On October 1894, the Solider and Sailors Monument that proudly stands on the East side of the 106 year old Dubois County Courthouse, was brought to life. The hollow monument stands 32 feet tall, decorated with granite, marble, and bronze. The bronze door is guarded by a on picket duty soldier with the words “For country and flag, our Army and Navy”. On the other side of the door is a cavity meant for war relics and artifacts, and most recently a time capsule. The local memorabilia has been guarded by the soldier since the year 2000. The Dubois County Millennium Committee had made the decision 17 years ago to open the doors and reveal the information left behind in June of 2050.
The Monument is not only given characteristics and a personality by the off-kilter position of the soldier that overlooks the square, but also by the three bronze tablets that each depict a short story that can lead the imagination to run wild. The tablets include a wounded father and son from Celestine comforting each other on an unknown battlefield, a sharpshooter from a company of men based in Ireland, and also a sad widowed woman reminiscing over some abandoned battlefield months after the Civil War had ended. The Monument also respects and remembers the most famous Civil War battles including Chickamauga, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and as well as the bloodiest, The Battle of Antietam.
Since The Monument has been structured, it has been restored recently by Tim Casto and Joe Goodburn. In August 2014, General Preservation Corporation of Columbus, Ohio were given the opportunity to gently do some restoration to the precious story-telling monument. The men were able to carefully replace the mortar between joints, replaced weathered and cracked stone, and tuck pointing. The skillful men finished off the job early with a much needed power wash, and preserving the monument with a water sealant to span at least a full 20 years.
