 221 feet 5, in height, terminating
at the top in a pointed pyramid. The sides of the square at
the base, are 30 feet, diminishing to 15 feet at the base of the
pyramid. Were it not for the hoUow cone in the interior and
the elaborate stairway winding around it, there would be within
a circular chamber, conical in form, about 215 feet high, dimin
ishing in diameter from 17 feet at the base to 11 feet at the
28

2 18 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
spring of the arch of the dome. But the architect, to whom
the details of the construction were entrusted, determined to
provide for a commodious stairway by the erection of a hollow
cone in the centre of the work, the proportions of which would
be such as to afford between it and the monument proper, the
desired space. ,This has been accomplished in a most successful
manner, rendering the ascent of the monument perfectly easy,
safe and convenient.
A sectional view of the monument, drawn and pubUshed by
Mr. Willard,* more clearly than any words can do, shows the
manner of building and some of the peculiarities in the con
struction. The Foundation consists of six courses of heavy
blocks of granite, laid alternately as headers and stretchers,
the sides of the first course being fifty feet, covering the
whole square excepting the corners. The second course falls
back three feet ; the other courses fall back in the same man
ner to a square of thirty feet, and the seventh course is the
first of the monument. Inserted in the stone at the northeast
corner of this course, marked with an asterisk (*) in the
engraving, on its under side, is the deposit which was placed
in one of the temporary foundation stones in the presence of
General Lafayette, on the 17th of June, 1825.
The outer and inner courses of the monument are each 2 feet
8 inches rise, and 78 in number, to the base of the pyramid. —
The inclination in the outer wall, on each side of the structure,
is 7 feet 6 inches from the perpendicular, equal to 2| inches
diminution in each course — so that each side of the monument is
built on an angle of less than two degrees inclination. The inte
rior surface has a lesser diminishing line, in order to maintain
the largest practicable width for the stairway.
The Pyramid which forms the top and apex of the monument
is composed of six courses of stone, including the cap-stone, and
* " Plans and Sections of the ObeUsk," &c.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 219
its vertical section forms an equilateral triangle of fifteen feet,
its base being fifteen feet square. Its perpendicular height from
the base line to the apex is thirteen feet. The two courses
below the cap-stone are composed of two blocks each, laid trans
versely to each other.
The Cone, or hollow column, in the centre of the monument,
at the base, is 10 feet in diameter from outside to outside, 6
feet 8 inches in the clear, and the wall 20 inches in thickness.
At the top the diameter is 6 ft. 2 inches outside, 4 ft. 2 inches
in the clear, and the wall 12 inches in thickness. The varia
tion from the perpendicular in the line of the outer wall is about
one foot eleven inches in the whole height — equal to one-eighth
of an inch to a foot ; and owing to the diminution in the thick
ness of the wall, the angle of its inner side is still smaller,
not exceeding one-twelfth of an inch to a foot in height. —
There are one hundred and forty-seven courses of stone in
the cone, of 1 foot 4 inches each. Thus this portion of the
structure is a series of conic sections, each block being of differ
ent angles on the sides, bevelled at the ends and forming the
section of a circle. There is not, therefore, in the cone, a sin
gle block of stone having any right angles ; and the only blocks
in the structure that are of similar dimensions, or that could be
used in duplicate, are those which occupy corresponding positions
in the same course.
If this cone could be seen separated from the monument,
which encloses it, it would present the form of a regular dimin
ishing column of 10 feet diameter at its base and 6 ft. 2, at its
top, hollow in its full height, flat at the top and smooth ham
mered on its exterior surface. Alone, it would constitute a
monument of gigantic dimensions, towering far above all sur
rounding objects, fiUing the eye with its proportions, and ex
celling in height any similar monument in the world. But, as
built, there winds around this cone a flight of stairs, conceived
with judgment and executed with skiU, extending from the base

220 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
to its top, enclosed by the grand and massive structure, "in the
form of an ObeUsk," of dimensions excelled only in the pyra
mids of Egypt. As there was originally a long discussion
whether the monument should be in the obelisk form or a
column, it is singular that as built it should unite the two — one
within the other.
The Steps in the circular stairway are 294 in number, and of
course, owing to the gradual batter of the walls in which they
rest, each step must vary in dimensions fi-om every other step,
excepting in their height. The rise of the steps is 8 inches,
doubling in the walls of the cone, and the latter doubUng
in the walls of the monument. The narrow openings on
the north side of the monument for light and ventilation, occur
in each circle of the steps around the cone, at the broad stair,
and are seven in number. Thirty-nine steps are required to
complete the first circle, and forty for the second. The third
circle has thirty-eight steps ; the fourth, thirty-seven ; the fifth,
thirty-five ; the sixth, thirty-three ; the seventh, thirty-two ;
the eighth, forty. Now, if in our mind's eye we surround
this lofty stairway with a quadrangular structure, of the
dimensions already stated, as the monument proper, and com-
f)rehend at a glance its gigantic proportions, its large interior
spaces and its exterior surface on each side of the quadrangle,
with a height perfectly dizzying to the sight, we shall have a
clear general conception of the Bunker Hill Monument, with
an idea, however imperfect, of its extraordinary character, which
it is not easy for a mere beholder of the work to realize.
The monument proper of course is its external form, irrespec
tive of its internal arrangement or construction. The character
as well as the purpose of the work is expressed in this, and by
this its exceUence is to be estimated. The interior may be ever
so complex and successful, it would weigh but little against a
failure externally. To this test the Bunker Hill Monument

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 221
has been subjected, in its proportions and details, and it stands
today, not only the loftiest, but the most sublime and impressive
monument in the world. The blocks of which it is composed,
so great in number and in variety of form, were all quarried
and hewn to size and shape, in the wild crags of Mount Wol-
laston, so that comparatively speaking, scarcely was the sound
of maul or chisel heard upon the hill in its erection. There
are in the monument more than six thousand six hundred tons
of stone, and not a single block, excepting those in the foun
dation below the surface of the ground, which is rectangular
in its form.
" In the construction, the courses are alike, except diminish
ing as they recede from the base upward. In order to preserve
the bond, however, the headers are shifted to opposite sides in
each succeeding course, namely : in the first course, the headers
show on the east and west sides, and in the second on the south,
and so on."*
The base of the monument is surrounded by a solid granite
platform, just above the surface of the ground, and supporting
on its outer edge a handsome iron fence, with appropriate granite
posts at the corners.
We have been somewhat particular in describing the monu
ment in order to show that it has claims as a work of art, not
generally understood or conceded to the architect. To those
"architects and engineers" to whom Mr. WUlard especially
dedicated his printed volume, much that we have said may be
deemed superfluous and unnecessary : to others it may prove
to be more suggestive. As compared with the Egyptian obe
lisks, m respect to the skUl and labor required in the work, it
must be equal, irrespective of inscriptions, to a large number of
them ; and in the more scientific Avork of preparation, planning,
drawing, modeUing, &c., the difference is still more appreciable.

* " Plans and Sections of the Obelisk," &c

222 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
It is no part of our purpose, in this way, to institute a compari
son between ancient and modern art, but simply to show the
large excess of work in the Bunker Hill Monument, the skill
and judgment manifested in its conception and exercised in its
erection, and its title to consideration in art.
As a whole the completed monument has fully equalled the
expectations of its builders and the public — and probably, of
a more exacting party, the Architect. But from the latter, not
one word do the public or private records afford, expressive of
any opinion, or indicative of any claim to consideration in con
nection with this crowning work of his life. That he was satis
fied with the design for the work, as finally drawn by him and
adopted by the committee, and gratified -beyond expression at its
comfiletion, there is every reason to believe. His extraordinary
interest in the work is sufficient evidence of this ; and he felt,
or had a right to feel, that the monument was an enduring
memorial of his own merit as an artist, and of his skill, genius
and perseverance as a mechanic. He never spoke or wrote of
this, and the feeling, though it may have dignified him as a
man, never otherwise escaped him. His native modesty forbade
him to make any claim in his own behalf, and in his printed
volume, as in his letters and reports, he invariably spoke of
' ' those who have planned and conducted the executive parts of
the work." He always had faith that justice would be done
to him. For the credit of the Bunker Hill jMonument Asso
ciation, for the encouragement of a laudable ambition in men,-
his merit should be rewarded, his faith and constancy duly
honored. We must cherish the faith of man in men, for the
benefit of those it may inspire.
The completed monument realized to the directors their first
conception of the work, announced long before any design had
been decided upon, and before the question had been discussed.
Their first remark was that " it would be distinguished by sim
plicity and grandeur, rather than by elaborate or elegant orna--
ments," and this remark quite perfectly describes the finished

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 223
Structure. Mr. Everett, in speaking of the monument before it
was finished, said, " What is already done is as substantial as
the great pyramid of Egypt. The foundations have been laid
with such depth and solidity that nothing but an earthquake
can shake them. The part already constructed will last to the
end of time."
The Executive Committee, in 1834, spoke of the monument
as foUows : " It may hereafter be said of this monument, with
more propriety and more feeling than the Greeks were accus
tomed to speak of the Statue of Olympian Jupiter, that ' to
have Uved, and to have died, without having seen it, was to
have Uved in vain.' "
The monument is without any inscription : the following elo
quent exposition of its purpose, and the lesson it is intended to
teach, is the language of the certificate of membership issued in
the joint names of the Bunker Hill Monument and Mechanic
Associations, in 1833 : —
" The Law of Nature ordains equality among men in political
rights and duties. The American Revolution established the
dominion of this law, but at the cost of VaUant Patriots, who
devoted their lives that future generations might rise to the
dignity of Free Citizens, qualified to make their own rules in
social and political order. The People of this day, in the full
enjoyment of the benefits for which these Patriots fought and
died, and humbly acknowledging their dependence on Divine
Providence, for all the good that has been gained and secured
to them, unite in raising a monument on the field of battle, to
commemorate the events of the
SEVENTEENTH OF JUNE, 1775,
as the most eminent of the early achievements in the cause of
rational freedom. If in the delusions of prosperity, or the gloom
of adversity, (jr in the tendency to change which is stamped on
aU human purpose, the spirit of that day should be perishing,
let this MONUMENT renew it with aU its glorious and dutiful
associations."

