Select Board backs historic commission design for Yarmouth Revolutionary War monument, sends project to town meeting

The Yarmouth Select Board voted unanimously April 15 to endorse Option A, the Historic Commission’s preferred design for a Revolutionary War monument to be sited near the flagpole at Thatcher Park in Yarmouth Port and to forward related funding articles to the April 29 annual town meeting.

Why it matters: The proposed monument lists more than 450 documented Yarmouth Revolutionary War participants, incorporates local historical text, a map of historic Yarmouth and sculptural elements intended to represent a colonial family and the town’s maritime heritage. The commission estimates the finished monument will be roughly 11 feet high and use domestically sourced granite and bronze elements.

Bob Kelly, vice chair of the Historic Commission, and designer Robert Shure presented the conceptual design and research that produced a roster of 455 names. The commission described two final design options; Option A includes bronze laurel or palm decorations and a sculptural group representing a man with a musket, his wife and child, and a plow to represent wartime sacrifice and the home front. The commission said the bronze accents were chosen for long‑term durability and to minimize maintenance over time.

Select Board members praised the design, citing public engagement and the commission’s research; Mark Forrest said the monument will help educate children who use the adjacent playground about Yarmouth’s Revolutionary War history. Board members asked about durability, maintenance, and the potential for children to climb on the monument; the commission said bronze elements will be fixed to the stone and that an interpretive sign is planned to explain the monument’s elements.

The board voted to accept the Historic Commission’s preferred design and to place the funding request on the annual town meeting warrant for final appropriation. The historic commission said the fabrication funding request would go to town meeting and that additional state grant awards (a MA 250 grant) are pending to offset town costs. The board also noted the design was shaped by public feedback from a community meeting at the Yarmouth Port Fire Station.

Ending: The Select Board’s endorsement advances the monument toward fabrication; if town meeting approves the appropriation, the commission said it plans a dedication on June 20, the date the commission cites as Yarmouth’s declaration of independence.