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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Time Machine: Marion’s City Square cannon
No one knew why the Civil War cannon ended up in a railroad auction of unclaimed freight at Prairie du Chien, Wis., in the late 1890s.
Marion auctioneer Pete Martin had been hired to conduct the sale.
A veteran of the Civil War with the 1st Ohio Infantry, Martin tried to get someone to bid on the war relic and, when no one did, he bought it himself. He shipped the 24-pounder flank howitzer to Marion and donated it to the city as a memorial.
The cannon weighed just under 1,500 pounds and was probably built in 1844.
John H. Schultz, a Marion stone mason, took the stones that had once been used as a crosswalk on Main Street and built a foundation for the cannon on the east side of the city square. The crosswalk had kept pedestrians from falling into the mud, which was common in those days of unpaved streets.
Schultz built a second foundation nearby to hold cannonballs.
Two World War I cannons were placed in the park following that war, one on the northwest corner and the other on the park's west side.
WORLD WAR II
On the morning of Sept. 29, 1942, residents of Marion who were not already awake were startled by a motorcycle siren sounded by fireman Ed Card, who was flying a streamer from the bike that said, 'Get Your Junk Ready.' The campaign to encourage residents to donate scrap metal to the World War II effort was on.
The siren was accompanied by music provided by a small high school band riding in a city truck.
The metal was sold to a Marion scrap dealer, and the funds were divided among the American Red Cross, the USO and China relief.
The World War I cannons in the park went into the scrap pile. The Civil War cannon was spared but not the cannonballs.
The concrete foundations remained as a reminder of the donated memorials.
CLOSE CALL
In 1956, the Civil War cannon nearly met the fate of the other park cannons.
The park board had asked that the City Council and Mayor George Brewer order the removal of the two gun mounts left behind by World War I artillery. City employees misunderstood. They dismantled the old cannon and sold it as scrap to Katz Salvage Yard for $22.
It took about a week for a couple of members of the Robert Mitchell Women's Relief Corps No. 126 to notice the Civil War relic was gone. Immediate steps were taken to retrieve the gun and return it to the park.
The foundation, however, was gone, and a new one had to be built, this time on the park's west side.
At a Chamber of Commerce dinner a year later, Mayor Brewer told the story of the cannon removal and recovery.
The gun, which had always pointed east, was now aimed west.
Brewer told the group, 'I had it pointed west, figuring the next war would come from that direction.'
It's long been thought he was referring to the one-time feud between Marion and Cedar Rapids over which city would be the county seat. Marion had held the title since its founding in 1839. Cedar Rapids wanted the honor since it had outgrown Marion. After four tries, Cedar Rapids won that battle in 1919.
HIGH JINKS
A dozen years later, in 1968, teenagers pulled the cannon from its stand. One 14-year-old returned and was caught by Marion police as he was trying to place it back on the stand. He refused to tattle on his accomplices and was not charged.
The cannon was replaced, but it was backward. It remained that way until after the Linn County Old Settlers Reunion on Aug. 2, when it was repositioned and fastened more securely.
A few years later, another young man and his juvenile friends were caught stuffing the cannon with leaves and setting fire to them.
RESTORATION
The old howitzer sat neglected and rusty until 2000 when Brad McGowan and Kathy King of Coralville came to its rescue. The pair made a hobby of restoring Civil War monuments and cannons across Iowa, charging only for the materials they used. When they finished with the Marion gun, it looked ready for its first campaign.
The 19th century Civil War cannon still stands at the west edge of City Square Park while downtown renovation goes on all around it. Its glossy black surface serves as a canvas for local graffiti artists. It bears no plaque.
Across the park stands the Civil War monument of a Union soldier that was erected in 1914. Also a target of vandalism, it was restored in 2002.
l Comments: (319) 398-8338; diane.langton@thegazette.com
This post card, from the early 1900s, shows the Civil War cannon mounted in Marion's city square. The cannon was acquired by Marion auctioneer and constable Pete Martin in the late 1890s and given to Marion as a Civil War memorial. The cannon's pedestal was built by stone mason John Schultz. In the background is the Delphus Theater, which opened on Aug. 15, 1907, in the south store room of Marion's Masonic Temple. It operated until about 1911. (Marion Heritage Center & Museum)
The Civil War cannon has been sitting in Marion's City Square Park for more than a hundred years. The 24-pounder flank howitzer, weighing just under 1,500 pounds, was presented to the city in the 1890s and has moved around the park several times. In this photo, taken in December, you can see graffiti etched on the cannon's painted surface. (Diane Langdon/The Gazette)
The Civil War cannon in Marion's City Square Park always pointed east until 1956, when it was mistakenly removed by city employees and sold as scrap. When the mistake was discovered, the cannon was retrieved and set on a new concrete base. This time, though, it was pointed west, toward Cedar Rapids, where, the Marion mayor joked, 'the next war would come from.' Marion and Cedar Rapids feuded for years over which city would be the Linn County seat. Marion lost that designation to Cedar Rapids in 1919. (Diane Langdon/The Gazette)
The Civil War statue was put back into place at the City Park in Marion after being restored by Kalona company Friday, April 19, 2002. (file photo)
Cannon in Marion City Park. (file photo)
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