EAST LIVERPOOL — After learning 157 American Revolutionary War patriots buried in Columbiana County are without a monument to honor them, Steve Barlow, president of the Mahoning Valley Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, made it a mission to have a monument for those he refers to as the forgotten patriots.

“We have monuments for all the other wars, as it should be, but we have forgotten these patriots,” Barlow previously said. “After the revolution these patriots came west to our county and settled here, building the foundation of all we enjoy today.”

Barlow approached Carly Brock, owner of Richardson Monuments, with the idea, and then East Liverpool Mayor Bobby Smith got involved with the project.

The monument, a 10-foot-tall obelisk with an American flag on top of it, which will sit on a 2-foot base at the corner of Sixth and Washington streets, after being funded by two generous donations, has been crafted in India of black granite and is currently on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean making its way to New York, where it will be loaded on a train to Cleveland. From there it will be transported by truck to Richardson Monuments in Lisbon.

The monument was shipped from India on Dec. 26 and is expected to arrive in port in New York around Feb. 12.

Brock estimates the monument will arrive at her business around the end of February or beginning of March.

According to Brock, who donated half of the $24,000 for the granite, the monument is being shipped in five pieces which will have the names of all the patriots laser engraved on and other items like related emblems sandblasted in before being assembled. 

Once assembled, the monument will weigh 6,500 pounds.

Due to the large number of names to go on it, the laser engraving, which will engrave the names in white, will be easier and last forever, according to Brock.

Richardson Monuments will then store the monument until it is scheduled to be set up in East Liverpool and unveiled during the city’s Fourth of July/America 250 celebration.

Brock noted the monument had been carved in India, because the United States does not have black granite. There are only three locations where it can be sourced: India, China and South America.

This is not Richardson Monuments first time dealing with this type of project. Brock said they recently completed a Rosary project in Ellsworth, Pennsylvania, that weighed about 40,000 pounds and in May they will be unveiling three sculpted soldiers in Salem. She noted this is one of the taller projects her business has done, and that they put Lincoln on a pedestal in Salem, and that was probably about 10 feet tall.

Brock also noted that projects like these that get them involved in the community, they are always eager to do. She noted that this monument came to her as an idea and morphed into a big thing, and she believes it’s going to be impressive.

While Richardson Monuments paid half of the stone for the monument, the other half of the funding came from a large donation given to the city by an anonymous donor to be used for community projects.

Personalized bricks will be incorporated with the monument and can be purchased by picking up a brochure at East Liverpool City Hall, 126 W. 6th St. The bricks are 4- by 8-inch bricks which can be engraved with three lines of text for $50 or three lines of text and an insignia for $55.

For additional information, contact Steve Barlow by phone at 330-386-4178 or email at barlow34@comcast.net.