Sculpture of Cary's founder to be put in Jaycee Park

CARY – When Cary-Grove Historical Society founder and President Pam Losey speaks with students, she always asks them how the village of Cary was named.

Many think Cary was a woman, Losey said, or they don’t know that the village was named after a person.

However, with a new sculpture of the bust of William Dennison Cary, one of the village’s original settlers and its namesake, Losey hopes more people will learn the history of the village.

“Why don’t we leave a legacy behind in Cary and do something unique?” Losey said about why the historical society initiated the project.

The bust, being created by St. Charles sculptor Guy Bellaver, will be made out of bronze and sit about 24 inches tall. It’s expected to be placed by early summer in Jaycee Park, Losey said.

The cost of the bust is about $7,500, Losey said, with $5,000 donated by the historical society and $2,500 coming from the Cary Park District.

The stone cement base the bust will sit on is being donated by Fox River Grove-based Ringers Landscaping, and money still is being raised for a plaque, Losey said. Donations can be sent to the Cary-Grove Historical Society, P.O. Box 483, Cary, IL 60013.

Bellaver will base the bust off a daguerreotype image, which Losey said is the only image of William Cary and was donated by a relative of the Cary family.

While Cary’s founder came to the area in the 1840s, the village was not incorporated until 1893, Losey said. William Cary plated his land in 1856, and it was later incorporated as Cary Station, she said.

William Cary was a farmer by trade and owned a corn mill, Losey said. He was born in 1808 in Sandy Creek, New York, and died in 1861.

“We always want to know our past,” Losey said. “Why is this Cary? And to know that this is based on one of the original settlers in our town, people are going to be amazed by that.”

Cary Park District Director of Planning and Development David Raica said that while there are some plaques in Cary Veterans Park, this will be the first bust sculpture in a village park.