Today in Wheeling History: April 21--The Mingo Statue in Wheeling was rededicated after being repaired following vandalism that occurred on January 29, 1982, when it was cut at the ankles and carried away by three men from Columbus, Ohio (1983).
The Mingo Statue, located at the top of Wheeling Hill on National Road in Wheeling, West Virginia, was dedicated in 1928 to honor the Mingo people, a group of Native Americans who inhabited the Ohio River Valley until the early 1800s. The bronze statue, designed and sculpted by Henry Oscar Beu, depicts a Native American man with his right arm outstretched, welcoming visitors to the city. The statue was commissioned by the Wheeling Chapter of the Kiwanis Club and George W. Lutz as a tribute to the Mingo, who were not a single tribe but a conglomeration of several indigenous groups, including the Delaware, Shawnee, Cayuga, Seneca, and Mohawk peoples. Despite the statue's intent to commemorate the area's original inhabitants, the dedication ceremony's speeches revealed a perspective that the indigenous people had been "vanquished" and "driven out." On January 29, 1982, the statue was vandalized by three men from Columbus, Ohio, who cut it at the ankles and carried it away. After the statue was recovered, it was repaired by George Macek at Mull Machine in Wheeling and rededicated on April 21, 1983. The statue remains an iconic symbol of Wheeling, although it may not adequately represent the complex history of the region's indigenous peoples.
To learn more: (https://tinyurl.com/5n89sbhc) (https://tinyurl.com/u92aun5a) (https://tinyurl.com/5664r2x6) (https://tinyurl.com/msw86peb)
Photo credits: Ohio County Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Weelunk, The Clio
The Mingo Statue, located at the top of Wheeling Hill on National Road in Wheeling, West Virginia, was dedicated in 1928 to honor the Mingo people, a group of Native Americans who inhabited the Ohio River Valley until the early 1800s. The bronze statue, designed and sculpted by Henry Oscar Beu, depicts a Native American man with his right arm outstretched, welcoming visitors to the city. The statue was commissioned by the Wheeling Chapter of the Kiwanis Club and George W. Lutz as a tribute to the Mingo, who were not a single tribe but a conglomeration of several indigenous groups, including the Delaware, Shawnee, Cayuga, Seneca, and Mohawk peoples. Despite the statue's intent to commemorate the area's original inhabitants, the dedication ceremony's speeches revealed a perspective that the indigenous people had been "vanquished" and "driven out." On January 29, 1982, the statue was vandalized by three men from Columbus, Ohio, who cut it at the ankles and carried it away. After the statue was recovered, it was repaired by George Macek at Mull Machine in Wheeling and rededicated on April 21, 1983. The statue remains an iconic symbol of Wheeling, although it may not adequately represent the complex history of the region's indigenous peoples.
To learn more: (https://tinyurl.com/5n89sbhc) (https://tinyurl.com/u92aun5a) (https://tinyurl.com/5664r2x6) (https://tinyurl.com/msw86peb)
Photo credits: Ohio County Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Weelunk, The Clio
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