Simon Perkins statue - Akron, Ohio - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

This statue is located at the southeast corner of Brodway St and University Ave at the edge of the University of Akron Campus. It was sculpted by Giuseppe Moretti (1857-1935) and was dedicated July 4, 1895. it was originally located in Grace Park. The park was donated by Perkins to the city and was named "Grace Park" in honor of his wife, Grace Tod Perkins.

On lower proper right side of statue: Moretti. On lower proper left side of statue: HENRY-BONNARD BRONZE CO. On front of mid-section of base, raised: SIMON PERKINS. On lower front of base, raised: ERECTED BY THE CITY OF AKRON, 1895 signed Founder's mark appears.

According to the plaque at the base of the statue: Simon Perkins was an Akron Businessman, Civic Leader and State Senator.

"Simon Perkins moved to Akron from Warren, [Ohio] in 1835 to represent his father, General Simon Perkins. General Perkins, a land agent and owner of large tracts of land, laid out the town plat for Akron in 1825. Once in Akron, Simon Perkins was involved in numerous projects for the betterment of the community, including the graduation celebration of Buchtel College [now University of Akron] Class of 1880. To mark the occasion, Perkins, a supporter of the College, donated a large boulder found near his West Akron Mansion. The boulder was moved to the college campus to commemorate the event, and is still located at the University. Perkins was also influential in the early business development of Akron. He was president of Akron’s first railroad and a partner with the later-infamous abolitionist John Brown in commercial raising of sheep. Simon Perkins is best known, however, as ‘the erector of Summit County government.’ Under his leadership, Portage County was divided [along with parts of Medina and Stark Counties] and the County of Summit created in 1840, with Akron as its new county seat.

"In gratitude for Simon Perkins’ community service, the statue was erected by the City of Akron in Grace Park in 1895. [This area became an ‘undesirable’ neighborhood and] it was moved to this site in 1999. The statue is 10 feet high with a [sic] 11-foot base made of rare Quincy granite from Massachusetts. The bronze figure was designed by Guiseppe Moretti and cast by Bronse Foundry of New York."

The "granite" base technically is a granodiorite, a rock with slightly different composition than true granite. Quincy granite was formed from the solidification of magma, probably during the Mississippian Period, 320 million years ago. The dark color of the stone is due to the dark color of the minerals in it, including dark gray feldspar and darker ferromagnesium minerals.

URL of the statue: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   11/05/2009 buffalohiker visited it