Massasoit by Cyrus E. Dallin - Salt Lake City, Utah - Improved Order of Red Men on Waymarking.com

This monumental broze statue of Massasoit was created by Cyrus Dallin, who was born in Utah in 1861.

Dallin produced the first of two models of Massasoit in 1911. A 40 inch clay sketch was approved by the Improved Order of Red Men, the fraternal organization responsible for the monument, which was going to be placed on Coles Hill facing Plymouth Rock. (Founded in 1834, the Improved Order of Red Men appropriated the rituals and regalia of American Indians and propagated a romanticized view of Indian life.) A bronze casting of Massasoit #1 is located at Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1915, brochures and coins with this image were distributed for fund-raising, but the outbreak of World War I stalled the effort.

In 1921 the monumental 9½ foot bronze statue of Massasoit was erected in Plymouth, Massachusetts on a massive boulder overlooking Cape Cod Bay. In 1922 Cyrus Dallin presented the original plaster to the State of Utah. It was displayed in the rotunda of the State Capitol in Salt Lake City for many years.

About Massasoit:

On March 22, 1621, Massasoit negotiated a peace treaty between the Wampanoag Confederacy and Governor Bradford of Plymouth Colony. This agreement was never broken during the lifetime of the two leaders; it lasted fifty years and showed a spirit of cooperation and mutual protection between both parties. In keeping with the agreement, the Wampanoags provided critical support to the early colonists at Plymouth, likely preventing the failure of the colony. They taught the Pilgrims how to plant the “three sisters” – beans, corn, and squash; how to trap for fish and lobster; how to dig for quahogs and other shellfish; and how to hunt deer and small game for food and clothing.

Type of Location: Other Memorial Location Description: This Massasoit statue was once located in front of the Utah State Capital. It was moved to the East side some years back. Date of Construction: 01/01/1922 Website: [Web Link]

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