Perth Amboy was the heart of the Clay District for the production of terra cotta, baked earth, from 1870 to 1930. Manufacturers made architectural terra cotta in bold colors.[4] One of the largest, the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company, was incorporated in 1879 by Alfred Hall.[5] The work attracted immigration from Denmark, England, Hungary, and Italy.[6]
Commission
On Labor Day, 1894, Scandinavian immigrants in Perth Amboy had a parade highlighting local industries and including a float with a bust of George Washington. Afterwards the Scandinavian community formed a committee and were granted permission from the city council to erect a statue of Washington.[2] Sculptor Nels N. Alling, who had immigrated from Denmark in 1887,[7][8] modeled the statue in his studio. It was fired in the kilns of the New Jersey Terra Cotta Company, owned by Danes who had been employed at the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company.[2] Funding for the project was done entirely by the Danish and Scandinavian community of Perth Amboy. The statue was unveiled on Labor Day, September 2, 1895, and dedicated on Washington's Birthday, February 22, 1896.[9]
Description
The life-size 6-foot (1.8 m) terra cotta statue, on a 10-foot (3.0 m) pedestal, is located in Market Square, next to the Perth Amboy City Hall, and facing north along High Street.[1][9] Washington is shown upright in a traditional military uniform and tricorner hat with cockade. On his left side, he is sheathing his sword, held in his right hand, representing his leadership during the war.[2] Alling signed his name on the base. The pedestal has the inscription "George Washington, The Father of His Country". In 1983, the Danish Brotherhood in American had the statue restored for the 300th anniversary of the city. Further repairs were made in 1985.[1]
George Washington
The Father of His Country ———
Erected by
The Scandinavians of
Perth Amboy, MDCCCXCVI
^ abcdOsborne, W. R. (April 1896). "A Terra Cotta Monument – The Father of Our Country in Jersey Clay". The Clay-Worker. XXV (4). Indianapolis, Indiana: 335–336. An Appropriate Gift From the Foreign Born Clayworkers of America's Greatest Clay Center in the Municipality of Perth Amboy.
^Veit, Richard (1999). "Moving Beyond the Factory Gates: The Industrial Archaeology of New Jersey's Terra Cotta Industry". Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology. 25 (2): 5–28. JSTOR40968875. Perhaps the most impressive is a larger-than-life-size statue of George Washington in "limestone color" terra cotta
^Murtha, Hillary (2004). Uncommon Clay: New Jersey's Architectural Terra Cotta Industry. Cornelius Low House/Middlesex County Museum, New Jersey: Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission.
