Did you know that the Parkman Memorial sculpture is the first public sculpture in Boston to portray a Native American? It stands here as a testament to Francis Parkman’s life and work.
The Parkman Memorial honors Francis Parkman. He was an American historian and a summer resident of Jamaica Plain. Daniel Chester French designed it. It was carved partly on site in 1906.
Francis Parkman was born in 1823 on Beacon Hill. He had a fascination with the American forest. Also he was interested in its people specifically the Eastern Woodlands Indians. Parkman’s histories recognized the Indian as a political and military power. He had to be understood if the conquest of North America was to be accurately written.
Parkman spent his life on Beacon Hill. He moved to 50 Chestnut Street in 1865. In 1852 he bought three acres on Prince Street overlooking Jamaica Pond. There, he built a summer cottage. He died at his Jamaica Pond house in 1893.
After Parkman’s death his cottage was razed. Grading begun for Parkman Drive. A committee was formed to propose a memorial to Francis Parkman on the site of his cherished summer home.
Daniel Chester French was chosen to design the Parkman Memorial. The sculpture is of an Iroquois sachem. He is staring north across Jamaica Plain. French roughed out the basic design by 1901. The figure emerges from living rock. This concept was a unique sculptural style for French.
The Parkman Memorial design of a standing chief set in deep relief in a single block of granite seemed intuitive for French. It reflected the life work of Francis Parkman. The original design included both a male and female figure. They were standing in deep relief on separate slabs of stone connected by a stone lintel. This idea was discarded for the single Indian figure.
The thirty-foot-long foundation for the Parkman Memorial was dug on the same site as Parkman’s cottage. The huge block of gray granite was quarried at Quincy. It was shipped to Boston to be carved by master artisan Francesco C. Recchia. French did the final carving on site in October 1906. The memorial was completed on November 20, 1906.
To see the relief and the name of Francis Parkman you have to walk up close to the Parkman Memorial. It is a monument more to the achievements of the man than to the man himself.
In 1973, the bronze relief of Francis Parkman was stolen. The Henderson Foundation underwrote the restoration of the Parkman Memorial. Also they replaced the plaque. A new bronze plaque was installed on September 14, 1990.
The Parkman Memorial did not have a dedication ceremony originally. To correct that mistake the Jamaica Plain Historical Society rededicated the Parkman Memorial on Francis Parkman’s birthday September 16 1990. It stands here today. It is a reminder of Parkman’s contributions to history.