100 Cities - 100 Memorials

This memorial depicts a World War I soldier, his jacket is open in the front and he wears an ammunition belt.  The figure is cast metal that has been painted, and sits on a red granite base.  A bronze plaque on the base dedicates the memorial to Riverdale residents who served in the war. 

Originally located on private property at the intersection of Hamburg & Newark turnpikes in Riverdale, it was moved to its current location in front of Riverdale Elementary School in 1963. 

The statue was removed from its base in June 2016 due to deterioration.  The plaque & base remain in place. 

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #NJ000607. 

Photo courtesy of: Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS)

The Sayreville WWI Memorial contains a modern reproduction of the original bronze Honor Roll plaque, listing residents who served in the Great War.  The entire monument consists of two flanking square shafts of yellow-gray brick of uneven height with faux corner quoins ornamentation.  Originally crowned with corbeled brick battlements, this ornamentation has been replaced by concrete slab caps. The two shafts are joined together by a shorter brick wall which supports the bronze plaque containing the names of approximately the 350 local men who served.  

The Honor Roll plaque, which is crowned by a semi-ovoid decorative panel containing the figure of Liberty striding forward atop a globe, flanked by a sailor to her left and a solder to her right.  This panel is flanked by scroll brackets. 

The monument was designed by Monsignor William Gilfillan, of Our Lady of Victories Roman Catholic Church.  It was one of the first WWI monuments erected in the US.  Built by local men of local materials, the bricks were donated by the Sayre & Fisher Brick Company - the borough's major industry. 

Source:  Sayreville Historical Society

Vintage images courtesy of Sayreville Historical Society 
Photos courtesy of NJ State Historic Preservation Office 

This World War I monument, centered in a grassy area, consists of a rusticated, pink granite stele set on a concrete slab.  A bronze plaque with eared corners & a semi-oval top projection, is attached to the stele, and honors local residents who fought in the war. 

A circular plaque with a laurel wreath & five-point bas-relief star is centered above the honor roll, honoring an individual veteran. 

Photos courtesy of:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office 

This monument consists of a WWI doughboy statue atop a quarry-faced stone base & concrete slab.  The soldier stands at attention with his rifle in his right hand with the butt resting on the ground.

A bronze plaque on the front of the monument contains an honor roll of local residents who served in WWI. 

Photo courtesy of:  RC & Historical Marker Database

The Spring Lake Community House is one of a small number of functional memorials constructed in New Jersey.  It was dedicated to those who served in World War I and as a center for the community for 'social and educational purposes.' 

Funds for the Community House were donated by Oliver H. Brown, a prominent Spring Lake civic leader, politician and philanthropist.  He was elected in 1896 to the NJ State Assembly,and served as a delegate to the 1900 Republican National Convention.  He later simultaneously held the offices of mayor of Spring Lake and NJ State Senator.  Brown was a leading businessman who owned OH Brown's Furniture Store, and served as president of the First National Bank of Spring Lake. 

The building was designed by New York architect, Frank Eaton Newman and built by local contractor, Horace Moore.  The Tudor Revival structure houses the Spring Lake Library, a 350-seat theater, and meeting rooms.  Since 1978, the Spring Lake Theatre Company has called it their home. 

Photos courtesy of:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office 

This memorial consists of an 8' tall bronze figure of an angel standing atop a 7' polished pink granite base.  The angel with full-length wings, is dressed in a long, loose-fitting tunic, stands with its left arm raised up to its chest. The inscribed base is decorated around the upper perimeter with a bronze relief depicting marching World War I soldiers carrying rifles. 

The memorial was erected by the people of Summit, to honor the men of the community who died in WWI. 

The noted sculptress, E. Barretto Parsons was a native of Halifax, VA & studied at the Art League of New York under Daniel Chester French. 

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #NJ000241 & the NY Times obituary of E. Barretto Parsons. 

Photos courtesy of:  Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS)

The Teaneck memorial is a bronze plaque mounted to the exterior wall of the community’s public library. An elaborate design, it features a frame with shelf sills & lintels, and a relief eagle with wings spread crowning the frame. The plaque contains an honor roll recognizing Teaneck residents who served in WWI.

Photo courtesy of:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office

This World War I memorial consists of a white marble rectangular pillar with multiple tiers.  It is capped with an oval shield listing the war dates of 1917-1918.  On the face of the pillar is a bronze eagle above a protruding marble shelf adorned by a garland wreath.  Originally, the eagle perched on top of a bronze sphere which rested on the shelf, however the sphere is no longer there. 

Beneath the garlanded shelf is attached a vertical rectangular bronze plaque dedicating the memorial to all Tenafly residents who served in the war, and listing the five men who gave their lives.  The memorial was refurbished in 1996. 

Photos courtesy of:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office
Vintage postcard courtesy of: Rutgers University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives

This memorial consists of a bronze honor roll mounted on a rusticated granite pillar listing the men who served from Tuckerton, NJ in World War I.   

It was created by the diligent efforts of the King's Daughters with the support of the  "Tuckerton Beacon" newspaper, which proudly detailed all the individuals who had subscribed to the $500 memorial fund. 

The monument was relocated to Greenwood Cemetery in 1925 after rising waters had undermined its foundation in its original location on Route 9 at Lake Pohatcong. 

Photo courtesy of:  Ocean County Cultural & Heritage Commission 

This WWI monument consists of two parts.  An rectangular granite slab contains a gabled bronze honor roll set in a frame with an upside-down shield in the gable. 

