Captain William "Bucky" O'Neill Memorial - Prescott, Arizona
N 34° 32.476 W 112° 28.163
12S E 365167 N 3823154
A colorful character in Arizona history is memorialized along with other Rough Riders.
Waymark Code: WM95FH
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 07/01/2010
Views: 23
Among the statues on this charming courthouse square, this one takes the prime spot. The Rough Rider statue (Bucky O'Neill according to the Smithsonian record) greets you as you approach the courthouse steps, after you step past the colorful Yavapai County Timeline (another Smithsonian Art Inventory sculpture). With a backdrop of the off white of the courthouse stone, the concrete steps, and surrounded by grass lawn and trees, it is a majestic sight.
The statue itself is in good shape. It is on top of a large boulder that weighs 28 tons according to one website. There are several plaques around it. One is a long roster of those who served in the Rough Riders. Another honors the sculptor. Another honors Bucky O'Neill and the Rough Riders. Another is a bas relief image of the Rough Riders in battle. According to the Smithsonian record, it depicts Teddy Roosevelt astride his horse in battle. The final one is a list of the commissioners at the time the statue was created and unveiled.
Plaque 1 reads:
Erected by Arizona
in honor of the
1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry.
Known to history as
Roosevelt's Rough Riders
and in memory of
Captain William O'Neill
and his comrades who died
while serving their country
in the War with Spain.
Plaque 2 reads:
Solon Hannibal Borglum
America's First Cowboy Sculptor
1866 - 1922
This free-spirited Son of the West, sensitive to the changing era in which he lived, portrayed the western epic in marble and bronze. Our "Bucky O'Neill" monumental bronze is among his greatest works, and is acclaimed by art critics as one of the finest equestrian monuments in the world.
Plaque dedicated June 6, 1982
Prescott Community Art Trust.
TITLE: Captain William "Bucky" O'Neill Memorial
ARTIST(S): Solon Hannibal Borglum
DATE: Commissioned April 1906. Dedicated July 3, 1907. Rededicated June 6, 1982 and July 3, 1998.
MEDIUM: Equestrian figure: bronze; Base: granite boulder on a concrete pad.
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS 76005211
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza, Gurley, Cortez, Montazuma & Goodwin Streets, north side of the plaza
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
No discernible differences.
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Visit Instructions:
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