Private Fair Soldiers’ Monument…

Over the centuries, Dayton and its citizens have had much to be proud of: legendary industrial prowess, world-renowned feats, inventive genius and homegrown heroes are just a few examples of the city’s celebrated past. Like most other places, Daytonians have created monuments, memorials and various other landmarks to celebrate these incredible achievements. One such monument is the Private Fair Soldiers’Monument which currently consists of a bronze casting of a lone civil war soldier mounted on a limestone pillar, situated in downtown Dayton.  Originally dedicated in July of 1884, in the center of the intersection of Main and Monument Streets, there have been conflicting reports as to whom the soldier is modeled after.  With the advent of the automobile, the monument’s original location became problematic, causing a bottle neck in traffic flow, so the statue was moved to Sunrise Park in 1948.  In 1991, as part of a Main Street redevelopment plan, the monument was returned to Main Street, just a few yards south of its original location. The monument was designed by Eleftherios Karkadoulias and originally featured a carved Carrera marble statue.  Unfortunately, over the years, acid rain had damaged the statue so a bronze replica was made and re-installed as part of the downtown redevelopment plan.  The original marble figure of Private Fair was installed and re-dedicated, in 1993, under a shelter at the Veterans Administration Hospital so as to protect it from further damage by the elements. This photograph is from Dayton History’s Image Collection.

To see other historical images from our collection, search our Digital Photo Archive.