Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial commemorates the

Battle of Lake Erie The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shore of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the Briti ...

that took place near

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

South Bass Island South Bass Island is a small island in western Lake Erie, and a part of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. It is the southernmost of the three Bass Islands and located 3 miles (4.6 km) from the south shore of Lake Erie. It is the third la ...

, in which Commodore

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

led a fleet to victory in one of the most decisive naval battles to occur in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. Located on an

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...

on the island, the memorial also celebrates the lasting peace between Britain, Canada, and the United States that followed the war.

Overview

A monument — the world's tallest

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

column — was constructed in

Put-in-Bay, Ohio Put-in-Bay is a village located on South Bass Island in Put-in-Bay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, United States, east of Toledo. The population was 154 at the 2020 census. The village is a popular summer resort and recreational destinatio ...

by a multi-state commission from 1912 to 1915 "to inculcate the lessons of international peace by arbitration and disarmament." The memorial was designed after an international competition from which the winning design by Joseph H. Freelander and A.D. Seymour was chosen. Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial was established to honor those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812, and to celebrate the long-lasting peace among Britain, Canada and the U.S. The Memorial column, rising over Lake Erie, is situated five miles from the US-Canadian border. Although the monument bears the name of Oliver Hazard Perry, six officers slain during the battle are interred under its rotunda, Perry himself is buried in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. Beneath the stone floor of the monument lie the remains of those three American officers and three British officers. Carved into the walls inside the rotunda are the names of soldiers and sailors who were killed or injured in the Battle of Lake Erie and the text of the Rush-Bagot Treaty. The Doric Column is the only international peace memorial in the United States National Park System and stands 47 feet taller than the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

. The upper deck platform is 12 feet higher than the statue of Liberty's torch. To visit the observation deck near the top, visitors must walk up 37 steps, pay the admission cost ($10.00 cash, card, or check for adults 16 and older starting 2019 season, 15 and younger are free) then a National Park Ranger will transport them by elevator to the top. Rangers are stationed at the observation deck to answer questions and speak about the history and surrounding area. Views span Lake Erie, the islands and mainland of Ohio, and nearby islands in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, including Middle Island, the southernmost point of land in Canada, and part of

Point Pelee National Park Point Pelee National Park (; french: Parc national de la Pointe-Pelée) is a national park in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada where it extends into Lake Erie. The word is French for 'bald'. Point Pelee consists of a peninsula of la ...

. The column is among the tallest monuments in the United States (the

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Some sources conside ...

San Jacinto Monument The San Jacinto Monument is a column located on the Houston Ship Channel in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, about 16 miles due east of downtown Houston. The monument is topped with a 220-ton star that commemorates the site of the Battle of ...

, and

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the ...

are taller). Although substantially completed in 1915, funding problems prevented the proper completion of a fully realized memorial complex. In 1919 the federal government assumed control of the monument and provided additional funding. The official dedication was celebrated on July 31, 1931. In 2002, $2.4 million was spent on a new

visitor center A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...

. The memorial is visited by 200,000 people each year.

Administrative history

Established as Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial National Monument by

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

on June 2, 1936 (Proclamation No. 2182); redesignated a

National Memorial National memorial or National Memorial may refer to: * National Memorial (Thailand) * National memorial (United States) *National Martyrs' Memorial, in Bangladesh * National Memorial of the Republic of Belarus See also *Memorial (disambiguation) ...

and renamed on October 26, 1972. As with all historic areas administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, the memorial was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on October 15, 1966; the listing's boundaries were increased in 2015.

2013 US quarter coin

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial were selected to represent Ohio in the multi-year America the Beautiful Quarters series, honoring a national site from every US state, district, or territory. Its design shows Oliver Hazard Perry on the coin's reverse, depicting the site's statue of Perry with the International Peace Memorial in the distance. The design was selected from eleven proposals.

Structural concerns

The Memorial had been closed for most of the summer of 2006 after a 500-pound (230 kg) piece of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

broke off the southeast face of the observation deck, falling and leaving a crater in the plaza in June. No one was injured. Following a structural assessment that deemed it safe for visitors, the memorial reopened on August 26, 2006, with a fence surrounding it. The monument closed on September 30, 2009 for repairs, and reopened on July 12, 2012. The monument was closed once again for the summer of 2017 for repairs and cleaning.

Interactions with the Boy Scouts of America

Annually, the monument site hosts a large

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

camporee hosted by Troop 360 from

Port Clinton, Ohio Port Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Ottawa County, located at the mouth of the Portage River on Lake Erie, about 44 miles east of Toledo. The population was 6,056 at the 2010 census. The city has been nicknamed the "Walleye Capit ...

. This camporee attracts a large amount of scout troops that camp by the monument grounds. This event, however, is highly susceptible to weather conditions, and has not been held due to flooding concerns.

Gallery

File:Perry's Monument flags.jpg, Flags of Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. fly next to the memorial at equal height. File:View from the top of Perry's Memorial Ohio.JPG, alt=View from the top of the Column at Perry's Memorial, View from the top of the Column at Perry's Memorial File:Perry's Victory and Interational Peace Memorial - Ohio.jpeg, alt=Inside the rotunda at the base of the column, Inside the rotunda at the base of the column File:Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial Vistor's Center.jpg, The memorial column can be seen from the visitor center behind a statue of Commodore Perry. File:Memorial Plaque at Perry's Monument Ohio.JPG, alt=The Memorial Plaque on the Floor of the Rotunda, The Memorial Plaque on the Floor of the Rotunda File:Steps inside Perry's Monument Ohio.JPG, alt=Steps inside Perry's Monument, Steps inside Perry's Monument

References

External links

National Park Service: Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial

Perry's Monument Photo Gallery

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{{Authority control National Memorials of the United States Military monuments and memorials in the United States Landmarks of the War of 1812 Peace parks Monumental columns in the United States Monuments and memorials in Ohio National Park Service areas in Ohio Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Protected areas of Ottawa County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Ottawa County, Ohio Protected areas established in 1936 Victory monuments Buildings and structures in Ottawa County, Ohio Tourist attractions in Ottawa County, Ohio Buildings and structures completed in 1936 1936 sculptures Peace monuments and memorials