Civil War Plaques Donation Request

 Civil War Plaques - Submitted by the Pronceton Historical Commission

Bagg Hall in Princeton, MA has had two marble Civil War Plaques adorning either side of the main entrance for well over 100 years. Sometime late last summer one of the plaques, which had bowed out for many years, suddenly gave way and crashed into pieces. The pieces were picked up and, along with the still-intact second plaque, were carefully packed onto pallets and are now stored in the Highway Barn.

These historical plaques list the names of all the Princeton residents that served in the Civil War from 1861-1865. Some of the names represent families that still live in town: William Goodnow, William Whitney, Dexter Gleason, and George and Hervey Mirick. The Commission believes the plaques should be recreated and replaced at Bagg Hall. The surviving second plaque is considered to be too delicate to put back up.

Estimated costs to recreate the plaques ranged upwards of $30,000. While considering different options, the Historical Commission has received a donation of the marble from the Danbury Marble quarry in Vermont thanks to Lauren Stimson of Stimson Associates. The cost to sandblast the names onto both plaques is $11,500 which includes some hand-chiseling to make lettering more authentic.  An additional cost of $2,500 will be required to re-install the plaques.

The budget of the Historical Commission, which is normally $1,500 per year, was increased on the recent town meeting warrant to $10,000 to partially cover the cost of sandblasting the letters onto the marble. We are thankful to the town meeting members for approving this extra expense. The Commission is looking for donations to cover the remaining $4,000 to complete the plaques and install them.

Donations may be sent to:

Jim Dunbar, Treasurer
Town of Princeton
6 Town Hall Dr., Princeton, MA 01541.

Please make checks payable to the Town of Princeton with a notation that the donation is for the Civil War Plaque Restoration Project.

Thank you for your consideration.

Jane Morrisson
Princeton Historical Commission