USA > New York > Tioga County > Owego > Early Owego, N.Y.; some account of the early settlement of the village in Tioga County, N.Y., called Ah-wa-ga by the Indians, which name was corrupted by gradual evolution into Owago, Owego, Owegy and finally Owego > Part 40
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
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buggy and sustained a serious injury to his hip, incapacitating him from pastoral work. He died in Buffalo August 8, 1890, aged 64 years.
Rev. James Rogers came to Owego from Buffalo in 1871. In April, 1877, he was transferred to the church of the Immaculate Conception in Buffalo. During his sojourn in Owego there was a church debt of $7,000, which he caused to be paid. He died in Buffalo Aug, 26, 1893, aged 51 years.
Rev. John O'Mara was born in county Clare, Ireland, Dec. 25, 1836. He was made an orphan in his youth and was reared and educated by rela- tives. He came to America when twenty years of age and completed his studies for the ministry. He was or- dained a priest in 1859, and afterward had charge of churches at Rochester, Buffalo, Medina, and Lockport. He came to Owego from Buffalo, where he was pastor of the church of the Immaculate Conception, in April, 1887. During his residence here .he had charge of the parish at Newark Valley and caused the church to be built there in the fall of 1880. He died while pastor of St. Patrick's church on Oct. 27, 1883, and his body was buried in St. Joseph's cemetery in the town of Tioga.
During Father O'Mara's residence here, Rev. James Hilary Leddy . was his . assistant, three or four years. Father Leddy was born in New York. city. He went from Owego in August, 1880, to Gowanda, N. Y., where he re- mained six years. He was afterward at Holley, N. Y., eleven years, and went thence to Warsaw, N. Y., in August, 1878. He died at the age.of 64 years at Warsaw May 13, 1901,
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from the result of injuries received by falling into an excavation in the Erie railroad depot at Lockport one night, while returning home from Buffalo.
Rev. Thomas D. Johnson was pastor of St. Patrick's church ten years. He came here in. November, .1883. He was born in county Cavan, Ireland, in . 1860, and was educated at Manyooth college, near Dublin. He came to America In 1873 and entered Niagara University in 1874, and was graduated therefrom the next year. After his ordination he remained for some time at Corning, N. Y., as a curate in Dean Colgan's parish. He was afterward pastor of the church at Lewiston, N. Y., and in 1884 became an assistant to Father Cunningham; pastor of SS. Peter and Paul's church at Elmira. Upon the death of Father. O'Mara, he was sent to Owego. The present church was built during his ministry here. In 1390 he made a trip to his old home in Ireland for the benefit of his health, which did not improve. He died at Ehira Sept. 17, 1893. His body was. brought to Owego and buried in St. Joseph's cemetery.
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Rey. Martin Ryan was born in Ire- land. He came to America in 1863. He was ordained in 1871 at Niagara Falls and was afterward pastor suc- cessively of SS. Peter and Paul's church at Elmira, St. Catherine's church at Addison, and of St. Mary of the Lake's church at Watkins for fourteen years. He came from Wat- kins to Owego upon the death of Father Johnson. In May, 1895, he sailed for Ireland, having received an indefinite leave of absence on account of ill health. He never returned, dying there Jan. 9, 1909.
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After Father Ryan's departure for Ireland in 1895, Rev. James Moriarty came to Owego to take charge of St .- Patrick's church.
When Rev. John J. Sheridan came . here in the summer of 1899, he had just been graduated from St. Ber- nard's seminary at Rochester. He had been previously graduated from Canaisius college at Buffalo and St .- Bonaventure's college at Allegany, Pa. He was sent here from the Syra -. cuse diocese as administrator of the parish pending the appointment of a regular pastor, and he served with · such eminent satisfaction that he re- mained here ten years. In June, 1909, he was transferred to Syracuse, where he was soon afterward appointed pas- tor of St: Lucy's church. Father Sheridan was born at Binghamton. When he assumed charge of St. Pat- : rick's church it was burdened with a debt of about $11,000, which was paid through his exertions.
