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.
Read More From Nancy
America’s First Public Lending Library Memorial
Standing beside this marker for the Franklin Public Library, you are reminded of one of the town’s proudest distinctions: Franklin is the home to what is recognized as America’s first public lending library. The granite marker commemorates a moment in American history when the ideals of education, literacy and public access to knowledge became woven […]
Welcome Sign
One of the things that makes Franklin unique among American towns is proudly displayed on this welcome sign: it is the home of the nation’s first public library. The story begins in 1778 then the town, newly incorporated, chose to name itself after Benjamin Franklin. The citizens asked Franklin for a bell for their town […]
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
The striking brick structures of St. Mary Parish have stood as one of the defining landmarks of downtown Franklin for nearly a century. The current church was completed in 1928 after an early St Mary’s church was destroyed by fire in 1900. The parish dates back much earlier. Catholic worship in Franklin began in the […]
