Lakeland receives request to install Revolutionary War statue in Veterans Park

LAKELAND — J. Lenora Bresler, regent of the Lakeland chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, has asked the city commission to give approval for a new statue to be added to Veterans Park, west of the RP Funding Center by July 2026. It would pay tribute to the American Revolutionary War as part of America 250, a national effort to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding.

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"We believe this is appropriate and timely," Bresler said. "It will be all inclusive as it will not only bring attention rightfully to the more well-known founders of the country, names we're familiar with already as signers of the Declaration [of Independence], but also some of the other members like Mary Katherine Goddard who also were compatriots."

Mary Katherine Goddard is the woman who printed the Declaration of Independence in Baltimore, Maryland and the only female name to appear the historic document.

The proposed monument would feature a bronze statue of Goddard working a printing press with the document coming off it, Bresler said. The monument would be made in a way to allow visitors to read the Declaration of Independence, with the corner flipped up to reveal Goddard's name. Bresler said surrounding this would be six free-standing etchings of the events that lead up to the creation of the Declaration of Independence.

The design was suggested by sculptor Becky Ault, of Art Design Group. Ault has made several monuments in Lakeland including the 'Tribute to Linesman" and more recently the "Friends of Freedom" monument commemorating the Spanish-American War and the Buffalo Soldiers.

Bresler said DAR hopes the monument could be placed in the northeast portion of city-owned Veterans Park, adjacent to the bicentennial rose garden. The group seeks to connect the rose garden to the monument by a pathway dubbed "The Path to Freedom."

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Gary Clark, chairman of Polk County Veterans Council, said the proposed project has the full support of local veterans.

"I'm in full support of this as a continuation of the vision we had 27 years ago for what we wanted this park to be," he said. "This would be an important addition to that."

Clark said the vision behind Veterans Park wasn't strictly a place for remembrance and reflection, but also an educational site to stimulate an interest in history.

"We want to let you know this is part of a bigger vision we have to allow Veterans Park to have a comprehensive history of America on display in military monuments," Bresler said.

DAR plans to work with Platform Art, Inc., a Lakeland-based nonprofit arts organization led by Cynthia Haffey, to raise funds for and design the memorial. Similarly to Platform Art's other projects, the goal is to work with local high school students to create art to be incorporated into main statue or its surrounding reliefs, according to Bresler.

In the future, the groups plan to create a lesson plans local teachers could use to take take their students through the events represented by monuments in the park.

City commissioners said they will likely take up the request at their Jan. 3 meeting to allow the public time to comment on the proposal.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland receives request to install Revolutionary War statue in Veterans Park