Honor Walk

The mounted cannon was brought to the city in 1899 through the efforts of the Grand Army of the Republic, Orcutt Post No. 79 as a memorial to the soldiers and sailors of the Civil War and the Spanish American War. It was originally located on the grounds of the old county courthouse on the corner of West Michigan Avenue and Rose Street. In 1935, when the courthouse was replaced, the cannon was relocated to Memorial Park on Blakeslee Street, one of the highest spots in Kalamazoo. The park ultimately became part of the new Southwestern Michigan Tuberculosis Sanitarium when it was built in 1954. The cannon remained there until it was subsequently relocated in 1986 to its current prominent location on the southeast corner of Bronson Park in Kalamazoo. The inscription reads:

U. S. ten-inch columbiad. Weight 15204 pounds. Grant W. Tuttle, George F. Larned, Com. G. A. R. Orcutt Post No. 79, to the soldiers and sailors of 1861-1865 and 1898.

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was the first veteran’s organization in the U.S., and its membership consisted of Union Veterans of the Civil War. There were over 450 local posts of the GAR in Michigan. The Kalamazoo GAR post No. 79 was named after Benjamin Orcutt who was a veteran of both the Mexican War and Civil War, where he served as Lt. Col. of the 25th Michigan Infantry. After the war, he was the sheriff of Kalamazoo County and in December of 1867 was killed in an attempted jail break.

Learn more about Michigan’s GAR Museum by visiting http://garmuseum.weebly.com.

Learn more about the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War by visiting www.suvcwmi.org. 

The large boulder with a bronze plaque was originally located on the east side of Bronson Park, facing South Rose Street. The plaque inscription reads: 

1863 - 1913. Presented to the city of Kalamazoo this, the 11th day of September, 1913, by the 11th Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Cavalry on the 50th anniversary of leaving for the front. 

The 11th Michigan Cavalry was organized in both Kalamazoo and Detroit and was mustered into service on December 10, 1863.  The cavalry served during the Civil War primarily in Kentucky and eastern Tennessee, yet they were also engaged in western Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.  With a total of 1,579 soldiers throughout their existence, they were engaged with the enemy forty-three (43) times, and suffered one-hundred and forty-two (142) deaths due to disease and battle action. 

The Civil War veterans of the 11th Michigan Cavalry erected this stone monument in Kalamazoo’s Bronson Park in 1913 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of their organization and departure for the front in December 1863.  According to an August 27, 1913 article in the Kalamazoo Gazette, “The tablet was secured for the city through the efforts of George Clark president of the 11th Michigan Cavalry association and the boulder was furnished and donated by C. W. Hudson who resides south of the city.”   

The large boulder with a bronze plaque was originally located on the southeast corner of Bronson Park. The plaque inscription reads: 

1861-1865. This tablet is placed here by Sarah E. Fuller - Tent No. 8, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Dept. of Michigan, in memory of Orcutt Post No. 79, Kalamazoo, Dept. Of Mich., Grand Army of the Republic, the veterans of the Civil War. This boulder is placed on the spot where Abraham Lincoln stood when he gave an anti-slavery address in August 1856. 

Former U.S. House Representative and future President Abraham Lincoln visited Kalamazoo, his only public appearance in Michigan, on August 27, 1856.  He spoke in Bronson Park in support of John C. Fremont, the new Republican Party’s first presidential candidate, about the evils of slavery in America.  A vast crowd of people listened as Lincoln, Austin Blair and many other Michigan political dignitaries delivered speeches. The exact spot on which Lincoln stood when he delivered his address is unclear.  It was reported that the speakers occupied four different stands in the park and speeches were given continuously at each.  It is probable that Lincoln and others spoke several times in different areas of Bronson Park. 

The Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War is a lineage society of direct descendants of Union veterans of the Civil War.  They honor the memory of their ancestors through service projects benefiting the public on local, state and national levels.  

Learn more about the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War by visiting their national site at www.DUVCW.org. 

Learn more about Lincoln’s visit to Kalamazoo by visiting the Kalamazoo Lincoln Project at www.kalamazoolincolnproject.org.  

The small granite marker and tree were originally located on the east side of Bronson Park. The inscription reads: 

Orcutt Post. G. A. R. tree. Apr. 30, 1909. 

The original tree was planted by the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Orcutt Post No. 79, and grew in Bronson Park for over a century.  It was damaged by a storm and ultimately removed and replaced with a Red Maple in 2014 by the legal descendants of the GAR, the General Benjamin Pritchard Camp 20, Department of Michigan, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.  The tree and marker were moved to their current location in 2019. 