Rev. George V. Burns, the present pastor of St. Patrick's church was born in Buffalo, April 4, 1873. He was educated in Rochester at St. An- drews's preparatory seminary and St .- Bernard's seminary. He was ordained June 11, 1898, and was thereupon ap- pointed second assistant at the cathe- dral. Two years later he was ap- pointed first assistant and officiated eight and one-half years and was then appointed pastor of the Catholic church at Phelps, N. Y. While at Phelps he was appointed by Bishop Hickey as superintendent of the paro- chial schools of this diocese. He as- sumed charge of St. Patrick's church in this village July 9, 1909.
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Some Account of the Schools for . Young Ladies at Owego from the Days when Miss Juliette Camp Opened the Owego Female Semi- nary in 1828 to the Establishment of the Seminary in East Front Street, where, Among Others, Mrs. Belva A. Lockwood Was Principal.
In the sunimer of 1815 Charles Pum- pelly built a large house for his resi- dence on the north side of Front street where the houses of Howard J. Mead and Miss Anna M. Dean are now. The lot was eighty feet wide on that street and extended back the full width to Main street. The house was of wood, painted white, and was the largest and most pretentious of any that had been built at that time in the village. It stood. about fifteen feet back fromr the sidewalk, near the west end of the lot, and on the east side was a large yard covered with a grove of tall trees. Mr. Pumpelly lived in this house until 1841, when he purchased the brick house in west Front street now owned by James Forsyth of his brother, Har- mon Pumpelly, and removed thereto .. The old residence was occupied as a .seminary and boarding school .from 1843 to 1865.
Several years previous to this time Miss Juliette M. Camp, .who later be- came the wife of Joseph M. Ely, in 1828 opened a school for young ladies, which she styled the- "Owego Female Seminary." She did not board her pupils, but in her advertisement she announced that "board may be ob- tained in respectable families in this village."
Miss Camp had previously spent considerable time in an infant school
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at Utica, to acquaint herself with the methods of teaching employed. there, and in 1830 she converted her young ladies' seminary into a children's school, and she had between forty and fifty pupils. Miss Eliza S. Ripley, a daughter of John Ripley, was Miss Camp's assistant. Miss Ripley was several years later married to Ebene- zer Woodbridge and has been' for many years living at Dixon, III.
In the spring of 1843 Mrs. Mary Palmer, of Factoryville (now east Wa- verly), and Miss Eunice S. Williams rented the Pumpelly residence and es- tablished a boarding and day school for young ladies there, which they called the "Owego Female Seminary.". Miss Palmer was principal of the school and Miss Williams had charge of the boarding. department. There were two terms of 22 weeks each year, or four quarters of 11 weeks each. The price of board and tuition was $125 a year, and in an advertise- ment in the Gazette it was announced · that "from country patrons a portion of pay for board will be received in produce at . market prices." Day scholars in the elementary, depart- ments were charged $2 a year, in the middle department $3.50, and in the high department $5. Miss Williams died soon after this school was opened at the home of her father at Norwich, Conn., in October, 1843.
Fearing, probably, that the opening of the seminary would be detrimental to the success of the Owego academy by taking therefrom some of the young ladies in the girls' department, - the academy trustees started another school in opposition to that of Mrs.
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Pammer in the summer of 1843, whiche they styled the "Owego Female Insti- inte," and they placed at its head Prof. and Mrs. Joseph M. Ely. Mr. Ely was at this time principal of the academy. He had been teaching ten years in New York city and returned to Owego to assume direction of the · academy, with the institute for young ladies connected therewith.
