It has been a crazy 131 years for one Cleveland monument

CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - It’s estimated more than 100,000 people attended the dedication of the Oliver Hazard Perry monument dedication in Public Square on Sept. 10, 1860.

Perry was an American hero after defeating the British during the Battle of Lake Erie near Put-In-Bay on Sept., 10, 1813.

The 27-year-old sailor became famous for his orders to the fleet, “Don’t give up the ship.” Following the battle Perry sent a message to the President, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.”

His Public Square monument would have a short life in Public Square. The statue was placed in storage in 1894 to make way for the Soldiers & Sailors monument, changing the landscape of Cleveland’s square.

Cleveland’s Public Square would become Monument park with the addition of the Perry statue.

The statue would be relocated to Wade Park near University Circle, but would have to moved to make way for construction of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The statue would find a new home at Gordon Park in Cleveland, but the weather would take its toll and in 1929 it was removed to make a replica. The newly cast monument would go back to Gordon Park until Sept., 13, 1991 when the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie found a spot at Fort Huntington Park, next to the the Cuyahoga County Courthouse.

After his victory Perry returned to Cleveland to celebrate his win over the British, so it seems appropriate his monument rests a stone’s throw from the lake right here in the city that helped celebrate his victory.

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