224

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

MEASUREMENTS OF BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.
Bt Chablbs L. Stevenson, CivU Engineer.
Dimensions of the Obelisk.
Height of obeUsk to base of pyramid, . 208 ft. 5
Height of the monument to the apex, . 221 ft. 5
Sides of the square, first course, . . 30 feet.
Sides of the square at base of pyramid, . 15
Thickness of wall at the base, one-fifth, . 6
Thickness of wall at the top, ... 2
Circumference of chamber in the top, . 36
Height of chamber, .... 18
Diameter of chamber, . . . . 11 ft. 6
Height of each course in the monument, . 2 ft. 8
Diminish in each course, . . . 2J inches.
Number of courses to base of pyramid, . 78
Number of steps in the circular stairs, . 294
Height of riser, ..... 8 inches.
Foundation 50 ft. square, 6 courses, 2 ft. each, 12 ft. deep.
Dim,ensions of the Cone.
Height of the cone, from the flooring, . . 196 ft. 9
Diameter of the first course, . . 10 feet.
Diameter of the top course, . . . . 6 ft. 2
Thickness of wall, at base, one-sixth, . 1 ft. 8
Thickness of wall at the top, . . . . . 1 foot.
Height of each course, . . . . 1 ft. 4
Number of courses, . . . . . 147
Diminish in each course, . . 6-lOths of an inch.
Dimensions of the Pyramid.
Vertical height from base line to apex, . 13 feet.
Number of courses in the pyramid, . 6
Sides of the base, ..... 15 feet.
From the base line to apex, . . 15 "

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 225

CHAPTER XXX.

MR. WILLARD AS ARCHITECT AND BUILDER  1824 — 1835.

While the work upon the monument was going forward,
Mr. Willard's duties at the quarry and on the hill were such
as to allow him little time for any other service, or the progres
sive self-culture which he always desired. In addition to his
general superintendence and oversight of the various processes,
new contrivances for facilitating the work, working-models and
plans for the hammerers, were often required, while questions
as to the quality of the stock, the difficulties of transportation,
the employment, .payment and discharge of the men, made fre
quent demands upon his time. He was almost daily at the site
of the monument, or at the quarry, , and had little time to
perform the necessary office-work. He was, however, very
frequently called upon for information and advice by architects,
builders and individuals, and it was always given, generally
without fee or subsequent employment. Designs and plans were
furnished in the same way. During the suspensions of the
work on the monument, Mr. Willard was variously engaged as
architect, builder and quarryman.
The United States Branch Bank, on State street, which was
designed and built by him, was completed before the work on
the monument was commenced. The corner-stone of the Bank
was formally laid on the fifth day of July, 1824. The heavy
columns in the portico of this building, were cut from a huge
29 •

226 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
boulder of granite in the town of Westford, Massachusetts,
known as the Chelmsford granite. They were twenty-four feet in
height, including the cap, and four feet in diameter at the base,
being six-diameter columns. The building was very much
admired for its pure style of architecture, and a professor in
Harvard College requested of Mr. WUlard a statement of its
proportions to be used " in an exercise in perspective." This
building has since been remodelled, in order to enlarge its ac
commodations, and its claims at this day to architectural merit
may well be questioned.
The plan of the monument at Concord, in commemoration of
the fight at the "old North bridge," was furnished at the
request of Mr. Everett, in 1825, but on account of the inde
cision as to its location, was not completed until 1836. It is a
plain obeUsk, elevated upon a pedestal, but unfortunately is
in several pieces. The plan made by Mr. Willard, was at once
adopted by the Building Committee, of which fiict Mr. Everett
informed him, and requested to know the fee for preparing it.
To this note Mr. Willard replied — "I did not think of
making any charge, and am sorry you should give yourself any
trouble about it." This little circumstance is quite character
istic of both gentlemen — Mr. Everett would have freely paid
the fee out of his own pocket ; Mr. Willard did not desire it of
anybody. In the same note he wrote to Mr. Everett, "many
of my friends are in a habit of adding an Esq., to my name in
the superscriptions of their letters, supposing me possessed of
the little vanity which it would gratify ; but as I have no claim
to such distinction, it would be more pleasing to have it omit
ted." In a subsequent note from Mr. Everett he scrupulously
complied with Mr. Willard's request.
The inscription upon the Concord monument, is cut on a mar
ble slab. It was written by Rev. Dr. Ripley, of that town, one
of the energetic and' authoritative clergymen of the old school,
whose faith in God was not simply that He ruled the univei-se
by all-wise laws, but, in temporal matters, by special acts of

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 227
Divine- government, rewarded the just and upheld the right. —
His thorough belief in an over-ruling Providence was as real
as his own existence. The spirit of this old Christian Patriot
is manifested in the terse and emphatic inscription on the
Concord monument, which stands upon land given by him and
formerly a part of his farm.
The Norfolk County Court House, at Dedham, was designed
by Mr. Willard, and erected in 1826. It was then and still
is a really beautiful building, constructed of granite found in
the immediate neighborhood, with light Doric porticos having
four columns in each front. Its dimensions were 48 by 98 feet,
with projections. It was universally regarded as one of the
truest and best specimens of architecture in the country. In
February, 1827, when it was formally opened for public use,
Mr. Samuel P. Loud wrote to Mr. Willard, inviting and urging
him to be present on the occasion, casually remarking, — "The
Dedham people and people generaUy, I believe, are delighted
with this building." It has since been enlarged and altered —
often a fatal process upon any work of real merit — but is yet
regarded, next to the monument, as Mr. Willard's most success
ful work in architecture.
The Franklin Monument, in the Granary Burying-ground,
was erected by a few citizens of Boston, in 1827. It is of
pyramidal form, composed of several blocks taken from the Bun
ker Hill quarry. The design was furnished by Mr. WiUard.
The inscription is upon a copper tablet let into the shaft. Its
height is twenty-five feet.
The Harvard Monument, in the old Burying-ground, in
Charlestown, designed by Mr. Willard, was erected by the
alumni of Harvard, in 1828. It is an obelisk, strictly conform
ing to the legitimate definition of the term, fifteen feet high to
the pyramid. The base of the shaft is four feet six inches,
diminishing one half in the height, and its weight about fourteen
tons, (or about 180 feet cubic measurement.) The inscription
upon this monument is on a marble slab, set into the shaft. —

228 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
l^e block was taken fi-om the Bunker Hill quarry, and at the
price paid for the monument stone, cost about forty-five cents
in the ledge — one quarter of a cent per cubic foot.
Upon the suspension of the work on the monument, in 1829,
Mr. Willard gave his time and attention, not merely to the
furnishing of designs, but to the business of quarrying stone ;
introducing it, in fact, as a building material, and taking con
tracts himself. In a letter to Mr. Joseph Grennell, of New
Bedford, with whom he had just completed a contract, in
November, 1831, he wrote as follows : —
" The high price demanded for granite for fifteen years past,
and particularly for blocks of large dimensions, has had a ten
dency to discourage the use of it ; and my object in engaging
in the stone business was not to make money, but to make
experiments in order to remove the obstructions to the extensive
use of granite as a building material, and to ascertain the lowest
price at which it could be afforded with the common facilities
for doing business. I left the profession of architect, which I
had followed ten years in Boston, and took charge of a corps of
quarrymen, at the Bunker Hill quarry, in Quincy, six years
ago the fifteenth of the present November. The committee of
that work had previously advertised for proposals for fiirnishing
the stone required, and received but one, and that was sixty-two
cents per cubic foot, for the raw material delivered in Charles
town. A combination had taken place among the dealers in
stone to keep up the prices, as is usually the case. The quar
rying of four thousand tons was finally done by the day, by
men under my charge, and cost the association but thirteen
cents and three mills per cubic foot, delivered on a wharf in
Charlestown. Since the work has been discontinued, I have
been making experiments at my own expense. While I con
ducted the public work, my services were gratuitous, and since
doing business on my own account, I have merely charged my
employers for their work what I supposed would be the prime

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 229
cost, well managed, taking all risks on myself, without any
compensation for the excessive labor and anxiety that I have
had on their account."
Mr. Willard furnished at different times, many designs for
churches, hospitals, dwelling houses, stores, &c., and plans for
remodelling churches and other edifices. In July, 1829, he was
consulted concerning the monument to the memory of Thomas
Addis Emmet, the Irish patriot and distinguished ^ barrister,
which was afterwards erected in Saint Paul's Church yard, in
New York ; and in the fall of the same year was employed by
Mr. Andrew J. Allen, in reconnoitering the route of the Fitch-
burg railroad — a road which was built fifteen or sixteen years
later by other parties. In December, of the same year, he
drew outlines of several different routes, extending them as far
as Brattleborough, in Vermont. In 1830, he made several
designs for churches, including one at Bangor, Maine, and
the Bowdoin street church, in Boston, which last he contracted
for and built of rough granite at very low rates. The style and
architecture of the edifice, although heavy and sombre, the more
so from being of rough stone, was much commended for its good
proportions. The next year, Mr. Willard examined the route
for a raUroad from Boston to Taunton and Somerset.
In 1831, appUcation was made to him to furnish stone for
two houses in New Bedford, and he proposed to deUver it on a
wharf in Quincy, in 8-inch ashlars, at fifteen cents a foot, and
he made up the account of cost as follows : For bankage one-
quarter of a cent ; quarrying, four cents ; dressing edges, seven
cents ; transportation, two and three-quarter cents ; profit, one
cent ; total, fifteen cents. The cost of stone-cornices, with three
cubic feet of stone and seven feet of dressing, he stated at one
dollar and seventy-four cents per running foot. These prices
were scarcely up to the prime cost of the article at that time ;
were manifestly too low to be a safe guide to other dealers, and
however intended, were in some degree unjust towards them. —
Large contracts were made with Mr. Joseph Grennell, and Mr.

230 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
Joseph R. Anthony, of New Bedford, and the stone suppUed,
as well as the prices charged, gave great satisfaction to those
gentlemen. At the same time, Mr. WUlard fulfilled a contract
with Mr. Martin Brimmer, of Boston, and supplied the stone for
the fence and gate-way of the Granary Burying-ground, one
block of which, — that nearest the Tremont House, — is about
thirty-five feet long. The work on the gate-way, (the -winged
globe and inverted torches,) and on the corner-posts, (winged
hour-glass,) was executed at Quincy, under the general super
intendence of Mr. Willard, and is still among the best granite
sculpture in the city.
The new Court House for Suffolk County, in Boston, which
has been since enlarged, was designed and builtf by Mr. WiUard,
and completed in 1835. There were eight granite columns
in the two finely-proportioned Doric porticos, — only one of
which now remains, — four in each ; they were twenty-five feet
six inches in height, four feet six inches in diameter, and
measured about fifty tons each. They were among the first
of these heavy columns, after those of the Branch Bank and
Quincy market, brought into the city. A team of , sixty-
five yoke of oxen and twelve horses was requu-ed to draw them
from the railway in Quincy to Boston.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 231

CHAPTER XXXL

NEW YORK MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE — 1836 — 1841.

