BRADBURY - Rogers Boy Monument

Year: 1892 Year: 2006

Rogers Boy Monument

A large Memorial fountain, sculpted from Italian stone, standing 15’ tall.

It was originally dedicated in 1892 by a grieving woman by the name of Caroline Rogers DeYoe.

She had lost her husband, son, and grandson to sickness all in 2-1/2 year time period, and was broken hearted.

This massive monument was her way to honor their memory.

There are no human beings alive today, that were present during this dedication.

When it was first erected in the towns center, people came from all over to refresh themselves, at a time when the only transportation was horse and buggy.

The main center of the monument was a life-sized sculpture of her 6-year-old grandson Stephen Rogers.

A photograph of the little boy was provided to the Italian sculptors, and they carved his image from solid marble, loaded it on a ship bound for America.

As the years passed, and automobiles began to fill the narrow streets, the fountain became an obstacle to drivers, and so it was relocated in 1906, to the County Courthouse Park at 11th and I streets. But in the decades to come, it became the target of vandals and pranksters.

It wasn’t uncommon to see the statue with clothes or hats on it. The head of the statue was eventually broken off and taken, never to found again. By 1953, the fountain was deemed an eyesore and dismantled and put in storage.

Fast forward more than 53 years, to 2006, the fountain was found in storage. There was great excitement and interest in re-establishing this historical monument, but there was one serious problem: The statue of the little 6-year-old boy was long gone.

In order to complete this Monument project, the little Rogers boy had to be once again, hand sculpted from stone.

We started by collecting all historical photos that were available. It was very important that it was historically accurate.

Then we began the process of scaling the actual size, by using modern CAD programs.

Over an 8-month time period, the little 6-year-old boy Stephen Rogers, was once again hand carved from stone and ready to take his position in the center of the Rogers Boy Monument.