The new female institute was not kept at, the academy but at Mr. Ely's house. At the opening of this insti- fute it was announced that if liberal patronage should be given a new building would be erected the next . year for the school. The building was not erected. The school was opened in the house that, was owned and had. been occupied by Jonathan Platt; Mr. Platt having removed to the "Vesper Cliff" property in the. town of Tioga. The charge for boarders for a term of eleven weeks was : $25 and for day scholars $5.
Mr. Ely taught languages, mathema- tics, etc., and. Mrs. Ely music and sing- ing. Miss . P. E. Southworth taught French and drawing. . Thomas Le- Clere, who was born north of this vil- lage and who became one of the most celebrated portrait painters in Amer- ica, gave lessons in oil painting, At the opening of the spring term in 1844 it was announced that "persons will- ing to advance $25 and upwards in labor and . materials toward the erec- . tion of a new building for the institute next summer-payment thereof to be made in tuition in the institute-will please apply to the principals."
Mrs. Palmer conducted the semi- nary in Front street six years. In the spring of 1849 it passed into the hands
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of. Mrs. M. A. Chase and Miss H. P. Fellows, and Mrs. Palmer went to Binghamton. Mrs. Chase came here
from Philadelphia. Her daughter, Miss Edith Chase, was later a teacher in St. Agnes's school in Albany. Miss Fellows had charge of the boarders and Mrs. Palmer was principal. They conducted the seminary four years.
At the close of the spring term in 1852 Mrs. Chase and Miss Fellows left the school, and on Jan. 4, .1852, Rev. and Mrs. George P. Porter began the winter term there. Mr. Porter was that year and the year following pas- tor of the Owego M. E. church. Mrs. Porter had been preceptress at the Wyoming Wesleyan seminary for sev- eral years. The Porters conducted the seminary : until 1854, when Mr. Porter was assigned to the M. E. church at Waverly.
In the spring of 1854 Miss Eliza B. Thomas, a cousin of Charles C. and Albert R. Thomas, of Owego, opened a school which she called the Owego Female Institute in the house which was afterward for many years owned and occupied by Eli W. Stone. It is on the north side of Front street, the second house west of John street. Her assistant was Miss Laura C. Bartlett, who had been superintendent of the. female department at the Owego acad- emy. In August, 1855, she, offered the property for sale, saying that she de- sired to have her school in a more central part of the village. The school was discontinued at about this time.
In the spring of 1856 Mrs. Samuel C. Wilcox, who ha- lived in Philadel- phia since the death of her husband in 1854, returned to Owego and made an arrangement with Mrs. Guy Worthing-
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ton, who was occupying the seminary building, to reopen the seminary, and the term began April 1, 1856, with Mrs. Wilcox as principal. Miss Dar- ling, Mrs. Wilcox's sister, came with her from Philadelphia and was an as- sistant teacher. . Mrs. Worthington, who was the mother of the late bishop George Worthington, of Nebraska, had charge of the boarders and Mrs. Wil- cox was principal of the school. In the spring of 1857 Mrs. Worthington retired from the seminary and Mrs. Wilcox took entire control of both the school and the - boarding establish- ment. Not long afterward Miss Dar- ling had charge of the housekeeping, and Miss Hall was engaged as vice- principal.
In the fall of 1858 Miss Josephine Hosmer came from Detroit, Mich., and assumed the management of the semi- nary. Her assistants were Misses S. Loring, of Concord, Mass., and M. E. Walker, of Portsmouth, N. H. Miss Hosmer remained here only a year and in Nov., 1859, Prof .: and: Mrs. George H. Burroughs, succeeded her.
Mr. Burroughs came here highly recommended by Theo. Frelinghuysen, president of Rutgers college,and presi- dent McLean, of Princeton college. He was a graduate of Princeton col- lege and had been tor some time sub- séquent to his graduation a tutor. Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs conducted the seminary four years.
In the fall of 1863, Mrs. Belva, Mc- Nall, now Mrs. Belva A. Lockwood, succeeded Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs and opened the fall term Sept. 24. Her assistants were Misses Anna Hurd, Julia A. Osborne, and Louisa Warner. At the close of the spring term in
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MRS. BELVA A. 'LOCKWOOD.