In June, 1836, a contract was made by Mr. Willard with the
New York Merchants' Exchange Company, to furnish the stone
for their new building, and the contract continued for over five
years. Mr. Isaiah Rogers was the architect, and the company,
by Mr. WiUard's suggestion, purchased the right to take the
stone required from the Wigwam Quarry. During the progress
of this work a voluminous correspondence became necessary in
relation to the plans, transmission of the stone, payment of the
workmen, &c., and lastly pertaining to the final settlement
of the accounts, amounting to nearly four hundred thousand
dollars. Of course in a large portion of this correspondence
there is nothing of general interest concerning Mr. Willard, or
illustrative of his character; but in the lesser portion, there
are a few passages of interest which may properly be referred
to or quoted.
The contract was dated the 22d of June, and the considera
tion to be paid to Mr. Willard for all his services was five dol
lars a day. He assumed the agency of working the quarry,
employing the men, shipping the stone, &c., and the company
paid the expenses of his necessary visits to New York. In a
letter of January, 1837, Mr. Willard refers to some difficulty
experienced in the progress of the work by the masons waiting
for material. " It must be quite obvious," he says, " that if the

232 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
masons wait, there are too many of them employed ; or too few
employed in preparing the material at the quarry. We found
in building the monument that about four-fifths of the money
was expended in preparing and getting the materials to the site
ofthe building, and one-fifth in fitting, hoisting and setting the
stone : the fitters were employed in working off the quoin-heads,
facing the headers, matching-in the steps, &c., and the black
smith's work, coal, &c., was also included. Those who did the
hoisting were a distinct gang, and were employed in adjusting
the machinery, getting the blocks of stone to a convenient place
for hoisting and in raising them. Under the head of mason's
work was included the cost of the mortar, setting of the stone,
adjusting the scaffolding, &c. The three gangs were about
equal, and the expense of the three amounted to about one-fifth
of the whole sum paid out, and consequently each of the gangs
to one-fifteenth. The relative proportions may vary in differ
ent buildings. In a building partly of bricks and rough stone,
the cost of the mason's work to the whole cost may be greater
than in the experiment noticed. This experiment, however,
goes to show that the mason's work is comparatively a small
part of the whole. ... No waiting ever occurred at the
monument in consequence of a want of proportion in the different
gangs, and as the expense of the mason's part was found to be
about one-fifteenth of the whole, a useful rule may be drawn
for proportioning the gangs in other places : if for every effec
tive mason that is employed, there be fourteen other men en
gaged in preparing the material, there will be no waiting. . .
I do not think it good policy to crowd on more men than can
work to advantage, as it defeats the purpose it is intended to
advance. Idle men are a dead weight, and worse than useless,
— whether they be idle from want of material or room to work —
as they increase the expense without forwarding the work. It
may be easily sho^vn that the wages of thirty idle men at three
dollars per day would amount to more than the interest on half
a million of dollars at six per cent, per annum."

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 233
Mr. Rogers, in a letter of March 30, 1837, says, he un
derstands the arrangements at the quarry are superior to any
other in Quincy, and this from " a Quincy man is saying much."
" I feel very much gratified," he added, "to see the narrow
feeling giving way to liberal and just views of your services;
and I hope before the stone for the Exchange is finished, if your
health is spared to you, those contracted beings who have been
so prone to throw false impressions upon your exertions and
valuable experiments, will be willing to appreciate some of your
past services."
Mr. WiUard's efforts to extend the use of granite as a build
ing material, by putting it at prime cost, — tending to reduce
the profits of others engaged in the same business, had the effect
to prejudice them against him, especially as they were too im
mediately interested to be able to appreciate his purpose.
Mr. John A. Stevens, president of the Exchange Company,
visited the quarry in August, 1838, and expressed himself as
foUows respecting the work in progress : "I was pleased ex
ceedingly with things there. I do not believe granite has been
worked so extensively and beautifully in such masses since the
times of the Egyptians. The bases, consoles, flutings and caps
are equally admirable." We do not know where the Egyptians
have left any work at all comparable to that to be found in the
New York Merchants' Exchange.
Up to January, 1840, Mr. Willard had employed at the
quarry from forty to ninety men, engaged exclusively on the
work for the Merchants' Exchange, and had received from the
company and paid to them, and for contingent expenses, the sum
of $255,794 91, — more than double the amount expended on
the monument. During this period of three and a half years,
Mr. Willard had devoted himself to his work and workmen,
with such assiduity and kindness as to command the entire con
fidence and respect of employer and employed.
A very large amount of ,stone was required for this building,
including eighteen fluted columns, of over thirty tons each,
30

234 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
(similar to those in the Court House and Tremont House, in
Boston,) and more than fifty other blocks of twelve to sixteen
tons measurement. The finished columns were thirty-two feet
eight inches in height, and are superb specimens of work. —
After the first column had been successfully obtained, Mr. WU
lard wrote, " I do not apprehend much difficulty in getting the
whole out, although our neighbors in the stone business appear
to be much concerned about it. I presume we can get them if
anybody can and at less than half the cost to them."
In July, 1840, Mr. WUlard wrote as follows : " We are now
drilling a line of holes eighty-four feet long, and have a fair
chance of getting two columns at the next split." On the fifth of
August, he wrote, " our long split is wedged off about an inch,
and I think will make what was intended. Our quarrymen
have had to proceed with great caution on account of the great
length." This block must have measured from one hundred to
one hundred and fifty tons. Another block was partly got out
which it was expected would make four columns, but it was
not successful. One year from this time, during which much
of the stone for the Exchange and Custom House, in Boston,
had been got out and forwarded, Mr. Willard wrote, July 8th,
1841, as follows : " We expect to get through shortly and to
have the greatest hoorah and throwing up of caps that ever was
in Quincy ! We have saved three cartridges for the Yankee,
to be fired off when the last column is loaded." Four months
later he wrote: "We are about getting the seventeenth col
umn to the wharf The eighteenth we expect to get finished on
Tuesday next, and the whole, column and architrave, afloat in
the course of next week."
Two years time, after most of the other work was done, was
required to get out and finish up these columns. The cost
of them is stated in an estimate of work remaining to be done
in June, 1839, at $1,500 each ; but in a later statement made
in October, 1841, two of them, upon which extra work was or
dered by Mr Stevens, are put down at $4,000, and Mr. Willard

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 235
in one of his letters said, " The prime cost of getting out one of
these shafts is as much as the prime cost of a Doric column
with its capital, for which $5,200 is paid at the Custom House."
The estimated work upon each was equal to four men for forty-
five days. There were great risks in getting them out, and no
less than five blocks which were split off failed to answer for
column, and one was rejected after it was rounded.
Mr. Willard wrote on the fifth of November, " Our unsettled
accounts are of long standing and I should like to have them
settled in the shortest possible time. How would it do for you
to spend a few days in Quincy, in helping to count up ? We
have to work hard and live poor, and sleep on a board, and have
no accommodations to brag of near the quarry ; but there are
two houses about a mile off where they keep all the good things
necessary to make life comfortable, where I presume you can
be accommodated."
The work at this time was nearly completed and the splendid
edifice, -wrought out of the rocky ledges of Quincy and shipped
to New York, stone by stone, stood in symmetrical beauty as
the Merchants' Exchange, in the great commercial metropolis of
the nation. " So far as regards the architectural taste of the
building and its execution," Mr. WiUard most submissively
wrote to Mr. Stevens, " I never doubted that they would be
considered respectable." Mr. Rogers, if he ever saw this letter,
would hardly consider the remark very flattering to himself —
The building, however, stiU attests the taste and genius of the
architect as weU as the skill of the superintendent of the
quarry and the industry of the men.
During the whole time of the work on the Merchants' Ex
change, Mr. Willard was particularly careful of the interests
and welfare of the men employed and many of them became
very much attached to him. Much of his correspondence
was in their behalf, seeking prompt and seasonable payment of
their wages, and urging in particular cases, their claims to con
sideration. At different times, owing to the somewhat stringent

236 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
circumstances of the company, although he himself remained
unpaid to the last, he advanced out of his own pocket hundreds
of dollars to the workmen, to relieve them from pressing neces
sities or embarrassment. Some of the men were disposed to be
troublesome, notwithstanding Mr. WiUard thought the " advan
tage was entirely on their side, as they had been employed at
high prices through the dullest of times." Two of them went
to New York to obtain the,balances due to them and there made
false reports about the work, which reached Mr. Willard. He
thought the men were "too ignorant and simple to be very dan
gerous to anybody. For young men they have both appeared
to be uncommonly craven and avaricious." After alluding to
the jealousies existing in Quincy, in regard to the work, he
suggested to Mr. McCormick that it was " descending too much
for you to ask them anything about the work, as it only flatters
their vanity to be taken notice of, and you must perceive that
you would not get a favorable opinion at any rate. Our affairs
are always open to examination and if there is anything wrong,
it might be easily found out by the personal inspection of the
president, yourself or Mr. Rogers." In allusion to this matter,
Mr. Stevens immediately wrote him, " You need give yourself
no uneasiness as to the effect of any impression made by what
discharged men say about your work. We leave the manage
ment of the quarry with great confidence to you — at all times."
The work was completed in December, 1841, having been in
progress five years and four months. It was a great and very
costly enterprise, and owing to the depression in mercantile
affairs which occurred during the progress of the work, the
company became greatly embarrassed. When the affairs were
finally settled, a considerable amount was found to be due to
Mr. Willard and his workmen, but all were finally paid, Mr.
Willard and others, receiving for their claims the new five per
cent, bonds issued by the company.
Mr. Willard made seven or eight visits to New York whUe
the work was going on, and no doubt gave Mr. Rogers much

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 237
valuable assistance in his plans. His memorandum of personal
expenses at this time affords an insight to his methods and an
idea of the cost of travel and the expense of commodities, as
compared with the present time. The cost of a journey to and
from New York, in 1837, in his prudent way, was twenty-five
dollars. In 1842, the items of expense for the same journey
are recorded as follows : Fare from Quincy to Boston, 37 ; din
ner, 33 ; fare to New York, 2.50 ; supper, 50 ; breakfast, 50 ;
blacking boots, 12; board at Ilolt'.s, 1.50; fare back, 3.00,;
supper, 50; lunch and fare to Quincy, 90 — -total, $10.22. —
Personal expenses of most kinds were about half what they have
been for same years past, while the expenses of travelling have
been in most cases largely reduced and the facilities propor
tionably increased.
The following is a'specimen of charges among his entries : - —
Paid for  , court fees 25 ; justice fees 90 ; lent him $5. —
Among the other items are subscriptions for several new roads,
for the public library, contributions to various individuals and
to various laudable purposes — all showing his interest in public
and charitable objects and his readiness to contribute some
thing to each. »

238 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER XXXm.

THE STONE BUSINESS — MR. WILLARD AS A FARMER.