The Grand Army of the Republic was the first veteran’s organization in the U. S., and their membership consisted of Union Veterans of the Civil War. There were over four hundred and fifty (450) local posts of the GAR in Michigan.  The Kalamazoo GAR post No. 79 was named after Benjamin Orcutt who was a veteran of both the Mexican War and Civil War, where he served as Lt. Col. of the 25th Michigan Infantry.  After the war, he was the sheriff of Kalamazoo County and in December of 1867 was killed in an attempted jail break. 

Learn more about Michigan’s GAR Museum by visiting http://garmuseum.weebly.com. 

Learn more about the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War by visiting www.suvcwmi.org.  

The small granite marker was originally located on the southeast corner of Bronson Park. The inscription reads: 

Dedicated to Orcutt Post G. A. R. No. 79 and Women’s Relief Corps No. 110 Erected in 1925. 

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was the first veteran’s organization in the U. S. and its membership consisted of Union Veterans of the Civil War. There were over four hundred and fifty (450) local posts of the GAR in Michigan.  The Kalamazoo GAR post No. 79 was named after Benjamin Orcutt who was a veteran of the Mexican War and Civil War, where he served as a Lt. Col. of the 25th Michigan Infantry.  Later, as the sheriff of Kalamazoo County, he was killed in an attempted jail break in December of 1867. 

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is a fraternal organization dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of heroes who fought and worked to save the Union.  Organized in 1881 and chartered by Congress in 1954, they are the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic. 

Learn more about Michigan’s GAR Museum by visiting http://garmuseum.weebly.com. 

Learn more about the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War by visiting www.suvcwmi.org.  

Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Memorial:   

Lucinda Hinsdale was born September 30, 1814 in Hinesburg, Vermont. She married Dr. James Andrus Blinn Stone in 1840. The couple moved to Kalamazoo in 1843 for positions at the institution that would become Kalamazoo College. Their belief in education for all was a constant theme in their lives. They were active in abolitionism and women’s rights. Mrs. Stone founded the Ladies’ Library Association in Kalamazoo in 1852 and became known as the “mother of clubs.” She died March 14, 1900. 

The Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was chartered in 1904. The chapter arranged to host the DAR of Michigan State Conference in Kalamazoo at the end of September, 1914. As part of the conference, they planned three events to mark the centennial of Mrs. Stone’s birth. 

At 6:20 a.m. on September 30, 1914 they held a sunrise service at Mrs. Stone’s grave and decorated the grave with garden flowers and autumn leaves. At 3:30 p.m. the chapter dedicated the tablet on the boulder in Bronson Park. At 8:00 p.m. a full service was held at People’s Church to remember the life of Lucinda Hinsdale Stone. 

Liberty Pole Monument: 

 The Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was chartered in 1904. They soon began hosting community 4th of July celebrations in Bronson Park.   

Chapter member Miriam Dingley proposed in 1906 that the chapter install a Liberty Pole in Bronson Park. Liberty poles had become symbols of patriotism and love of country during our nation's centennial in 1876. 

 The chapter raised money for the Liberty Pole through donations and by giving tea parties, musicals, and other entertainments. On July 4, 1907 they presented the Liberty Pole -- a 100-foot steel flagstaff made by George Carpenter & Sons of Chicago -- to the people of Kalamazoo. Chapter member Elizabeth DeYoe Mills and her husband gave the flag. According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, “As the flag ascended the pole, along with it went a lantern in exact imitation of the Paul Revere lantern, and when the flag reached the summit, little Miss Madalen Dingley pulled a string bursting the lantern and throwing a thousand little flags over the crowd." 

 The chapter placed a boulder and plaque at the base of the pole in 1913. The Liberty Pole was removed between 1931 and 1940 when Bronson Park was replanted. 

Liberty Tree:

In preparation for the nation’s semiquincentennial and in partnership with America250MI, the Lucinda Hinsdale Stone chapter planted a tri-color beech tree to be a Liberty Tree as a replacement for the Liberty Pole. This tree is shared with the Sons of Union Veterans as it replaced the tree planted by them in 2014 to honor the Orcutt Post of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR).

The 2014 tree replaced a tree that had been planted in 1909 by the GAR Orcutt Post No. 79 and had grown in Bronson Park for over a century. Thus, the Liberty Tree remembers not only the patriots who sacrificed to establish our country, but also those involved in the Civil War who fought to maintain it.  A Liberty Tree dedication ceremony was held April 21, 2024 and was the beginning of Kalamazoo County’s America 250 celebrations.

http://www.lucindahinsdalestone.com 

The large granite boulder with two Bronze plaques was originally located south central lawn panel in Bronson Park.  The inscriptions read: 

In Memoriam U.S.S. Maine Destroyed in Havana Harbor February 15th, 1898  This tablet is cast from metal recovered from the USS Maine 

Tablet secured for Richard Westnedge Camp No-16 United Spanish War Veterans, by Past Commander Gus. L. Stein August 15-1913 Boulder presented by Holland Simmons of Orcutt Post No 79 G.A.R. 

