Veteran's Memorial - Gilmer, TX
Posted by: WalksfarTX
N 32° 43.741 W 094° 56.666
15S E 317790 N 3622918
Large square monument on the south side of the Upshur County Courthouse lawn.
Waymark Code: WMZV83
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/07/2019
Views: 0
Gilmer Mirror News Article"MEMORIAL DAY 1955 in Gilmer finds a firing squad saluting a beautiful grey granite memorial on which are carved the names of 108 Upshur County men who died in World War I, World War II and the Korean War.
Frank E. Smith told how the monument came into being from an idea Mr. Penn had nearly three years ago. He said Mr. Penn first offered $1,000, later $2,000 to get a fund started for a memorial monument but nothing came of it.
"Then he came to my house one night and said, 'Upshur County and its people have made me what I am.. I love these people. I'm going to pay the bill out of my pocket'" related Mr. Smith."
Gilmer Mirror News Article
"Mr. Penn first placed the order for a Quincy granite monument from Quincy, Mass., in November of 1953. The contract called for perfectly matched stones, clear of blemishes. The Quincy granite has been proven one of the longest-lasting and most beautiful types.
The top piece of the monument is unusually large— 8 feet 2 inches by 5 feet 2 inches, and one foot thick—and the first piece that was quarried had a corner broken off. The company offered to make a substitute because of the year's wait necessary to get into the quarry for a replacement. (Bad weather | makes the granite inaccessible many months each year.) Mr. Penn declined to accept a substitute, however, and the completed memorial was delivered last week. The monument stands more than 9 feet tall and weighs 4.6,-800 pounds. Its concrete foundation, 10 feet deep, weighs even more. The top piece alone weighs 9,000 pounds."