One of the odder memorials I've ever seen was on the town green in Gallipolis. High on top of the marble monument is the broken rocker shaft for the John Porter, a steamer that brought barges, and a yellow fever epidemic, up from New Orleans. Here's an article about the John Porter from the September 12, 1878 edition of the New York Times:
The way the monument is designed, with the shaft getting prominence of place, it looks a celebration of the John Porter rather than a memorial to the tugboat's victims. There's a bronze plaque listing some of the victims attached to the river side of the monument, but it almost seems like it was bolted on at a later date.
Yet another something fascinating I'm going to have to go see for myself.
Posted by: Dane | 13 March 2009 at 12:23 AM
Nice find. Very peculiar.
Posted by: Cheryl | 13 March 2009 at 07:29 PM
Cheryl - Peculiar. That's the word I was looking for!
Dane - Gallipolis is a nice little town but I wouldn't call it a destination location.
Posted by: Joe | 15 March 2009 at 10:58 PM