Today in Wheeling History: June 21—The Mingo Statue, honoring the region’s Indigenous peoples, was dedicated atop Wheeling Hill (1928).
The Mingo Statue, one of Wheeling's most recognizable landmarks, was dedicated on June 21, 1928, through the vision and leadership of George W. Lutz and the Kiwanis Club of Wheeling. The bronze statue was designed and sculpted by Henry Oscar Beu, a Wheeling resident who worked at the North Wheeling Pottery Company. Standing approximately six feet tall on a granite and concrete base, the statue depicts a Mingo warrior with his right arm outstretched in greeting, wearing traditional dress including moccasins, bead necklaces, and feathers.
The dedication ceremony was elaborate, featuring a parade from the McLure Hotel up Market Street to the statue's location at the top of Wheeling Hill. Colonel George W. Lutz, who had been adopted by the Blackfeet Indian Tribe and given the name "Chief Big Knife," unveiled the monument. The inscription reads: "THE MINGO. Original Inhabitant of this Valley extends GREETINGS and PEACE to all Wayfarers. Presented to the City of Wheeling by the Kiwanis Club and George W. Lutz. 1928."
The statue honors the indigenous peoples who lived in the Ohio Valley, though modern scholarship notes that "Mingo" was not actually a specific tribe but rather a confederation of various groups including Delaware, Shawnee, Cayuga, Seneca, and Mohawk peoples. In 1982, vandals severed the statue at the ankles, but it was recovered and restored by Mull Foundry, being rededicated on April 21, 1983.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/37tc8hsp), Weelunk: Reexamining Wheeling’s Mingo Statue (https://tinyurl.com/3vub8zs8), Historic Wheeling: The Mingo (https://tinyurl.com/3nzpe743), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/588wbpx2), Smithsonian American Art Museum (https://tinyurl.com/5n96fkkb), The Historical Marker Database (https://tinyurl.com/ybzd4e98)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; American Indian Magazine, Weelunk, Historic Wheeling, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Historical Marker Database, Find a Grave, The Clio
The Mingo Statue, one of Wheeling's most recognizable landmarks, was dedicated on June 21, 1928, through the vision and leadership of George W. Lutz and the Kiwanis Club of Wheeling. The bronze statue was designed and sculpted by Henry Oscar Beu, a Wheeling resident who worked at the North Wheeling Pottery Company. Standing approximately six feet tall on a granite and concrete base, the statue depicts a Mingo warrior with his right arm outstretched in greeting, wearing traditional dress including moccasins, bead necklaces, and feathers.
The dedication ceremony was elaborate, featuring a parade from the McLure Hotel up Market Street to the statue's location at the top of Wheeling Hill. Colonel George W. Lutz, who had been adopted by the Blackfeet Indian Tribe and given the name "Chief Big Knife," unveiled the monument. The inscription reads: "THE MINGO. Original Inhabitant of this Valley extends GREETINGS and PEACE to all Wayfarers. Presented to the City of Wheeling by the Kiwanis Club and George W. Lutz. 1928."
The statue honors the indigenous peoples who lived in the Ohio Valley, though modern scholarship notes that "Mingo" was not actually a specific tribe but rather a confederation of various groups including Delaware, Shawnee, Cayuga, Seneca, and Mohawk peoples. In 1982, vandals severed the statue at the ankles, but it was recovered and restored by Mull Foundry, being rededicated on April 21, 1983.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/37tc8hsp), Weelunk: Reexamining Wheeling’s Mingo Statue (https://tinyurl.com/3vub8zs8), Historic Wheeling: The Mingo (https://tinyurl.com/3nzpe743), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/588wbpx2), Smithsonian American Art Museum (https://tinyurl.com/5n96fkkb), The Historical Marker Database (https://tinyurl.com/ybzd4e98)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; American Indian Magazine, Weelunk, Historic Wheeling, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Historical Marker Database, Find a Grave, The Clio
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