Enoch Tanner Wickham (E.T.), 1882–1970, was a self-taught

folk artist Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically ...

who built life-size concrete statues along a rural road in Palmyra, Tennessee. Wickham began his creations in 1950 at the age of 67 after retiring from being a tobacco farmer and raising nine children. The first statue Wickham built was of the Blessed Virgin Mary crushing a snake under her feet. More statues followed of

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy an ...

the Indian Chief, and of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

hero

Alvin York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine ...

. In 1961 Wickham built an

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning ' knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is ...

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame a ...

. One of his largest statues was a memorial to honor his son Ernest Wickham and other local soldiers of

Montgomery County, Tennessee Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 220,069. The county seat (and only incorporated municipality) is Clarksville. The county was created in 1796. Montgomery Cou ...

who died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Wickham continued building statues until his death in 1970. By that time, he had built over forty statues using only simple materials of chicken wire, rebar and concrete. In 2001 the Customs House Museum in

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States ...

had a yearlong exhibition of his work. Today some of the statues still stand along Buck Smith Road in Palmyra in spite of much aging and vandalism. The statues of

and the sleeping dog have been restored and are displayed in the Trahern Art building at

Austin Peay State University Austin Peay State University () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 and named for then-sit ...

. Another statue of a kneeling soldier is located outside Soldier's Chapel in nearby

Fort Campbell, Kentucky Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...

External links

Customs House Museum Wickham Exhibit

Wickham Stone Park
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickham, Enoch Tanner 1880s births 1970 deaths Outsider artists 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors Sculptors from Tennessee People from Montgomery County, Tennessee

See also

External links