The objects and purposes for which Mr. Willard avowedly
engaged in the stone business, naturally excited the opposition
and ill-will of all who were previously in it, and it is not
strange that they should endeavor to keep up the prices of their
work to a profit standard; not by any direct "combination,"
as he supposed, but by a common personal interest. They
looked upon his course with jealousy and suspicion, and his
proceedings as inimical to them, and no doubt said harsh things
about him. Yet he did nothing but what he believed he had a
clear right to do and would be justified in doing. He was
honest almost " to a fault," and did not consider that a wrong
done to himself might be an injury to another. Moralists may
say no man has a right to do work for another without reason
able compensation, for thereby he enriches the party for whom
he labors at the expense of those who obtain their living in the
particular branch of business to which the work performed per
tains. It probably never occurred to Mr. Willard that in fur
nishing granite to builders at the prime cost, derived from an
average, he was doing -a wrong to those engaged in the same
business who were dependent upon a reasonable profit on their
labor ; yet it might have been so.
Not seeing the matter in this light, Mr. Willard continued
his efforts to increase the demand for granite, expecting that all

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 239
parties would find their interest ultimately in small profits upon
large sales, and in this view doubtless his proceedings were jus
tifiable. The success of his efforts, — his almost alone, — in
introducing the free use of granite as a building material, as
seen in the pubUc buildings of Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
and other cities ; in the dry docks of Charlestown and Norfolk ;
in churches, cemeteries and other large public structures — all
subsequent to the commencement of the monument — is the in-
contestible evidence of his sagacity and foresight. The opening
of the Bunker Hill quarry led to the discovery and opening of
other quarries, caused the building of the first railroad in the
country, and gave an impulse to business which has adorned our
cities with a class of splendid and substantial buildings, both
public and private, which for durability and beauty, are wholly
unsurpassed. In no part of the world, we believe, is a more
excellent material to be found ; and hard and heavy as the
blocks are, they are new worked and handled with a facility
which Mr. WUlard foresaw, and by his inventions did so much
to attain.
In 1841, commencing before the New York Exchange was
completed, he furnished the stone for the Merchants' Exchange
in Boston, which was also the work of Mr. Rogers. The tall
plain and fluted pilasters in the front of this building are much
the largest in Boston, and were raised into position by means
of screws. The corner pilasters are forty-one feet eight inches
in height, six feet wide and weigh about fifty-five tons. The
emblem of commerce and navigation, forming the centre-piece
in the front elevation, — an engaged globe, showing parallels,
meridians and ecliptic, surmounted by the American eagle, with
cornucopias of productions and coin resting upon bales below,
and projecting from behind the globe, at the sides, a ship's mast,
trident, anchor, and caducous — although wrought by a stone-cut
ter nearly a quarter of a century ago, is still the most elaborate
piece of granite sculpture in the city, and though it has been
harshly criticised, was considered to be well done for the time

240 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
and the material. The art was in its infancy, and it is but re
cently that higher achievements have been accompUshed.
In 1841-2, and more or less subsequently, Mr. WiUard
was occupied in the superintendence of the work on the
monument, as already related in these pages. During this time
the work on the " two Exchanges" was completed.
But Mr. Willard began to feel that he had completed his
experiments and was satisfied with the results, and he did not
care to continue any longer in the business, — not even now to
make money, which, in his mode of life, without a family, he
did not need. Applications to him were therefore declined, or
turned over to other parties. In February, 1842, he wrote, —
" I have never intended to remain permanently in Quincy. The
principal work, — the monument, — that led me to this place
sixteen years ago, is nearly finished, besides the two Exchanges,
which have incidentally come in. I have made no further ar
rangements ; but, as the times are unfavorable for disposing
of what I have in Quincy, I may be detained for some time
to come." Notwithstanding these remarks, it appears that Mr.
WUlard and Mr. Rogers, only a month previous took a lease of
the Wigwam Quarry of Mr. Belknap, for five years. We pre
sume that this was mainly Mr. Rogers's transaction, as Mr.
Willard enters the payment of the tax upon the quarry in this
wise: "Paid Mr. Rogers's tax for ledge, $16, made out to
A. B. Belknap."
He interested himself, however, in the affairs of the town,
of which he had been a citizen since 1825, and superin
tended the erection of a School House, in 1842, giving the
land to the town, and of a Town House, in 1844, both neat and
substantial buildings of native granite.
Mr. Willard also laid out and publicly opened the Hall Cem
etery, in the neighborhood of the quarry, doing much of the
work with " his own hands, without money and without price."
In this cemetery, a few years later, he raised the Rejected
Column, above-mentioned, intended for the New York Exchange.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 241
It -was removed by himself and four men, with the aid of his
machinery, a distance of more than forty rods, and erected in
the centre of the cemetery, as a monument, and it forms a most
conspicuous and impressive object in the grounds. A suitable
foundation was prepared for this remarkable shaft, which was
erected as left by the workmen, and Mr. Willard deposited
in its top a complete set of stone cutter's tools. It is about the
same height and somewhat heavier than the finished columns.
It is still a matter of surprise that he was able to move
and raise a column of over thirty tons -v^'eight with the small
force he had. The land for the cemetery was given by Mr.
James HaU, at Mr. Willard's solicitation. Mr. Hall was a
very wealthy man, — a bachelor, — and had unbounded faith in
Mr. Willard. After the cemetery was laid out, Mr. Willard
suggested to him that an iron fence for the front was needed.
He inquired what it would cost. Mr. Willard repUed, "about
a thousand dollars," and Mr. Hall, jocosely remarking, "you
have got the land and now you want money," gave him the
desired amount.
Harboring, it would seem, some vague ideas of change of
place, or possibly of resuming his profession, Mr. WiUard still
continued a citizen of Quincy, although simply a boarder in a
private family. Without the slightest ambition for position, and
no desire for wealth, or taste for display, he did not engage in
any business or professional pursuit for either purpose. What
property he had, besides some notes and bonds, was located in
Quincy, capable of use and improvement and requiring his at
tention. Naturally enough, — for he could not be an idler any
where, — he gradually fell into the pursuit of an amateur far
mer and occupied himself in the cultivation and improvement of
his land. He bought agricultural books, subscribed for agri
cultural newspapers, became, somewhat later, a member of the
Norfolk County Agricultural Society, and went very system
atically into the study and practice of the art. The occupation
was not entirely new to him : he had worked in his early years
31

242 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
upon his father's farm in Petersham, and had " dabbled" a little
in agriculture while en'gaged in working the quarry. In 1839,
as if the matter had been already talked about, Mr. McCormick
sent him the famous new potatoe of that time, the " Rohan," —
one of which, he said, "will produce a barrel," — a feat ia
agriculture which coopers or grammarians must regard as mar
vellous. The "Red Dutch" and "Pine Apple," though new,
were thought to be inferior, as they cost only half, the price, —
fifteen dollars per bushel,- — ofthe "Rohans." Mr. Willard
wrote to his correspondent that "owing to pre-vious engagements
in other directions, his experiments in the farming Une would be
necessarily few this season. I intend, however, to take partic
ular care of the ' murphys' sent, in order to give a good account
of them at the end of the year." It is just possible that this
" good account of them" may be found in the proceedings of the
Norfolk County Society, but we doubt if he ever sent any such
account to his correspondent.
It is not probable that either Mr. Willard's speculations or
experiments in agriculture, at this time, were of any particular
value ; and we have not found among his papers any statement
of their results, or any account of sales of produce. We pre
sume his operations were not very extensive, though they
served to occupy his mind and engage his interest. He may
have entered more zealously into the business in later years,
when he sought to interest others, and especially the young, in
the art, by appropriating small portions of his land to their
use and encouraging them to cultivate it for their own benefit,
while he in fact was desirous of cultivating in them habits of
labor and industry — buying off the rude and indolent boys that
they should not molest the workers.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 243

CHAPTER XXXIV.

INTRODUCTION OF GRANITE AND MACHINERY.

We have only incidentally mentioned, or briefly spoken of,
Mr. Willard's efforts to introduce granite as a building material
and at the same time to improve the prevaiUng style of archi
tecture. Mr. Willard felt persuaded that an improvement in
the material for building purposes, so decided as that which he,
in fact, had introduced, would gradually effect a change in the
style of building and in the general architecture of the times.
Granite, as a building material, excepting in a few instances
and those mostly under Mr. Willard's superintendence, had
been used in small pieces, or blocks of moderate size, for cellar
walls, underpinning, posts, Untels, &c. ; and his first measure
was to introduce the material in large blocks, such as were in
themselves massive and durable — which, as he saw at once,
would absolutely necessitate changes in the style of architecture
and in the character of public buildings, stores and other sub
stantial structures.* A good deal of feeling was manifested when
he determined that such blocks should be provided for the
Bunker Hill Monument, because no one of the dealers in stone
was prepared to furnish them — neither to quarry them, to

*A sample of the smaU blocks may be seen in the front of Saint Paul's
Church, Boston, and of larger ones in the United States' Court House, (for
merly the Masonic Temple,) on the adjoining premises ; and both together, the
large above the small, make an awkward appearance in the Navy Yard wall,
ou Chelsea street, in Charlestown.

244 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
manipulate or to transport them. The means to do these things
had to be created, and in consequence of his unchangeable de
termination, his enterprise and inventive genius, they were cre
ated and his purpose fully accomplished. It was found to be
practicable to get such blocks out of the new quarry, as well as
out of boulders, and they were got out, wrought and transport
ed to Charlestown, by means prepared for the purpose. The
effect was just what Mr. Willard supposed it would be upon
the style of buildings required in the city, and finally in other
cities, and in distant parts of the country, where our superb
granite at this day finds a market. Evidence is not wanting —
and is, in fact, so abundant in what we every day witness as not
to need suggestion — of Mr. Willard's foresight and skill in this
matter. As the civil engineer under whose superintendence the
government dry docks of Norfolk and Charlestown were built,
proposed to construct Bunker Hill Monument of small blocks,
it is probable that similar material would have been used for
those works except for the success which attended Mr. WiUard's
efforts in introducing large blocks for the monument.
The following are the remarks of Mr. Willard on this subject,
published by him after the completion of the monument : —
" There are other important considerations, connected with
these experiments, however, and advantages growing out of
them — only secondary to the main purpose ; namely, the effect
they have had in improving the style of building, and the taste
in architecture, by the introduction of a building material not
before in use ; and showing that it can be worked into any
moulded or ornamental form required, for the exterior of the
best structures, and at a reasonable rate. And thereby having
supplied a desideratum which had always existed, until the com
mencement of these experiments.
" A strongly marked improvement in taste, and in construc
tion, immediately followed the commencement of this work ; as
will be obvious on viewing the public structures which have

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 245
been erected since that time. Improvement in construction may
be noticed in the Dry Docks in Charlestown and Norfolk, exe
cuted soon after the commencement of our work. And many of
the buildings recently erected in Boston and New York, will
show improvement in architectural taste, and mechanical execu
tion. And particularly the Astor House and Exchange, in
New York, and the Tremont House,* Exchange, and Custom
House, in Boston. A change for the better may also be seen
in the recent blocks of stores of which the same material forms
an essential part.
" In a pecuniary point of view these experiments have also
been advantageous. In establishing the credit of a new build
ing material it created a new demand ; and consequently, a
business has grown out of them since the work was commenced ;
and, in a space of a few square miles, amounting, as estimated,
to three millions of dollars, which would not otherwise have
been done at these quarries, and of which the work on the
obelisk is but about one-thirtieth part."
Mr. Dearborn, in his "Boston Notions," mentions thirty or
forty new blocks of stores and single buildings, all of granite or
of granite fi-onts, one of which (the store of the late Benjamin
Loring, on State street,) was erected iu 1823 ; another, (of the
late Andrew J. Allen, on State street,) erected in 1827 ; the
Masonic Temple, (U. S. Court House,) and a granite block on

* The Tremont House was built in 1828 — the corner-stone having been
laid on the 4th of July, by Samuel T. Armstrong, President of the Massachu
setts Charitable Mechanic Association. The .stone was hammered at the State
Prison, under the direction of Mr. Samuel Lawrence. The ornamental parts of
the entablature, the facade and the portico, were executed by Mr. Samuel R.
Johnson, of Charlestown. The Tremont House was one of the earliest of the
first class hotels in the country. The inscription under the corner-stone says —
"A desire to promote the welfare and to contribute to the embellishment of
their native city led the Proprietors, Thomas Handasyde Perkins, James Per
kins, Andrew Eliot Belknap, WilUam Harvard EUot, and Samuel Atkins Eliot
to undertake this work."

