HOOSIER CONNECTIONS IN THE CAPITAL

Donna Cronk photo // Great moments in American history are featured in the frieze surrounding the Capitol Rotunda. The Wright brothers are the last entries in the story. Wilbur, of course, was born in Henry County, Indiana near the tiny town of Millville.

This column ran Sunday in the New Castle Courier-Times.

By DONNA CRONK

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Earlier this fall, Brian and I visited Washington, D.C. One of my just-for-fun objectives was to look for Hoosier symbols wherever we went. They are, in fact, everywhere.

Consider the federal monuments and buildings alone. Indiana limestone and other stone went into these, along with many others not mentioned: The Lincoln Memorial, the interior dome of the Jefferson Memorial, the National Cathedral, The Pentagon and marble in the Indiana Memorial stone in the Washington Monument.

Also, Indiana limestone or stone grace the National Archives, National Theater, Departments of Commerce and Interior, Federal Triangle Building, Botanic Gardens, Federal Trade Commission and more.

In the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Italian-American artist Constantino Brumidi painted the frieze that appears as almost three-dimensional around the rotunda. It illustrates major events in U.S. history. We were told by our guide that two spaces in the frieze remained when the painter fell from a
ladder and never finished the frieze. However, the artwork was completed by other artists.

One spot went to Henry Ford for his contributions with the automobile, and the last blank area to complete the ring went to Henry County native Wilbur Wright and his brother Orville in an homage to flight.

When the House of Representatives was moved for more space in 1857, the Old Hall of the House became National Statuary Hall. Each state was invited by Congress to provide two statues of its most notable citizens, according to a capitol brochure. These statues in the collection are displayed in the Hall, the Rotunda, the Capitol Visitor Center and corridors.

Can you guess the identities of the two Hoosiers who are depicted in
statues there?

The first is Wayne County’s own Oliver P. Morton, Indiana’s Civil War governor.

Donna Cronk // photo Indiana's Civil War Gov. Oliver P. Morton hailed from Centerville, Indiana. His home stands today. He is one of the two Hoosiers honored in the Statuary Hall collection inside the Capitol.

He was a Centerville attorney whose home survives on the western edge of U.S. 40 (originally called The National Road) in Centerville and is on the National Register of Historic Places. He was elected to two terms as governor, beginning in 1861, and left office to serve as a U.S. senator. He died at age 54 during his second term.

Morton lived from 1823 to 1877. His statue graces the Statuary Hall collection.

The second statue is Gen. Lew Wallace.

Donna Cronk photo // Civil War Gen. Lew Wallace is the other Hoosier whose statue is found in Statuary Hall. He is author of the classic, Ben-Her: A Tale of the Christ. He was born in Brookville.

Wallace was born in Brookville in 1827 and died in Crawfordsville in 1905. An attorney, Civil War Union general, governor of the New Mexico Territory, and Hoosier author. He wrote the classic Christian historical-adventure novel, “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ,” in 1880.

The state of Indiana commissioned his tribute statue in marble. In it, he wears a military uniform. The statue was unveiled in 1910.