View complete article and references at Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina at: https://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/436

Description: The sculpture is an eight foot tall by two foot wide replica of the Statue of Liberty. Rendered in stamped copper, it sits atop a tapered concrete pedestal approximately six feet tall. It was erected in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of The Boy Scouts of America. Liberty holds the torch of freedom upright in her right hand and a tablet inscribed with the date of the Declaration of Independence in her left hand. The pedestal contains a bronze plaque with an inscription commemorating the 1950 anniversary campaign of The Boy Scouts of America to "strengthen the arm of liberty."

Although the plaque indicates a commemoration year of 1950, the statue was dedicated in Wilmington on October 20, 1951.

Images: Base plaque

Nickname: Little Sister of Liberty

Inscription:
Figure, on tablet: JULY / IV / MDCCLXXVI

Base, on plaque: WITH THE FAITH AND COURAGE OF / THEIR FOREFATHERS WHO MADE / POSSIBLE THE FREEDOM OF THESE / UNITED STATES / THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA / DEDICATE THIS COPY OF THE / STATUE OF LIBERTY AS A PLEDGE / OF EVERLASTING FIDELITY AND / LOYALTY / 40TH ANNIVERSARY CRUSADE TO / STRENGTHEN THE ARM OF LIBERTY / 1950

Dedication date: 10/20/1951

Creator: Friedley-Voshardt Company, Foundry Arthur L. Doran Construction Company, Builder Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (copy after), Designer

Materials & Techniques: Copper sculpture, bronze plaque, concrete base

Sponsor: J. P. Whitaker, Boy Scouts of America, Coastal District of The Boy Scouts of America

Cost: $350

Unveiling & Dedication: The dedication events began with a formation of Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Explorer Scouts. Dr. H. I. Glass, pastor of Trinity Methodist Church, delivered the invocation for the ceremony. The statue was presented to Wilmington Mayor E. L. White by L. C. Robertson, Jr., the chairman of the Coastal District of The Boy Scouts of America. Dr. Karl Rosenthal, Rabbi of Temple of Israel in Wilmington, provided remarks on his personal experience with oppression and his experience seeing the Statue of Liberty when he arrived in New York Harbor after emigrating from Europe. Vance Smith, scoutmaster of Troop 3 in Wilmington, lead the assembly of scouts as parade marshal. Members of Cub Pack 33 and Troop 3 were presented with 8-inch models of the statue to recognize their dedication to the effort to bring the sculpture to Wilmington.

Subject notes: The Wilmington Statue of Liberty was one of some 200 miniature replicas installed around the country in the early 1950s. The effort to create and install miniature replicas of the Statue of Liberty, originally designed by Frederic Bartholdi, was the brain-child of J. P. Whitaker, a Kansas City businessman, who paid $3,500 to have a mold made for the production of the miniatures. He was apparently inspired by a rendering of the Statue of Liberty that he saw in Iowa that had been constructed from concrete and chicken wire. Following creation of the miniature mold, local troops then paid between $300 and $350 to have their replica made from stamped copper plus any additional costs for a pedestal and local installation. The Friedley-Voshardt Company in Chicago produced the 8-foot replicas.

The plaques mounted on the pedestals of the miniatures commemorated the 40th anniversary of the founding of The Boy Scouts of America and articulated its anniversary campaign of "strengthen the arm of liberty," a theme that connected the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty as it stands in New York Harbor with a protectionist message for Cold War vigilance.

Location: The sculpture sits at the corner of North 3rd and Princess Streets on the grounds of the Wilmington City Hall. It is located several feet to the right of the steps leading to the front entrance on North 3rd Street. The sculpture faces roughly west.

Landscape: The sculpture sits in the grassy lawn area surrounding the building, surrounded by plantings and mature shade trees.

City: Wilmington

County: New Hanover

Subjects: Voluntary Organizations