246 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
Washington street, erected in 1831 ; a block on Washington
street, in 1832 ; Amory HaU Block, 1835 ; Lawrence Block,
Milk street, 1844; the Cruft, Oregon, Quincy, and Brooks
Blocks, in Pearl street, in 1845-6 and 1847 ; Bowdoin and
Morton Blocks, Milk street, 1845 ; Old South Block, 1845 ;
Horticultural Hall, on the site of the present Parker House, in
School street, 1844 ; SewaU Block, Milk street, and Sanford
Block, FrankUn street, 1846 ; and many more during the last
twenty years, — all, excepting the first mentioned, were erected
subsequently to the commencement of the work on the monu
ment, and most of them after its completion.
After the blocks were split off from the ledge, means were
required to raise them and to transport them, and these, as we
have said, had to be invented and constructed, as no machinery
equal to the purpose and otherwise reliable, was then in use. — -
The hoisting apparatus, which was first required, was provided
by Mr. Almoran Holmes, and respecting it and him we may
safely adopt the honest, generous and feeling language of Mr.
Willard, who knew and appreciated him :
" Holmes's Hoisting Apparatus. This was used for setting
the first fifty-five thousand feet of the granite in the obelisk.*
This apparatus, with various modifications to adapt it to differ
ent purposes, appears to have been the original invention of Mr.
Almoran Holmes, of Boston. He was a practical seaman, and
a bold and skilful hand in this department of engineering. He
had recently given his attention to the different kinds of ma
chinery required for the hoisting of heavy weights, and, from
his early training, was well prepared to direct in all difficult
cases, and particularly where rope purchases were required. —
He finally lost his life by a casualty which occurred at Long

* All the remaining stone were hoisted by steam power ; and the same
power was used, for more than a ye.ar after the completion of the monument, to
carry visUors to the top, passing up through the cone.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 247
Wharf, in Boston, in lowering a diving-bell. He had the entire
charge of contriving the apparatus and hoisting the first thirty-
six thousand feet of granite in the obelisk ; but, previous to
the recommencement of the work in 1834, the fatal accident
occurred, which deprived the association and the public of his
invaluable services.
" This hoisting apparatus is remarkable for its compass, and
the ease and grace with which it performs its work. With a
gaff or arm, of fifty feet, it will command a circle of one hun
dred feet in diameter. It will take a weight at the point of the
gaff and land the same at any part of the outer circle ; or on
any point of a concentric circle, until it arrives at the foot of the
derrick, and vice versa. It is consequently well adapted to
buildings of magnitude, in setting the stone work ; and for
wharves, and other places of deposit, in stowing the materials in
the most compact manner ; and reloading them when wanted. —
This apparatus, with some variations, has come into general
use, and is so well contrived for the purpose intended, as to
leave little to be wished for, in regard to apparatus for hoisting.
" Something of the kind is said to have been used at the Bell-
Rock light-house, for setting the stone work; and it is quite
possible that this apparatus, and indeed every other modern in
vention for the purpose of hoisting, may have been in use before.
The great works of the ancients that have come down to us,
prove that they must have had an apparatus of great power of
some kind ; and it seems quite probable that this, as well as
other inventions of modern times, may have been repeatedly
invented and lost, within the last four thousand years."*
Other machinery was required for the handling, lifting and
hauling of the large blocks of granite from the Bunker Hill
ledge, for the monument, and the still heavier blocks which were

* A part of this apparatus is seen in the engraving representing the first
course aud corner-stone of the monument.

248 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
subsequently required, from ten tons to a hundred tons, or even
to one hundred and fifty tons measurement. This machinery
was furnished by Mr. Willard, and we copy his brief and un
pretending account of it, with the illustrations and explanations
given by him : —
" The Lifting Jack has been found to be a useful machine
for turning heavy blocks of stone. It is a compact and power
ful machine, calculated for hard service, and, for some purposes,
seems to be better adapted than any other power. It consists of
a rack, and one or more wheels and pinions, according to the
power required.
"Something of. the kind has been in use from the earUest
times ; but was not used in the granite business until the work
on the monument was commenced. Those in use were con
structed for other purposes, and not adapted to hard service. —
They were generally made of thin plates of iron, bolted to a
large stock of wood, having a feeble rack, and without proper
boxes for gudgeons. They were also weak and of rude work
manship, and, when put to hard service, either broke or wore
down and out of gear iu a short time.
" In order to adapt it to hard service, thicker plates were
used, and these plates were screwed to a hoop of iron. This
iron hoop extended to the foot of the jack, and the foot was
bolted on, giving the whole a firm bearing on the ground ; a
piece of wood was bolted between the sides, leaving a groove for
the sliding of the rack.
" It was considered important that the best of materials should
be used, in order to obtain the greatest strength, with the least
weight. And, consequently, the whole was made of the best of
wrought iron and cast steel, except the boxes, which were
of bronze, or composition. The rack and the wheels were of
wrought iron, and the pinions of cast steel.
" The PuUing .Jack. This jack is constructed much like
that for lifting ; but is always in a horizontal position. The

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 249
crank pinion is extended two or three feet, and turned by four
arms about three feet long. The rack has a claw at the end to
receive a chain, which may be led to places which are inaccessi
ble, and dangerous for using the common jack. It is a power
ful and convenient purchase for canting and hauling out heavy
blocks of stone.
" The power of the one used is about ten tons ; but, by the
addition of a shieve, the power is nearly doubled — amounting
to twenty tons. If more is necessary, it is obtained by adding
another jack. This machine was contrived and first used at
the Bunker Hill quarry.
" The Hoisting Apparatus was contrived at the Bunker Hill
quarry and first used in loading a large mass of the granite
for the obelisk. It is calculated for raising weights too heavy
for shears, or derricks, and has been found convenient for loading
any stone from five to fifty, or even sixty tons in weight. A
horse, or timber frame, is set over the stone to be raised, sup
porting a screw and nut. A chain from the weight, leads to a
shackle, which is connected with the screw. The nut is then
turned round by long arms, and the weight raised to a proper
height for the carriage to pass under it, and when properly ad
justed, the weight is lowered to its bearings.
" For blocks of granite of great length, such as columns and
pilasters, &c., two horses and screws were used. In unloading
the same, the apparatus was placed over them, and the weight
raised sufficiently to clear the carriage. The carriage was then
drawn out, and the weight lowered to the ground. Many hun
dreds of loads have been raised in this way without accident,
and with facility and economy."
These several machines are stiU in use at the quarries, gigan
tic specimens of Holmes's derrick, towering over the ledges,
being the most conspicuous objects in West Quincy.

32

250 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.

CHAPTER XXXV.

CLOSING LABORS OF MR. WILLARD's LIFE — HIS DEATH.

Mr. Willard continued to reside in Quincy, and gradually
gave up all idea of leaving the neighborhood. It can hardly be
said that he continued to do business as heretofore, or if so, it
was only for a short time. His book concerning the monument,
was published in 1843, and that had occupied some of his time,
and gave much satisfaction to his friends.
He had furnished the first granite paving stones ever used in
Boston, laid in front of the Tremont House : they have been
since a good deal used and are still made in quantities at the
ledges in Quincy. He had also furnished the working plans
and stone, for the astronomical observatory at Cambridge, de
signed by Mr. Rogers. Mr. Willard's method of planning the
foundation and support for the great refi-actor, of heavy granite
blocks, in the form of an inverted cone, was thought to be a
very ingenious and successful piece of work. In 1843 -4, he
attended Mr. GUdden's lectures, at the Lowell Institute, and
studied Egyptian antiquities. In '44, he furnished the stone
for a Savings' Bank building, in New York, and superintended
the erection of tho Town House, in Quincy — and these were
among the last of his engagements. He sold his tools and pur
chased farming implements ; sold his lot at Mount Auburn and
took one in the Hall Cemetery ; sold some of his real estate,

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 251
and, (after the interest on his Exchange Bonds failed,) support
ed himself on the proceeds.
For a year or two after the building of the Town House, he
was interested and engaged in the erection of a School House,
in the village which he had done so much to create. It is in
the centre of the population, on a broad plain almost hemmed-in
by the ledges; is a neat and handsome building, and the
remarkable circumstance about it is, that it is not constructed
of the substantial material so abundant in the vicinity. A good
deal of the work inside of the building was not only planned
but performed by Mr. Willard with great care and nicety, at his
own expense. The Selectmen did him the justice to confer his
name upon the School. The Hall Cemetery and the Willard
School are in proximity to each other, while the men whose
memories they are intended to perpetuate, long united in
friendly bands here, now rest side by side, and after a brief
separation, are again united in heaven. Mr. Willard died a
year or two before his friend, although the youngest, and
was deposited in his tomb.
Before commencing the School House, Mr. Willard seems
to have been indisposed to undertake any work for money.
Unfortunately, perhaps, for a proper understanding of his life
at this time and subsequently, the papers which he left at his
death, were scattered, and a portion of them destroyed by fire,
so that none of them have been available in writing this memoir.
He was now about sixty years of age, without a family to look
after, without any ambition to gratify, with no desire for offipe
or position, with no "entangling alliances," and only himself
to support. He sometimes remarked that he could be rich
if he wished to be, but he did not want money. He might
have left a "large fortune, but he had no aspirations for wealth.'
With regard to resuming his profession, he undoubtedly felt
that he was now too far advanced in life to put himself into
competition with younger men. He was not inclined to be idle,
but rather disposed to do something which nobody else would

