The Circuit Rider
 The sculpture in 2014 | |
  The Circuit Rider Location in Salem, Oregon | |
| Artist | Alexander Phimister Proctor |
|---|---|
| Year | 1924 |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Location | Salem, Oregon |
| 44°56′17″N 123°01′43″W / 44.938031°N 123.028684°WCoordinates: 44°56′17″N 123°01′43″W / 44.938031°N 123.028684°W | |
The Circuit Rider is a bronze sculpture by Alexander Phimister Proctor, located in Capitol Park, east of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon, in the United States.[1][2]
Description and history
According to the Springfield Museum, The Circuit Rider depicts "one of Oregon's pioneer circuit-riding Methodist ministers" and commemorates "the labors and achievements of the ministers of the Gospel, who as circuit riders became the friends, counselors and evengels to the pioneers on every American frontier."[1] The Oregon Blue Book says the equestrian statue is "symbolic of the many missionaries who came to Oregon".[2]
The 3.5-ton statue was cast by Roman Bronze Works in New York and was gifted to the State of Oregon in 1924. It was presented "in reverent and grateful remembrance of Robert Booth, pioneer minister of the Oregon Country" by his son, Robert Asbury Booth, who was a prominent Eugene businessman and Oregon State Highway Commissioner.[1][3] The sculpture was originally sited at the west front of the old Capitol building and was relocated during construction of the new Capitol building (c. 1936–1937).[3] It fell off its pedestal during the Columbus Day Storm of 1962 due to high winds.[1] In 1993, the statue was surveyed by the Smithsonian Institution's Save Outdoor Sculpture! program, which concluded that "treatment [was] needed".[3]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 "City History by People: Robert Asbury Booth". The Springfield Museum. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- 1 2 "Capitol Tour Web Exhibit". Oregon Blue Book. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- 1 2 3 "The Circuit Rider, (sculpture).". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
Further reading
- Proctor, Alexander Phimister (1971). Alexander Phimister Proctor, Sculptor in Buckskin, an Autobiography. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 244.
External links
 Circuit Rider statue, OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center |
- Proceedings at the Unveiling and Dedication of The Circuit Rider, Wasco County Historical Society (also here)
- Images of The Circuit Rider from Salem Public Library, including storm damage and recovery