Talk About Woodville: Village’s Doughboy statue nearly 100

Statue has had several repairs over past 100 years

Have you ever passed by Veterans Park and wondered about the statue on the corner of First and Walnut streets? It is a “Spirit of the American Doughboy” statue, a pressed copper sculpture by E. M. Viquesney, created to honor the veterans and casualties of World War I.

About 150 of the statues were produced in the 1920s and 1930s and installed in parks, town squares and courthouse lawns in cities and towns across the United States. Twelve of those statues were placed in Ohio towns including Akron, Fostoria, Swanton and Woodville.

Village statue nearly 100 years old

Woodville’s doughboy was erected in 1927, making it nearly 100 years old now. The “doughboy,” a nickname that referred to American infantrymen during the First World War, is portrayed walking among tree stumps with a rifle in his left hand and a grenade clutched in his right fist, high above his head. The left hand of the statue broke off at one point and was restored in 1983.

The plaque inscription on the front of the statue’s base reads:

“TO COMMEMORATE THOSE WHO SERVED THE UNITED STATES IN THE WORLD WAR 1917 TO 1919. DEDICATED TO THE CLARENCE L NIEMAN POST NO. 455 AMERICAN LEGION WOODVILLE, OHIO, SEPTEMBER 5, 1927. ERECTED BY THE EXCHANGE CLUB AND THE CITIZENS OF WOODVILLE.”

This American doughboy statue in Woodville is one of a dozen such copper sculptures in Ohio. (Rene Dix/Special To The News-Messenger)

While the plaque shows a September date, research indicates that the monument was formally dedicated Oct. 16, 1927.

The original brick base was taller than the current base, but was rebuilt and rededicated in May 1976 when the name of the park was changed from Waterworks Park to Veterans Park.

More repairs were needed in 1990 and were paid for with a grant from Martin Marietta. Labor was provided by the 612th Engineering Battalion of the Army National Guard. It was at that time that a low wall was built around the statue and lights were added. With decades of exposure to the weather, the statue has gradually gained a green patina.

About 25 years ago, Earl Goldsmith of Texas was researching doughboys statues across the country and contacted the library for more information about Woodville’s. He asked for photos and we obliged — I took dozens of photos to send to him. In appreciation, he later mailed a copy of his work to the library where it has been stored in a file cabinet all these years.

Goldsmith spent decades working on the project and his research was later added to the E.M. Viquesney Doughboy Database, which features Woodville’s statue.

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