Bureau County Historical Society to unveil new Civil War Veterans monument

The Bureau County Historical Society will unveil a new monument dedicated to Civil War Veterans from the 29th Regiment U.S. Colored Infantry, the 8th U.S. Colored Artillery and the 13th U.S. Colored Artillery.

The unveiling ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 22 in front of the Sash Statler Matson Building, located at 15 Park Ave. W. in Princeton.

“We are honored to have this monument on the Historical Society campus and thankful to Gary Johnson for his gift to make this happen,” BCHS Board President Jim Dunn said. “The cost of the new monument was underwritten by Johnson in memory of his wife, the late Joyce M. Richmond. The monument will be a wonderful addition to the historic district in Princeton.”

In February, Bureau County historian Sarah Cooper wrote an article in the BCR, Historically Speaking—Black Civil War Soldiers Connected to Bureau County, that talked about black servicemen from the Civil War that are not listed on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Princeton.

Through additional research with Historical Society Curator Jessica Gray, a total of 45 servicemen were identified.

The Bureau County Historical Society thanks the Princeton Veterans Organization, Rick Marshall of Granite Works, Andy Austin of A&M Products Company, the City of Princeton and the Princeton Area Chamber of Commerce for their assistance in the project.

For more information, contact BCHS Executive Director Lex Poppens at 815-875-2184.