Placed on the ground in front of the slab is a bronze plaque set on a granite slab dedicating the monument to West Berlin residents who served in the war.  This plaque is dominated by an elaborate relief depiction of a flying eagle above crossed cannons, & a ribbon labeled, "Roll of Honor."  Behind the eagle is the depiction of several partially unfurled flags. 

The monument is located in Veterans Park alongside monuments honoring those who served in other wars. 

Photos courtesy of:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office

The West Paterson WWI Memorial consists of a bronze Honor Roll plaque from the original 1925 memorial, that has been placed on a new, contemporary, vertical granite slab.  The plaque features reliefs of an eagle with spread wings across the top; and in the four corners, images of a battleship, airplane, artillery piece and stacked rifles. The plaque indicates it was erected in honor of the men of West Paterson who served their country during the Great War. 

The original monument, no longer extant, was dedicated  on July 4, 1925 and designed by an unknown sculptor.  It featured a bronze eagle with outspread wings standing on a globe, with the plaque  mounted on a tall, rectangular granite base.

Narrative partially adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #NJ000299.

Photos credit:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office

A small memorial plaque sits beside Woodstown's Memorial Lake, both named in memory of local resident Charles F. Pancoast, Jr. who died in World War I.  The local American Legion Post is also named after him.

Today, additional veterans' memorials have been added both to the plaque and the site, commemorating other wars.  Two mounted cannons are also on display. 

Photos courtesy of:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office

This monument was erected and dedicated in front of the Norwalk Library on July 16, 1921. The monument in its entirety is made up of a French cannon on the top and a rectangle granite base that has copper tablets on every side with the names of the soldiers from Norwalk who fought in World War I.  In 1950 the monument was moved to Norwalk Green.  The 155 mm cannon was made in Bourges, France in 1877 for the French Army.  It was stationed in Verdun where the soldiers from Norwalk, part of the 26th Yankee Division, worked with the French Army. The plaque on the monument states that the cannon was captured by the German Army and then recaptured by the French Army. 

This memorial cannon sits atop a raised, rectangular concrete platform.  It has a metal carriage and features a riveted metal shield for protection to those who fired it. 

An adjacent granite monument reads, "Presented by Garfield Post 255, American Legion.  Dedicated in memory of our deceased comrades.  May 30, 1935." 

Photo courtesy of:  Sheena Chi

This monument consists of an oblong granite base and a vertical granite slab adorned on the front with a bronze relief of a female figure representing Winged Victory.  She stands with her leg, hand & wing extended over the heads of a group of marching World War I soldiers.  She holds a palm frond in her right hand.  She is barefoot & dressed in a sleeveless, ankle-length robe with armor on her upper torso.

The monument was installed by the city to honor the Morristown men who died in WWI.  It was dedicated in 1928, on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice.  The monument & its setting were designed by John R. Brinley & John S. Holbrook, civil engineers of Morristown. 

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #NJ000354. 

Photo courtesy of:  Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS)

This WWI bronze plaque honors the memory of members of the First Baptist Church in Haddonfield who served in the war.  It is mounted to the wall in the narthex. 

The University of Detroit Memorial Clock Tower was built as a memorial to the 12 U of D students and alumni who died in World War I. As well as serving as a monument, the structure is built around the university's power plant chimney to disguise the industrial structure.  It is 175 ft high and was completed in 1926.  As you walk up to the base, you will see, etched in stone at the base:

TO THE UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MEN

WHO DIED IN THE WORLD WAR 1914-18
OUR HONORED DEAD
JOHN DesCHAMPS – CHARLES HARRISON – LOUIS
MANS – EDWARD J BURNS – THOMAS G KENNEDY
ALFRED FULLER – ROGER S MCNAMARA – JAMES
WILLIAMS – LIONEL ESLIN – RUSSEL McBREARTY
WILLIAM J WILKINSON – THOMAS ABERY

FROM RELATIVES, ALUMNI & STUDENTS

The University of Detroit Memorial Clock Tower was built as a memorial to the 12 students and alumni who died in World War I.  As well as serving as a monument, the structure is built around the university's power plant chimney to disguise this industrial structure.
The clock tower is 175 ft high and was completed in 1926.  On the north side of the clock tower is an engraving memorial and 12 names:

TO THE UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MEN

WHO DIED IN THE WORLD WAR 1914-18

OUR HONORED DEAD

JOHN DESCHAMPS, CHARLES HARRISON, LOUIS MANS, EDWARDS J. BURNS, THOMAS G. KENNEDY, ALFRED FULLER, ROGERS MCNAMARA, JAMES WILLIAMS, LIONEL ESLIN, RUSSEL MCBREARTY, WILLIAM J. WILKINSON, THOMAS ABERY

FROM RELATIVES, ALUMNI AND STUDENTS

The memorial entry gates to Ocean Grove flank Main Street at the corner of Route 71. The two posts are set on concrete bases and have shafts marked with a series of squarish and oblong brick panels in the center of each side.  The remainder of the gateposts are sheathed in sandstone. The shafts are topped with capitals made of two stone slabs. Copper & frosted glass cylindrical lanterns sit atop the capitals. 

A bronze plaque mounted on the west side of the south gatepost identifies the gateposts as a memorial to those who fought in World War I.

Photos courtesy of:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office