Wilhelm: U.S. Capitol's statues are an interesting group of individuals

Last week’s column about George Washington Glick, who was a young lawyer in Fremont who became a political leader and governor of Kansas, spurred my interest in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building.

Glick was honored with a statue there representing Kansas and it stood in the capitol building for nearly 90 years before being replaced by one of Dwight Eisenhower. Quite an honor.

The National Statuary Hall holds statues donated by each of the states portraying notable persons in their histories. Displayed in the hall and other parts of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., the collection includes two statues from each state, except for Virginia which currently has one, making a total of 99.

Statue of Robert E. Lee removed from Capitol Building

Virginia has only had one (George Washington) since the statue of Robert E. Lee was removed and the plans are to replace it with a statue of Barbara Johns Powell, a leader in the civil rights movement, once a formal vote is taken by the state legislature.

Ohio’s statues are of President James A. Garfield, which is in the rotunda, and inventor Thomas Edison, which is in the hall itself.

The collection of statues provides an interesting look at the country.

Oklahoma's statues include Will Rogers

To me the most interesting duo is from Oklahoma.

One is a statue of Will Rogers, the famous vaudeville performer, actor and humorous social commentator. He remains to this day one of the most famous of entertainers and political commentators.

The other is of Sequoyah, a Cherokee Indian who developed a written Cherokee language which, according to Wikipedia was “one of the few times in recorded history that an individual who was a member of a pre-literate (by our measuring stick) group created an original, effective writing system. His creation allowed the Cherokee nation to be one of the first North American indigenous groups to have a written language.”

The Texas statues probably are the most famous pair. Both erected in 1905, they are of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, whose names have been kept in the spotlight by two famous Lone Star state cities.

Rhode Island’s statues have been standing the longest. A statue of Nathanael Greene was erected in 1870, followed by one of Roger Williams in 1872.

Greene was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as one of George Washington’s most talented and dependable officers, and is known for his successful command in the Southern theater of the conflict.

Williams was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian and author who founded Providence Plantations, which eventually became the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was a staunch advocate for religious freedom, separation of church and state and fair dealings with the American Indians.

Roy Wilhelm started a 40-year career at The News-Messenger in 1965 as a reporter. Now retired, he writes a column for both The News-Messenger and News Herald.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Wilhelm: Let's review some of the statues in the U.S. Capitol