John Henry Statue Moved from Site Near Talcott

By Sarah Plummer
The Register-Herald Thu Apr 26, 2012, 12:05 AM EDT

TALCOTT — The John Henry statue along W.Va. 3 near Talcott was moved Wednesday from where it has stood for the last 40 years. The statue will be repaired and placed in the John Henry Historical Park at the mouth of the Great Bend Tunnel.

Since it was purchased by the Hilldale/Talcott Ruritan Club in 1972, the statue has proven to be as strong as the steel drivin’ man himself, surviving bullet holes, graffiti and other acts of vandalism.

Wednesday, however, marked a new beginning for the statue.

After bullet holes in the statue’s head and arms are repaired by Talcott metal wright Larry Moorman, it will be moved to the safer location.

Local historian Bill Dillon said the statue is expected to be repaired and placed at the tunnel by mid-May, in plenty of time for this year’s John Henry Days celebration, July 13-15.

“Back in 1972, the Ruritan Club worked five years to get enough money to have the statue molded. At that time they would have put it down near the tunnel if they had owned the CSX land at that time. But back then the tunnels were still active,” explained Dillon.

Over the following decades, the historical park committee worked to acquire the 26 acres, create a walking trail and build a stage for the festival.

In the past year, under the guidance of a newly empowered John Henry Historical Park Steering Committee, a project design for the park was completed and phase 1 of the project, including an entrance road from W.Va. 3 and a parking area, is nearing completion.

Moving the John Henry statue to the mouth of the Great Bend Tunnel is a crucial element of the park’s phase one, said Dillon.

J.K. Rose, of Union Concrete, has been charged with the task of moving the 8-foot-tall, 2.5-ton statue.

“We plan on using a lot of caution and don’t want anything to happen to him. He has suffered a lot over the years,” said Rose.

Union Concrete will disconnect the connecting rods and use a boom truck to lift the statue with slings onto a flat bed trailer.

While the statue, sculpted by Charles O. Cooper of Williamston, Mich., is being restored, Union Concrete will reconstruct the stone and concrete pedestal at the mouth of the tunnel.

Rose noted that the statue’s new home will be much safer.

Not all activity around the statue over the years has been vandalism, he noted. While visiting the statue over Easter, he noted the statue was decorated with dozens of eggs.

Dillon reminded the public that tax-deductible donations are still needed to help continue the progress on the historical park.

Bricks, which will be used in the park’s construction, can be purchased for $100. Each brick will serve as a memorial or dedication with up to three lines of print, each 16 spaces or fewer.

Anyone wishing to purchase a brick can make their checks payable to John Henry Historical Park, c/o Hinton Area Foundation, P.O. Box 217, Hinton, WV 25951.

Please write “John Henry brick” in the memo section of the check and be sure to include what you want inscribed on the brick.

For more information on donating time, skills or resources, contact the steering committee at jhparkinfo@gmail. com or call 304-832-6317.

Monetary donations can also be make online at www.johnhenrypark. com.

— E-mail: splummer@register-herald.com