Committee Eyes Replacement Of Stolen Slave Statue
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A committee formed years ago to oversee the development of statues recognizing the local Underground Railroad movement reconvened in 2021 when one of the statues was stolen from Dow Park in Jamestown.
The Underground Railroad Tableau Committee is now looking to have the statue replaced, and the Jamestown City Council wants to help.
On Monday, the council unanimously approved an allocation of $30,0000 to the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation toward the replacement effort. City Councilman Bill Reynolds, R-Ward V, estimates it will cost up to $100,000 to have the missing piece replaced.
Created by the late David Poulin, the three-statue Underground Railroad tableau honors Silas Sherman, an abolitionist and acknowledged leader of the Ugrr Line that came through Jamestown; Catherine Harris, a free Black woman and station master; and the "anonymous fugitives who touched Jamestown in the pursuit of freedom along the Underground Railroad."
The statue recognizing the latter was the piece brazenly stolen from Dow Park in May 2021. Estimated to weigh between 500 and 600 pounds, it had just recently been cleaned and reinstalled when city Parks Department employees realized the piece was missing.
"To think someone would want to steal or take the statue for the Underground Railroad, especially at a time we want to embrace human rights and the ability for us to remember the actions taken to be free, it's disheartening," Mayor Eddie Sundquist said at the time.
To date, the missing statue has not been recovered.
Jerry Lee with the Community Foundation said the Underground Railroad Tableau Committee has been searching for an artist to replace the single statue, "wanting to assure it matches the existing statues."
"This has obviously taken some time," Lee added Tuesday.
The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation is collecting funds from various sources, including governments, foundations, corporations and individuals, for the statue's replacement on behalf of the committee. Lee said the $30,000 to be allocated by the city will provide a portion of the replacement cost, "with the remaining dollars still being raised."
The committee is eyeing an installation date before next winter.