252 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
think of or venture upon. He had already laid out and oj en-
ed upon his own land two or three new roads or streets, without
any cost to the town, and his attention was again turned in that
direction. The enterprise which he began, and worked upon
almost up to the hour of his death, was the building of a road
from the village, near the ledges, to the " new state," towards
Milton. This road would open to easy access several hundred
acres of valuable woodland, belonging to the Adams and the
Quincy estates, and, as Mr. Willard thought, would at once
double the value of the wood. It may well be supposed that
the proprietors of those extensive lands were willing that Mr.
Willard should build a road into them.
This was the last labor in which he engaged. He undertook
it alone, and worked alone, without the expectation or hope of
reward, without the stimulant of fame, present or to come, but
simply from the habit of industry and the desire to accomplish
something useful, no matter how much labor was required to do
it. The road was to be two or three miles in length, when
completed, ranging through the woods, over hills and vallies,
crags and ledges, across swamps and meadows, and amongst
entanglemeijts almost insurmountable by human effort. One of
the head quarrymen, accustomed to rugged work in a rough
country, went over the route with the bold explorer, on one oc
casion, and declares the undertaking the severest experience
of the kind in his life. Nothing would induce him to at
tempt the same route back, and he still considers it wonderful
that they escaped without breaking any of their limbs.
Mr. Willard labored upon this work unflinchingly, as if hc
meant to accomplish it, and he would have accomplished it, had
his life been spared. He felt so confident of this, though it
would have occupied him for several years, that he had actu
ally projected and partially surveyed another similar road of
greater length in a different direction. He was devoted to his
work, manifesting the same indomitable spirit he had displayed
in the building of the monument ; and for the first time, in the

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 253
hearing of his fi-iends, at the end of his last day's labor, ad
mitted that he was tired. When the scene of his work was
visited, after his death, -great surprise was expressed at the ex
tent and severe character of the labor he had performed during
the day. It was considered almost incredible that some of the
rocks moved by him could have been moved by one man. No
further progress has been made on the road.
Mr. Willard's habits were very regular, and it had been for
years his custom to rise early in the morning and retire at the
unfashionable hour of nine o'clock in the evening. Although
considerably fatigued with his day's work, on the twenty-
sixth of February, 1861, he retired apparently in his usual
state of health, and not the slightest apprehension was felt in
the family concerning him. The only remark made during the
evening relating to himself was, that "he did not feel very well
and had probably worked too hard." He arose and came from
his room at about the usual hour, the next morning, Wednesday
the twenty-seventh, and while waiting for breakfast, talked of
the state of the country and the then impending war. Six of
the States had at this time passed the ordinance of secession ;
forts, arsenals, mints and navy yards had been seized, and the
confederate convention was engaged in preparing a constitution
in the interest of rebellion and slavery. Mr. Willard, at this
early time, seems to have feared the success of the rebels, and
was apprehensive that the Bunker Hill Monument, to complete
which he had sacrificed so much, would be destroyed by them.
Those who were with him declare that he was so , much afiected
by this thought that he shed tears as he spoke. Mr. Samuel
Ela, with whom Mr. Willard boarded, and who was one of his
reliable raen in the Monument and Exchange work, told him he
thought it would all come out right m the end, and that he need
not trouble himself about it at present.
Soon after this conversation, breakfast was announced to be
ready and Mr. Willard, Mr. Ela and auDther who was present,
proceeded to the breakfast-room ; but as Mr. Willard was mov-

254 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
ing his chair and about to sit down at the fable, he fell sideways
upon the floor, in apoplexy, and never spoke again. A physic
ian was sent for, but before he reached the house, Mr. Willard
had breathed his last, living only about twenty minutes after he
was placed upon his bed.
Mr. WiUard's sudden death, without any previous sickness in
his life, produced a deep sensation in the town, and the whole
community felt that they had lost a friend and one of thefr most
estimable citizens. He was known by everybody as an earnest,
public spirited, unselfish man, and in various ways a benefactor
to the town. The death of no other man in Quincy would have
more generally or more deeply stirred the hearts of the people.
Their love and respect for him was manifested on the occasion
of his funeral : all the work at the various ledges was suspend
ed ; the bells of the town were tolled ; the schools dismissed and
the children formed in procession ; a band of music was present
on the occasion and every mark of consideration and respect
which was practicable with the town authorities and the people,
was bestowed upon him. His name was given to one of the
ledges, and his memory will ever be green among the people
who have been benefitted by his labors. One of his townsmen*
says of him, " he combined as many virtues in his character as
often falls to the lot of one man. If ' aa honest man' is ' the
noblest work of God,' he was that man. His conscientiousness
was remarkable, but his benevolence knew no bounds. His de
sire to do good to all around him was the theme of his whole
life. He had not an enemy in Quincy — all who knew him
honored and loved him. The name of Solomon Wilkrd will
never be forgotten here. Like all men of good deeds, he was
diligent in every good work to the last.
" It may be said of him that he daily went about doing good.
I never knew a more disinterested man than he was ; selfishness

Dr. W. B. Duggan.

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 255
formed no part of his character. He had a fine mind and was
a devoted lover of science. His conversational powers were
pleasing and instructive. He was well read in Geology, and
latterly, in agricultural science. But the prominent business
trait in his character was mechanical genius.
" He was a donor to the to-wn in many instances. The gran
ite engine-house lot, a part of the school-house lot, and many
new avenues through his land, were public gifts from Mr. Wil
lard. At the first mention of any public improvement, he was
the first to offer his counsel and services.
" In all the relations of life, he was just, pleasing in man
ners and divested of all ostentation, having a good word for
every person he met. His society was always attractive and he
left a good impression on the hearts of all who knew him. . .
The brightest gem in his character was charity and good will
to men. "I never knew his theological views. His life was one so
virtuous and good, he was certainly a practical Christian. Ma
ny years before his death, he selected a piece of land, covered
by a beautiful grove, through which coursed a silver stream of
brook-water, designing to erect on this lovely retreat a chapel
for the worship of God. He gave it the name of Chapel Lot.
" The little children of his neighborhood loved him as a
father. In their pastimes, he whose head was covered with the
snows of nearly four score years, advised and counselled with
them. On the return of each vernal period, he would select
smaU sites of his land as garden lots, for any little boys to cul
tivate as they might choose, often assisting them in their labors."

256 MEMOIR OF SOLOMdN WILLARD.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER OF MR. WILLARD.

From what has been already said in these pages of Mr. Wil
lard's life and labors, a tolerably accurate idea of his character
as a man is readily to be inferred. He was ever thoughtful,
studious and industrious ; thinking about matters which other
people overlooked or neglected, and seeking to fill his mind with
knowledge that could at some time be made available. From
his habit of thinking, and his making a practical use of the
knowledge he obtained, he exemplified the truth of Cowper's
well-known lines : —
" Knowledge and Wisdom, far from bein gone
Have ofttimes no connection. Knowledge dwells
In heads replete with thoughts of other men ;
Wisdom in ininds attentive to their own.
Knowledge — a rude unprofitable mass.
The mere materials with which Wisdom builds,
'Till smoothed and squared and fitted to its place.
Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich.
Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much ;
Wisdom is humble that he knows no more."
Mr. Willard had learned much and was humble.
As boy and man, workman and pupil, he was always seeking
improvement and endeavoring to qualify himself for some higher
service. While with his father he served him dutifully and

memoir of SOLOMON WILLARD. 257
faithfully up to the day of his freedom, using his leisure time
in his own improvement. The superfluities and luxuries of life,
and what others esteem as the luxury of idleness, had no at
tractions for him. He was little disposed to " recreate" for the
sake of recreation, or "indulge" merely for the pleasure of the
indulgence. He " patronized" nothing that did not bring with
it some other advantage than mere gratification of passion or
desire. " Dulce et utile," was a rule with him, but utility was
his more general practice. Perhaps he carried his reserve and
self-restraint too far, but not to indulge in what others appeared
to enjoy was no deprivation to him. Abstinence was natural or
the result of preference : contemporary young men might prefer
to spend their evenings in amusement or gaming, while he made
use of his to gain admission to the Athenseum, where he could
hold communion with the wise and learned of past and present
times, and make himself acquainted with the history of man
and his achievements. It might be supposed that his retired
and studious habits would lead to moroseness or perhaps to
misanthropy, but it did not do either in his case. He was
genial, cordial, and cheerful, in his way.
As a carpenter, carver, designer, architect, builder, and as a
teacher, Mr. Willard was among the first and best, and in some
of these pursuits was rather in advance of his time. The opin
ions of those who knew him most intimately, and among these
some of the professional master mechanics and builders of the
present day, are all to the effect of that expressed by Mr. Carey,
in 1861. already quoted, who says, " I have been acquainted
with nearly all of the principal artists and mechanics who have
resided in Boston, for the last fifty years, and I think I have
never known a man of greater original powers of mind, combin
ed with uncommon practical skill in executing, than Solomon
Willard." Mr. Willard's habits were exemplary ; his indulgences, even
in innocent enjoyments, were very few. He did not find his
pleasure in what are considered the " smaller vices," and was no
33

258 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
" faster" in his daily habits than in his daily walk. He seldom
visited places of amusement or recreation, and his invitations,
unless to lectures or where instruction was combined with enter
tainment, were unaccepted. He appears to have been rigid in
these things, — not in the hope of reward, not in the austerity
of the bigot, not from any vain show or pretence of goodness,
but from principle, because he could find better employment,
more profitable to his thoughts, more congenial with his tastes,
more consonant with his reason and judgment. He preferred to
cultivate his higher nature, as a sentient being, without any
stringent theological notions, whatever he might have thought of
these. He followed the emphatic injunctions of Solomon, builder
and king, and sought wisdom as the highest good, — as more
precious than gold, for he readily parted with his first earnings
for books and instruction. He sought at all times the develop
ment and cultivation of his intellectual nature; and his Ufe
shows that his moral and physical capacities were not neglected.
He desired to know and understand whatever pertained to his
profession or pursuits, and spared no effort, labor or cost, in the
accomplishment of that purpose.
Intellectually, therefore, though not an educated man, Mr.
WiUard was a well developed man. He was a deep thinker and
careful reasoner upon subjects which he understood ; although,
of course, his writings lacked the finish of scholarly composi
tions. It is a matter of regret, perhapsj that he allowed him
self to become interested in so many pursuits instead of Umiting
his efforts to some one of them. He did, in fact, for some years
previously to engaging in the erection of the monument and be
coming interested in the stone business, confine himself to archi
tecture and considered that his profession. Had he persevered in
this pursuit, he would undoubtedly have excelled in some of its
branches, and especially in construction. He had good taste in
design, but both genius and skill in execution. Nevertheless, if
he made a mistake in leaving a profitable profession for a pur
suit more onerous and undistinguished, the advantage has been

