Mourning Doughboy
Standing at the center of the Franklin Town Common is the town’s World War I memorial, often referred to as the “Mourning Doughboy“. Dedicated in 1929, the monument honors the 423 men from Franklin who served during the First World War, including the 13 who lost their lives. The memorial captures a deeply reflective moment. The bronze soldier stands at rest with his helmet lowered before him and his rifle grounded at his side. This posture conveys the emotional weight carried home from war,
The sculpture is believed to be a casting of My Buddy, a work created by noted sculptor Joseph P. Pollia, an Italian- born artist who became nationally recognized for his war memorials during the 1920s and 1930s. Pollia developed a style that emphasized the inner emotion of soldiers rather than battlefield action. Franklin’s memorial is one of several castings of this design found across the country. Pollia’s work reflected the changing mood that followed World War I, when communities across America sought memorials that acknowledged sacrifice.
The “Mourning Doughboy” represents a memory of an entire generation of young men whose lives were forever changed by the First World War.
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Gettysburg Address Boulder
On the Town Common in Franklin sits the Gettysburg Address Boulder, one of the town’s meaningful Civil War Memorials. Dedicated in 1913 by the Grand Army of the Republic Post 60, an organization of Union veterans who served during the Civil War. This is the first monument that I have seen that has the full text of […]
Birthplace of Horace Mann
In Franklin, the memory of Horace Mann is preserved in these two different ways. One is the granite marker of his birthplace, while the other is the large public statue located in Horace Mann Square. The birthplace plaque marks where his life began, while the statue honors what Horace Mann became. Standing confidently beside a column of […]
Benjamin Franklin Statue
Franklin is a town deeply aware of its history and proudly displays the people and ideals that helped shape its identity. Unlike many New England towns named for English places, Franklin holds the distinction of being the first town in the United States named after one of the nation’s founding fathers: Benjamin Franklin. Although Benjamin Franklin is closely […]