The U.S.S. Maine was the U.S. Navy’s armored cruiser which was sent to Havana Harbor to protect American interests during the Cuban War of Independence.  On the night of February 15, 1898, the ship was rocked by a tremendous explosion sinking the ship and killing three-quarters of her crew.  Later that year, the Navy determined that the ship had been sunk by an external explosion caused by a mine.  This conclusion was controversial at the time and remains so today as it was later determined that the explosion was probably caused by internal forces.  However, the phrase “Remember the Maine” became a popular expression and played a role in America’s entry into the Spanish American War.  The mast from the U.S.S. Maine is now a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. 

The United Spanish War Veterans was a fraternal organization created in 1899 and made up of U.S. veterans from the Spanish American War, the Philippine Insurrection and the Chinese Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion). It continued to grow into the early 20th Century when it merged with several similar veteran organizations.  The organization remained in existence until 1992 when the last member passed away.  

http://www.spanamwar.com/index.htm 

Conceived in 1962 when a local businessman who regularly traveled to Japan, noticed similarities between Numazu and Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo’s most functioning sister city program officially began in 1963 and continues today. In November of 1962, a six-member group from Numazu arrived in Kalamazoo to complete the agreement between the two cities. Several months later, Mayor Morrison led a local delegation to Numazu in July of 1963, accepting the key to the coastal city from Mayor Rokutaro Shioya. In addition to exchanging gifts, Morrison, his wife, and members of the Chamber of Commerce attended official ceremonies, which included a parade, observed art exhibits, and met with members of civic clubs and students. In April of 1964, it was the Numazu delegation’s turn to tour Kalamazoo, visiting the Kalamazoo Public Library, the Art Center (later the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts), Nazareth College, several junior and high schools, and the Upjohn Company. Year after year, delegates from both cities continue to meet with city officials to tour one another’s civic and governmental institutions.

From the Kalamazoo Public Library

Molly Barker started Girls on the Run in 1996 to provide an experience for girls to untangle from the stereotypes which far too frequently capture their spirits as they navigate adolescence and beyond. She founded the program in Charlotte, NC in 1996 with thirteen girls. The Girls on the Run of Greater Kalamazoo is dedicated to creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams. Established in 2002, we serve approximately 1,500 girls at over 50 locations each year. We inspire girls to recognize their inner strength and celebrate what makes them one of a kind. By knowing they are the leaders of their lives, these are the girls who will change the world. 

Over the course of the program, girls develop essential skills to help them navigate their worlds and establish a lifetime appreciation for health and fitness. Trained volunteers lead teams of girls through the evidence-based, proven curriculum. The program culminates with girls positively impacting their communities through a service project and being physically and emotionally prepared for a celebratory 5K event. We rely on individual donors, corporate sponsors, and foundations to ensure that every girl can participate regardless of their families’ ability to pay the program registration fee. Learn more and get involved at girlsontherunkazoo.org.

The most recent effort in developing a bond with another city was in October of 1992, when the city of Pushkin, Russia and Kalamazoo agreed to a “partnership agreement for community exchanges and cooperation”. The dissolution of the Soviet Union had left many cities like Pushkin in desperate need of both financial support, and guidance in how to transition from Soviet-style governance to a more democratic expression of city management. The local Kalamazoo-Pushkin committee was created to raise the private funds in order to interact with Pushkin. 

From the Kalamazoo Public Library

The Spanish American War statue of soldier on a granite base with bronze plaque is located on the northeast corner of Bronson Park.  The inscription reads: 

1898-1902.  Erected by the citizens of Kalamazoo City and County to commemorate the valor and patriotism of those who served in the war with Spain, the Philippine insurrection and the China relief expedition.  Dedicated May 30, 1924 under the auspices of Howard Westnedge Camp No. 16, United Spanish War Veterans, Department of Michigan. 

The statue was originally sculpted by Theodora Alice Ruggles Kitson (1871-1932) in 1906 for the University of Minnesota to commemorate the Americans who served in the Spanish American War and the Boxer Rebellion in China.  The statue was named The Hiker to honor American soldiers who became famous for taking long hikes in steaming jungles.  Eventually over fifty (50) copies of the statue were made and located throughout the United States. 

The United Spanish War Veterans was a fraternal organization created in 1899 and made up of U. S. veterans from the Spanish American War, the Philippine Insurrection and the Chinese Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion). It continued to grow into the early 20th Century when it merged with several similar veteran organizations.  The organization remained in existence until 1992 when the last member passed away.  

Spanish-American War | Summary, History, Dates, Causes, Facts, Battles, & Results | Britannica