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 259
gained to the public in the introduction and use of a valuable
buUding material at reasonable cost.
From an examination of the papers and letters of Mr. Willard,
the conclusion is inevitable that he was not only an original,
scientific and skilful mechanic and artist, but that he was emi
nently practical in the various departments of labor, improve
ment and progress. His mind was ever active in suggestion and
invention — never yielding to obstacles or at a loss for means
and contrivances to overcome them. He was not only fertile in
originating ideas of improvement, but quick to adopt and follow
out the suggestions of others, and free to give praise or credit
where either was due. He was tenacious of his own claims and
modest in the presentation of them.
Mr. Willard was a man that could not be frivolous ; nonsense,
however essential it may be to some lives, or however necessary
to the equilibrium of things, was never a current coin with him.
There is a difference of natures in this respect — in what may
be called the unbending of the mind. Frivolity and nonsense,
where not constitutional, is one method, (sometimes it becomes
chronic) ; a meditative, perhaps we may say, a ruminating
habit, is another method ; others are found in any rational rec
reation in which the mind is not kept at tension. Mr. Willard's
mind, we should say, was rather meditative than speculative ;
thoughts and ideas could never be said to strike him — they
planted themselves in his mind by a process, as it were, and
grew there. On passing him in the street, instead of saying
he is thinking of something, you would be almost sure to say
he is going somewhere — so slow and inconspicuous were his
thoughts. When he. did think, his ideas were practical, care
fully considered and mature, and were not to be kiUed like
some other things which grow, by the first frost.
In personal appearance, Mr. Willard was sedate, — almost
grave. This was his constant bearing, the garb in which he was
habited, the air in which he moved. The mantle of thoughtful
ness seemed always to cover him, and this was manifest in his

260 MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD.
gait as in his countenance. Physically he was a large man, tall
and stout and slow of movement. He never spoke quickly or
hastily but moderately, and knew well the advantage that des
patch has over hurry. There is no record that on any occasion,
or for any purpose, he ever moved faster than his accustomed
walk ; but he moved steadily forward, and would probably walk
farther in the course of a day than most other men. One
thing was pretty certain, he would accompUsh whatever he
intended to do, be it much or little. He was a moderatist in
all things, never doing extreme things or holding extreme opin
ions ; yet strong in his feelings, firm in his con-vdctions, probably
a little prejudiced, and very likely often dogmatical. Human
nature, however bestowed, is entitled to its weaknesses, and no
doubt Mr. WiUard had his full share of these. He did much
in the way of intellectual discipline, — - more or less required of
every man, — and kept his thoughts and passions subordinate
to his sense and judgment. He was one whose better nature
was always most apparent.
Mr. Willard can hardly be said to have been widely known.
He was known, when in the profession, by architects and artists,
and subsequently by quarrymen, stone-cutters and builders ; but
was little known personally to the public. In fact, in the latter
years of his life, he was in Boston only on occasions of especial
interest to himself The last time he was seen by the writer was
in September, 1860, at the Ninth Exhibition of the Mechanic
Association held that year. He spent his time in the quiet
hamlet of West Quincy, and latterly in a spot almost unvisited
by other men, and sought neither publicity or popularity. He
had qualified himself for a work and had accomplished it.
Some persons thought Mr. Willard was eccentric ; but Mr.
Everett said the only thing he knew of him that was eccentric
was his readiness to do anything for anybody for nothing. This
was his trait through life, and his later years, in a quiet and
unostentatious way, were almost entirely dedicated to the pub
lic. The little village, in a retired part of which he Uved, was

MEMOIR OF SOLOMON WILLARD. 261
his field of labor, and its improvement and prosperity, his per
sonal care. It is said that Washington was made childless that
he might be the "Father of his Country:" Mr. Willard, in
the same sense, having no family of his own, was father of the
village which had grown up from the impulse which he had
given to the stone business. It was now his home, his pride
and his care.
It is "a living and throbbing memorial of him, and his mem
ory, within sound of the hammer and drill in its inexhaustible
quarries, can hardly be forgotten. The children of the town,
and their children's children, will become familiar with his
name in the school house; the workmen will be reminded of
him by the machines which they use and the ledge which bears
his name, and all will recognize his work and his benevolence
in the Cemetery, where the " Rejected Column" rises with so
much massive grandeur, and is, in so many ways, significant of
him who placed it there.
Such was Solomon Willard, and such the service he rendered
to the pubUc in his day and generation. He has left prominent
evidences of his ability and skill in invention and execution ;
of his industry, perseverance and public spirit ; of his generos
ity, magnanimity and benevolence, and his name and memory
remain registered and enshrined in the hearts of the people
among whom he Uved. One record more, in justice to him,
remains to be made : the duty of making that belongs to the
Bunker Hill Monument Association ; and it is to inscribe upon
one the blocks of granite in their monument, the name of
" Solomon Willard, Architect."

APPENDIX — BEACON HILL MONUMENT. 263

APPENDIX.

BEACON HILL MONUMENT.
A brief notice and description of Beacon Hill Monument wUl be
found on pages 31 and 32 of the present volume. The suggestion
there made respecting the rebuilding of this early historical memo
rial of the Eevolution, has attained to practical importance by the
ready action of the Bunker Hill Monument Association. At its
annual meeting on the seventeenth of June, 1864, at which the
suggestion was presented, a committee was appointed to consider
the subject.* It is due to a member of that committee, Mr. Eobert
C. Winthrop, to say that, had the suggestion so distinctly made by
him in his classical and patriotic oration in aid of the Washington
Equestrian Statue, f been known to the writer, he would have taken
great pleasure in the previous pages in awarding to him the honor,
so justly his due, of first suggesting the rebuilding of this beau
tiful column. As it is, simply claiming to have made the same
suggestion from a conviction of its propriety, we yield to him the
precedence, with the high satisfaction of knowing that we were
seconding the thought of a gentleman of so, much intelligence in
history, so much fervor in patriotic feeling and so much taste and
appreciation in art.
The Beacon Hill Monument was erected " by the voluntary con-

* WUliam W. Wheildon, Robert C. Winthrop, Frederic W. Lincoln, Wins
low Lewis and J. Huntington Wolcott, Committee.
t" -An Address delivered in aid of the fund for BaU's Equestrian Statue
of Washington, 13 May, 1859."

264 APPENDIX — WILLARD MEMOIR.
tributions of the citizens of Boston," in 1790 ; and was undoubt
edly the earliest public memorial intended "to commemorate that
train of events which led to the American Eevolution, and finally
secured Liberty and Independence to the United States," if not, in
fact, the first public monument erected in the country. The monu
ment on Bunker Hill in memory of Gen. Warren, was erected in
1794; the monument in memory of the slain at Lexington, was
erected in 1799, at the expense of the Commonwealth.
Upon the application of the committee above mentioned, the
legislature has passed an act, April, 1865, authorizing the Bunker
Hill Monument Association to rebuild the Beacon Hill Monument,
on some suitable site to be selected and provided by them ; and
also to receive from the Commonwealth the original tablets or in
scriptions, now in the doric hall of the State House, to be used in
the reconstruction of said monument. Under the auspices of this
patriotic association, it is to be hoped the Beacon Hill column will
be restored to the public in its original proportions.

WILLAED MEMOIE — LETTEE TO THE PKESIDENT OF
THE MONUMENT ASSOCIATION.
CHAELBSTO"WTSf, July 10, 1861.
Dear Sir : The Committee appointed at the meeting of the Bun
ker Hill Monument Association, on the 17th ult., to "prepare a
suitable notice of the late Solomon Willard," find it impracticable
to prepare any sketch of his life and connection with the Bunker
Hill Monument which would be worthy of him, or creditable to the
Association, in season to be included in the pamphlet report of the
proceedings of the day, as contemplated by the vote of the Asso
ciation. Mr. Willard was one of those men so common in the his
tory of this country, aud generally included in the term " self-made

APPENDIX  WILLARD MEMOIR. 2G5
men," having by his own industry and genius riecn frcm thc
mechanical profession in which he was bred, to prominence as an
artizan and architect ; and his life is an example of industry, per
severance, self- instruction and skill. He was eminently careful,
cautious and reliable ; intelligent, ingenious, and devoted to what
ever he undertook to accomplish. His zeal and ardor a-ad energy,
in connection with the commencement and progress of thc Bunker
Hill Monuinent, were such as to constitute a marked feature of his
life, and lead the Committee to believe that it is due to his memory
and to the honor of the Association, that a more complete sketch of
his services, so liberally and earnestly rendered, than they arc now
able to present, should be preserved among its memorials. To him
not less than to the noble, patriotic and generous men of his time,
who first and last engaged themselves in this great national enter
prise, many of whom have passed to that future state of hopefulness
and reward promised to the faithful, is the country indebted today
for the monument which marks forever the first great battle-field
of Liberty and Independence. Long may it stand, a proud memo
rial, as it is, of patriotism and gratitude, indicating the spot, and
perpetuating the remembrance of deeds, upon which and through
which a nation was born and the rights of the peojjle justified.
Very respectfully. In behalf of the Committee,
WM. W. WHEILDON.
Hon. G. Washington Warren,
President Bunker Hill Monument Association.

34

266 APPENDIX — FIRST REPORT OF COMMITTEE.

FIEST EEPOET OF THE COMMITTEE OK THE MEMOIE
OF SOLOMON WILLAED.
COMMITTEE :
WILLIAM W. WHF.ILDON, NATHANIEL COTTON,
FRED. H. STIMPSON, URIEL CROCKER,
AMOS A. LAWRENCE.
The Committee, appointed on the seventeenth of June last, to
prepare a Memoir of the late Solomon Willard, Architect and
Superintendent of the Bunker Hill Monument, respectfully Ee
port, in part, —
That they were wholly enable to prepare such Memoir in season
for publication in the pamphlet report of the ceremonies and pro
ceedings of that day, as intended bj the association, and accord
ingly so informed the President, in a note of the 10th of July,
which is contained in the pamphlet referred to.
The Committee have had several meetings, and the members
have given such portions of time to the collection and prepa
ration of material as they have been able to spare from other en
gagements. In this service they have succeeded beyond their ex
pectations, and find reasons, from the documents and facts which
have come to their knowledge, which not only justify the associa
tion in the measure proposed, but seem to demand the service at
their hands.
The Committee believe that the purpose of biography, toward
eminent or prominent men, is not merely to do honor to the dead —
a cheap reward to them — but to afford examples of encouragement,
hopefulness, and character, to the youth of our country, who are so
frequently and so early in life compelled to rely upon their own
exertions for advancement and success ; and, at the same time, to
give assurance that those efi'orts and that success, when attained
and resulting in benefits to the community, shall be properly
appreciated and duly honored.

