John Brown statue turns 80 years old

More than 5,000 people gathered in John Brown Park on May 9, 1935, the 135th anniversary of Brown’s birth. The presentation of the statue at that time was a grand occasion but the back story of that statue is fairly grand itself.

Ever since Anna January had led the effort to acquire and save the John Brown Park, she had hoped to one day see a statue of Brown erected there. And, on March 15, 1927, she took action to do just that.

She wrote the sculptor, John Fite Waters, stating that she had read about the completion of his 10-foot statue of Abraham Lincoln, just announced in Portland. She asked if Waters could make a similar statue of John Brown to be placed in the park here. Waters replied in the affirmative and eight long years of negotiations began.

January, then Osawatomie postmistress and secretary to the board of trustees of the park, sought approval for the statue from the Women’s Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the grand Army of the Republic. The WRC Department of Kansas supported the plan.

Within a few months, Waters submitted a chalk model of his proposed statue. It was exhibited in the window of a local jewelry store and fund-raising efforts began. Each WRC member in Kansas was presented with a 20-petal sunflower and asked to sell those petals for 10 cents each. Needed monies were slow to accumulate and, by 1933, the group had raised only $2,000.

In letters written cordially but filled with concern, January asked if the statue could be smaller than originally planned. She also asked if it would be possible to have it cast in Los Angeles rather than in Paris where Waters was living and working. By March 25, 1933, the two had completed a contract (in triplicate, of course), agreeing to pay $2,500 for completion and shipping of a six-foot statue. Both parties agreed on this lowest possible price and on the fact the costs of labor and of casting would be cheaper in Europe. The addition of a bronze plaque to be affixed to the statue’s base cost another $75.

Waters completed the clay figure in September 1933. January approved it. Then troubles arose. Waters sought an additional payment of another $1,000 because of the depreciation of the dollar abroad. January sought legal opinions from Sen. Arthur Capper and the Kansas attorney general. Both advised adhering to the original contract since prices could not be controlled by either party involved.

January informed Waters of those decisions while adding that low farm prices, including 15-cent-a-bushel wheat, made it impossible to raise additional funds. She traveled to Paris in September 1934 to inspect the statue. Because Waters was ill, the two did not meet but Barbedienne, the owner of the casting foundry, agreed with her on methods of final payment and shipping. While January offered to pay the shipping costs, Waters assumed that loss.

The statue arrived in Osawatomie in December 1934 and was stored in the Building and Loan Office until its mounting and unveiling a few months later. Waters did not attend the dedication but did send a letter that was read to the assembled crowd. Anna and the officers of the WRC of Kansas planned the program.

She read her poem, “The Pioneer,” in Brown’s honor. Eight years of concentrated effort had resulted in the culmination of her dream. John Brown was present in the park named for him.