Mayor Sarno stated, “I am very appreciative of Holly Stone Blair and the D.A.R. Mercy Warren Chapter’s continued efforts to highlight the steeped history of our Springfield and our nation.”
In 1784, the Virginia General Assembly commissioned Sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon, the most famous sculptor of the day, to create a statue to honor Washington. The original marble statue was installed in the Virginia State Capital in 1796. During the 1850’s, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the commission of bronze copies of the original marble statue in case the original was ever damaged. Many of these copies eventually made their way throughout the nation and across the globe.
Only twenty-six copies have been identified, with some located as far away as France, England, and Peru. Two of these statues are located here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. One is located in Lexington and the other right here in our great City of Springfield at the Holy Name Church Campus, formerly the Holy Name School. Research indicates that it was purchased by a “Father McGovern” and installed in 1932.
