The Story of Crane Park and Wilbraham’s Civil War Monument

At the heart of Wilbraham’s village center lies a parcel of land known as Crane Park, a place deeply connected to the town’s history and to those who served during the Civil War.

In 1885, Wilbraham residents voted to honor the local men who gave their lives to preserve the Union. A committee of five was appointed to determine how best to commemorate them. Within a month, the committee proposed building a Memorial Town Hall, a structure that would serve both civic and memorial purposes, at the Center Village. The plan was approved, and a lot was purchased from James B. Crane for $500, half of which was generously donated back to the town by his brother, Zenas Crane, as a gift.

Construction began the following year, in the mild winter of 1886. Work progressed quickly: the basement and foundation walls were completed using brownstone quarried from an abandoned site on West Street (near Manor Road), while additional stone was brought in from Sixteen Acres. The building was designed to be brick above the stonework, symbolizing both strength and permanence.

However, as the project advanced, tensions flared between the North and Center Villages, each eager to claim the honor of hosting the new town hall. Prominent townsmen Henry W. Cutler and Chauncey E. Peck were key figures in this rivalry. At the April 1886 Town Meeting, residents approved continuing the project, but later that same night, after some voters had gone home, a motion was made to reconsider. The motion passed, and the dream of a Memorial Town Hall abruptly ended. The foundation was filled in, though it is believed that much of the stonework still lies buried beneath the surface of Crane Park today.

During this period, memorial buildings were a popular way to honor those who had served, structures like libraries, town halls, and meeting houses that kept alive the memory of sacrifice while serving the living. Other communities, such as Hadley and Palmer, built modest memorial halls, while Monson’s granite town hall stood as a grander example, topped with a statue of a Union soldier carrying the colors.

Across Massachusetts, Civil War monuments took many forms. They were classified as Memorial Buildings, Tablets, Funerary-Style Monuments, Sentinel Monuments, Heroic or Allegorical Figures, Cannon or Shot Memorials, and other Miscellaneous Styles. Over time, as the country healed and the immediacy of war faded, one design came to dominate: the Sentinel—a statue of a soldier standing guard in quiet vigilance. Typically shown at parade rest, with hands clasped over his rifle and eyes fixed on the horizon, the figure embodied courage, endurance, and solemn remembrance. One such monument, described by the Boston Transcript at Antietam, captured this spirit perfectly: a soldier in regulation overcoat and cap, face resolute, posture steady, “standing guard over the remains of the loyal dead.”

In Wilbraham, it was Dr. Stebbins Foskit, a respected physician devoted to the care of his neighbors, who first envisioned a permanent memorial to the town’s Civil War soldiers. Though he passed away before realizing his dream, his wife, Mrs. Lucia Stebbins Foskit, brought the idea to life. Through her generosity, the Wilbraham Soldiers’ Monument was erected and dedicated on July 4, 1894, under the auspices of the E. K. Wilcox Post G.A.R. of Springfield, with Commander W. P. Derby presiding. The dedication address was delivered by Rev. Martin S. Howard, pastor of the Congregational Church, and a community collation followed in the church chapel for more than 300 townspeople.

Dr. Stebbins Foskit. DFB

Mrs. Lucia Stebbins Foskit. DFB

Wilbraham’s Civil War Monument. Wilbraham Library

The monument bears this inscription:

TO THE MEN OF WILBRAHAM WHO SERVED THEIR COUNTRY IN THE WAR WHICH PRESERVED THE UNION AND DESTROYED SLAVERY. THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED TO PERPETUATE THE MEMORY OF THEIR PATRIOTIC SERVICE. 1861–1865.ERECTED BY LUCIA STEBBINS IN THE NAME OF HER HUSBAND S. FOSKIT, M.D. 1894.

The names of Wilbraham’s Civil War soldiers, as fully as could be determined, are engraved on three panels. The monument itself cost $2,500, while the veterans of the town contributed funds for the foundation.

Crane Park, the site chosen for the Sentinel-style monument, carries its own rich legacy. It was once the birthplace and early home of Lucinda Brewer, who married Zenas Crane, founder of the renowned Crane Paper Company of Dalton, in 1809. Their grandson, William Murray Crane, who would later serve as Governor and U.S. Senator, attended the monument’s dedication, linking Wilbraham’s local story to that of the wider Commonwealth.

Wilbraham’s Civil War Monument. Wilbraham Library

Wilbraham’s Civil War Monument in the early 1900s. Lost New England

One of Wilbraham’s quiet but enduring mysteries began many years ago at the Soldiers’ Monument in Crane Park. The monument, standing in solemn tribute to the town’s veterans, once featured four granite cannonballs resting at the soldier’s feet, a finishing touch symbolizing strength, defense, and vigilance.

At some point, long ago, the cannonballs mysteriously disappeared. No one could recall exactly when or how it happened. Some speculated it was a prank. Whatever the reason, the granite orbs that had stood for decades as silent sentinels were gone without a trace.

Years later, a surprising discovery brought part of the mystery to light. In the basement of an old home in the center of town, tucked away in a dark corner, someone found one of the missing cannonballs. Its rough granite surface was covered in dust, but there was no mistaking what it was. The relic was carefully donated to the Old Meeting House Museum, where it remains a quiet reminder of the monument’s curious past.

The granite cannonball at the Old Meeting House Museum. DFB

A few years ago, the Wilbraham Historic Commission undertook a restoration project to return the monument to its original appearance. In place of the lost originals, polished black granite cannonballs were installed at the soldier’s feet. Gleaming in the sunlight, they not only honor the memory of the original monument but also preserve the story of one of Wilbraham’s small, enduring mysteries.

Today, Crane Park remains both a memorial and a gathering place, a peaceful setting that honors Wilbraham’s sons and daughters who fought for freedom and unity, and a reminder of the enduring community spirit that built, lost, and ultimately reimagined the town’s tribute to them.