The history of the Eagle of Town Hall

1865: Harriet Wing (who lost two sons to the war) donates $150 from the Ladies Patriotic Association for “a suitable monument in our village cemetery.”

1866: Town Board of Queensbury appropriates funds for building of monument. The construction is awarded to R.T. Baxter, a Glens Falls dealer in marble and monumental work.

1867: James and Amanda Sisson deed a triangular piece of land at the intersection of Glen and Bay Streets for $1,000 to the Town of Queensbury as a site for a monument. This was also the site of the first home of Edward Wing, brother of Abraham Wing, founder of the Town. Also at this site, women piled bread for American soldiers during the American Revolution (a town pump was found at this site near an old well).

Work on monument begins.

The monument is erected as a tribute to more than 644 men who volunteered from the Town of Queensbury to serve in the Civil War. The obelisk names 8 officers, 2 military agents, 33 killed or wounded enlisted men, and 39 enlisted men who died from disease during the Civil War, 1861-65. Recent research has located an additional 13 names that were originally omitted. These names will be added in the future.

Forty-two feet in height and 100 tons, the monument’s sub-base is made of local marble; the base is Maine granite; and the three tiers, shaft and eagle are sculpted from Dorchester sandstone from New Brunswick. The Eagle on the monument is the work of John Townsend of So. Britain, Connecticut. It has a 5 foot wing span.

1868: Monument is completed at a cost of $12,000. Monument costs exceed Baxter’s expectations by $4,100. The Queensbury Town Board refuses his requests for more money. Baxter, however, completed his obligation.

1872: The monument is formally dedicated.

1882: Queensbury Town Board declares that monument lands are not to be used for any other purpose.

1908: The monument becomes the property of the City of Glens Falls when it is chartered.

1967: The monument is cleaned and sealed with silicone, and the Eagle is repaired with lead reinforcements.

1996-99: Monument is restored. The eagle is removed, replaced with a terra cotta replica, and placed in the City’s DPW shed off Dix Avenue.

2011: John Strough begins his pursuit of the eagle with the intent of placing it in the Town of Queensbury Office Building. Glens Falls Mayor Jack Diamond agrees to consider his request.

May of 2012: Mayor Jack Diamond agrees to lend the eagle to the Town of Queensbury.

June 2012: Eagle is moved from the Glens Falls DPW shed to the Town of Queensbury Highway Department’s shed.

June 15, 2013: Eagle is mounted and ushered into the Town of Queensbury’s Town Office Building.