APPEMDIX  FIRST RBPORT OF CO .M .MITTE 13. 267
The Committee are led to believe that in nothing which has yet
been given to the public, has reasonable justice been done to Mr.
Willard, and especially in relation to the great national structure
of which he was architect and patron, and to which he devoted,
with a zeal and interest which knew no fatigue or flagging, some of
the best years of his life, the only adequate compensation for whieh,
in lieu of any other reward, is to be found in the work itself. Nor
have his character and services, — the latter variously rendered in
this city and elsewhere, — nor the means, self-inspired and self-
created, by which he was enabled to secure the one and perform
the other, ever been presented as they ought to be to the youth of
the country and to the consideration of the public judgment. Such
an exanjple as his life affords, cordially attested by those who knew
him best, of untiring industry, unyielding faith and unimpeachable
integrity, in word and deed, — raising himself from the laborer to
the artist, — ought not to be lost ; and the Committee will feel it
to be their duty, if further time be allowed to them, with such
authentic materials as they may possess, to do some degree of jus
tice and honor to his memory, and make some suitable record of
the valuable services so freely rendered by him to this association.
In behalf of the Committee,
WM. W. WHEILDON.
Boston, 17th June, 1862.
The Eeport was read and accepted, and the following vote passed
by the Associatiqj^ : —
Voted, That the Committee, appointed June 17, 1861, to pre
pare a Memoir of the late Solomon Willard, be authorized to
pubUsh said Memoir, when completed, in such form as they may
deem suitable ; and that it be printed with the approbation of the
Standing Committee.

268 .VPPENDIX — MONUMENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

HiSTOEICAL MONUMENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
Acton Monument, at Acton, in memory of Davis, Hosmer, and
Hayward, who wore killed at Concord, 19th April, 1775. Built
by the State Legislature, 1852. Granite, in obelisk form.
Beacon Hill Monument, erected in 1790 ; taken down in 1811. —
Its tablets are preserved and it will probably be rebuilt on Bos
ton Common, on a spui- of the original hill.
Bunker Hill Monument, at Charlestown, 182u-'43. Built of gran
ite, 221 feet 5 inches in height.'"'
Concord Monument, at Concord, to commemorate the fight at the
North Bridge, April 19, 1775. Granite obelisk. 182G— 183G.
Cushman Monument, in the cemetery at Plymouth, in memory of
the Pilgrim Fathers, erected in 1858, of Quincy granite, in the
obelisk form.
Danvers Monument, at Danvers, in memory of seven citizens of
that town, killed at West Cambridge, April 19th, 1775. Gran
ite in the obelisk form.
Duston Monument, at Haverhill, in memory of Hannah Duston, on
the site of the house from which she was taken by the Indians.
Authorized by act of legislature, 1856.
Forefather's Monument, proposed to be erected at Plymouth — on
an elaborate and costly design. Corner-stone laid in 1859.
Harvard Monument, in the old burying-ground ft Charlestown, in
memory of Eev. John Harvard, founder of Harvard College,
erected in 1838, by the alumni. Granite obelisk.

* Height of the column of Alexander, at St. Petersburg, (including pedes
tal, capital, bronze dome, angel and cross,) 150 feet ; of the JIonument of
London, stated to be "the loftiest coZiimn in the world," 202 feet ; of the
Arch of Triumphe, at Paris, 152 foot ; of the Column of Napoleon, Place Ven-
dome, ]y5 feet and the statue 11 feet ; Culonne de Juillet, 154 feet ; of the
Ti-a,j:ui Culumn, at Rome, 125 ; of .-Vntouinus, 12:1 ; of I'ompey's PiUar, at
.\lex:iudria, 100 ; of Clwipatni's Noodle, about 70 tlot.

APPEN^DIX  MONU.ME.NTS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 269
Lexington Monument, at I^exington, in memory of seven citizens
of that town and one of ^A'oburn, killed on the 19th of April,
1776. Erected by thc State Legislature in 1799. In 1850, a
corporation was established for the erection of a new and larger
monument at Lexington.
Ladd and Whitney Monument, in Merrimack Square, Lowell, in
memory of two soldiers killed in the streets of Baltimore, on
April 19, 1861. Concord granite. Dedicated, June 17, 1865.
Monument at Bloody Brook, Deerfield, erected in 1838, in memory
of Capt. Thomas Lothrop and seventy-six men, out of eighty un
der his command, who were killed by 700 Indians, at Bloody
Brook, September 18, 1675, old style.
Monument at Somerville, in memory of citizens of that town killed
in the war of the Eebellion. Built by the Somerville Light In
fantry, of marble, 1865.
Monument at Mount Auburn, in memory of Lieut. Underwood and
Midshipmen Henry, Eeid and Bacon, of the U. S. Exploring Ex
pedition, erected by their associate oflicers and scientific corps.
AVadsworth Monument, at Sudbury, in memory of Capt. "Wadsworth,
killed by the Indians, in King Philip's war, in 1676. Completed
and dedicated in November, 1852.
Warren Monument, on Bunker Hill, erected in 1794 ; taken down
in 1825, to give place to the present structure. A miniature
model, in white marble, is deposited in the present monument.
West Cambridge Monument, in memory of twelve persons who fell
in that town, on the 19th of April, 1775, on the return of the
British troops from Concord. Erected 1847. Granite obelisk.

270 APPENDIX — MONUMENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

NOTE.

There are many monuments, of a more or less public character,
erected by private munificence, in our cemeteries and in every city
and almost every town in the Commonwealth, in memory of promi
nent and eminent citizens. One of the most conspicuous and
beautiful of these is that erected a few years ago, by Mr. T. Bige
low Lawrence, at Worcester, in memory of his great-grandfather.
Colonel Timothy Bigelow, of revolutionary renown. This monu
ment was publicly dedicated on the 19th of April, 1861, the 86th
anniversary of the day on which he rallied his company of minute-
men and started for Concord.*-'
The Monumental Urn, generally regarded as a memorial of Dr.
Benjamin Franklin, which for more than half a century stood
in the centre of the enclosure in Franklin Place, in Boston,
was erected about 1793, and was removed when that beautiful
place was surrendered for the erection of warehouses in 1858-9.
It was purchased at Bath, England, whence thfe plan of Franklin
Place, in its elliptical form, was derived, and in which city
such ornaments were common. It is made of oolite, or white free
stone of which the ancient fashionable city which rejoices in the
possession of a statue of " Beau Nash," is mostly built. It is
now over the grave of Mr. Charles Bulfinch, Mr. Willard's earnest
friend, at Mount Auburn.

* An account of the " Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Bigelow Mon
ument," was published by Mr. Lawrence, in 1861.

APPENDIX — STATUARY IN MASSACHUSETTS. 271

STATUAEY IN MASSACHUSETTS.
The Savior, a copy from Thorwaldsen, on the apex of the pediment
of the church of the Immaculate Conception, Boston, marble.
Virgin Mart, in a niche in front of the same church.
"Washington, by Sir Francis Chantrey, in the Doric Hall of the
State House, in marble.
Washington, by Houdon, in the Boston Athenseum, a copy in plas
ter of that belonging to the State of Virginia, at Eichmond.
Franklin, by Horatio Greenough, in front of the City Hall, Boston,
cast in bronze at. Chieopee.
John Winthrop, by Horatio Greenough, in the Chapel at Mount
Auburn, in marble. '
John Adams, by Eandolph Eogers, at Mount Auburn, in marble.
James Otis, by Thomas G. Crawford, at Mount Auburn, in
marble.
Joseph Warren, by Henry Dexter, at Bunker Hill, in marble.
Alexander Hamilton, by Dr. Eimmer, of Chelsea, Commonwealth
Avenue, Boston. Presented to the city by Mr. Thomas Lee. —
Cut in white granite, probably the first in that material in the
country.
Joseph Story, by W^. W. Story, at Mount Auburn, in marble.
Nathaniel Bowditch, by Ball Hughes, at Mount Auburn, cast in
bronze at Boston. The model is in the Boston Atheufeum.
Daniel Webster, by Hiram Powers, in front of the State House,
cast- in bronze at Munich.
Horace Mann, by Miss Stebbins, in front of the State House, cast
in bronze at Munich.
Hosea Ballou, by Edw. A. Brackett, at Mount Auburn, in marble.
Josiah Quincy, by Story, yet at Eome, ordered by the alumni of
Harvard College, and is to come to Boston.
Aristides, in Louisburg Square, Boston, imported by Mr. Joseph
lasigi, and owned by the residents on the Square ; in marble.
Columbus (lifting the veil from the Earth,) in Louisburg Square,
imported by Mr. lasigi, and owned by the residents : in marble.

272 APPENDIX — STATUARY IN MASSACHUSETTS.
Beethoven, by Thomas G. Crawford, in Music Hall, cast in bronze
at Munich, the gift of Mr. Charles C. Perkins, of Boston.
Wounded Indian, by P. Stephenson, in the hall of the Mercantile
Library Association, Boston, in marble.
Venus de Milo, (armless,) heroic size, in the Beading Eoom of the
same association. A copy of thc original found in the island of
Milo, in 1820, and now in the Louvre.
The Arcadian Shepherd Boy, by W. W. Story, in the Public Libra
ry, Boston, presented by several citizens.
Madonna and Infant, St. Mary's Institute, Boston, in plaster.
Guardian Angel, a group, at the House of the Guardian Angel, in
Eoxbury, carved in wood.
Charity, two groups, on Octagon Hall, in Eoxbury, formerly on
the old Boston alms house.
m Note. There are many others in the Commonwealth, but we have
not thought it expedient to extend the list. Those named are of
life or heroic size, and are open to public inspection. Of ancient
and classical statuary there is a large collection in the Boston
Athenasum, and more or less in private possession. There are also
at Mount Auburn, besides numerous monuments which are superb
and costly works of art, many elaborate specimens of sculpture
and statuary in addition to those already mentioned. The same
may be said of Forest Hill and other cemeteries.
'The Equestrian Statue of Washington, by Thomas Ball, has
been moulded by that artist and exhibited to the public in Boston.
It is to be oast in bronze, but has not yet been placed in the hands
of the founders.
Statues of Ceres, Flora and Pomona, which have been modelled
by Martin Milmore, of Boston, are to be erected in the front of
the new Horticultural Hall, Tremont street, Boston. Ceres will be
eleven feet high ; Flora and Pomona, eight feet. In fine granite.
A statue of the late Edward E-erett, whose services have been
so frequently mentioned in the preceding pages, is soon to be pro
vided for thc city of Boston, the neces.sai-y funds having already
been raised by voluntary nibsoviptious for the purpose.

First Course and Corner Stone (*') of Bunker Hill Monument.

Sectional View of the Monument.

PULLING JACK.

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