Simon Kenton
From 20th Century History of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio by Hon. William A. Rockel
Chicago: Biographical Publishing Co., 1908
A monument stands on the right side of the State House at Columbus. Upon its pedestals stand the bronze statues of eight of Ohio's sons&38212;of Grant, Sheridan, Sherman, McPherson, Hayes, Garfield, Stanton and Chase. This monument with its heroic figures stood in front of the Ohio building at the Columbian Centennial.
"'These are my jewels,' was Ohio's challenge; did any state answer? Not one. Yet these men only represented one episode in her history, one brief period of four years out of her full century. Mark you; we could put another monument with eight other of her sons, who would represent all the different periods of her career. I suggest that Rufus Putnam, the revolutionary hero who led the first of emigrants who settled on her soil, should have the first place. Next I would place by his side a statue of Ohio's typical pioneer, Simon Kenton; then I would place our first president, William Henry Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe. For the next pedestal I would suggest Thomas Ewing, a great lawyer and statesman, and a cabinet minister under several administrations; then Thomas Corwin, governor, senator and inspired orator. Then should come another of our presidents, McKinley, the well-beloved, who represented American manhood in the turning-point of our history."