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1865, she left Owego and the seminary was permanently closed as a young ladies' school.
Since leaving Owego Mrs. Lockwood has attained national prominence. She was born at Royalton, Niagara coun- ty, N. Y., October 24, 1830, as Belva A. Bennett. She began teaching when she was 14 years old. Two years later, on Nov. 8, 1848, she was mar- ried to Uriah H. McNall, a young far- mer, of Royalton, who died there May 11, 1853. After his death she left her young daughter in the care of her pa- rents, in order to prepare herself for teaching. She was graduated from Genesee college at Lima, N. Y., in June, 1857, and soon afterward was appointed principal of the Lockport union school. Four years afterward she took charge of the Gainsville fe- male seminary, where she taught un- til she came to Owego in 1863. When she left Owego she went to Washing- ton, D. C., where she opened a school. March 11, 1868, she was married to Rev: Ezekiel Lockwood, a. Baptist minister, who was at one time chap- lain of the Second District regiment at Washington. Soon after her sec- ond marriage she closed her school and began the study of law. In the · winter of 1870 she applied for admis- sion to the law school of Columbia college at. Washington, but was re- fused on the ground that her presence in the class "would distract the atten- tion of the young men." The next spring she was admitted to the Na- tional University law school, from which she was graduated in May, 1873. . · In November of that year she was ad- mitted to the bar of the supreme court of the District of Columbia, and ini-
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mediately thereafter began the prac- tice of law. In 1874 she visited Texas professionally and was admitted to the United States court in the western district. Her husband, Dr. Lockwood, died at Washington April 23, 1877. In October, 1878, she applied for adníis- sion to the bar of the circuit court of Prince George county, Maryland, and was refused, although she had been allowed previously to file a civil suit in the federal court of Baltimore county, involving $50,000. In Febru- ary, 1879, congress passed an act, which permitted women to practise in the supreme court of the United States, and on the 3d of the following March her application to practise was granted by the justices of the United States court. Mrs. Lockwood was the first woman permitted to practise be- fore the highest tribunal in the coun- try. Her first application had been made three years previous and re- fused on the ground that a fair inter- pretation of the rules of the court ad- mitted only men, and unless the cus- tom should become more extended in the states or special legislation should be had on the subject it could not be done. In the national campaign of 1884 Mrs. Lockwood was the Woman's Rights candidate for president of the United States. In the summer of 1896 Mrs. Lockwood and Mrs. Frances Gra- ham French were appointed to repre- sent the United States at the second international congress of charities and the second international congress for the protection of children at Geneva, Switzerland.
The old seminary lot was sold by Charles Pumpelly's heirs in October, 1874, to Thomas I. Chatfield. The
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back part of the lot at the main street end had been sold several years pre- vious to Daniel L. Jenks and Frederick E. Platt and the houses built by them still stand there. Mr. Chatfield sold the seminary lot in November, 1875, to Mrs. Catherine . B. Deming, who. in April, 1878, sold part of it to Jefferson C. Dwelle, who built on it the house now owned by Howard J. Mead.
The First Burying Ground in Owego, with a History of Evergreen Ceme- tery, Which Was Established _ in 1851, and some Account of Sasana Loft, the Indian Girl, Who Was. Killed in a Railroad Accident at De- .posit, and Whose Body Lies Buried under a Marble Monument in the Highest Part of the Cemetery, Over- looking the Susquehanna Valley.
The first burying ground in this vil- lage was at the southeast corner of Main and Court streets and occupied the land on which now stand the sher- iff's residence and jail, the old Acad- emy building, and the new county clerk's office. Bodies had been pre- viously buried at the southwest corner of Main and Lake streets and near the southeast corner of Main and Acad- emy streets, but they were afterward disinterred and buried in this burying ground.
When the Presbyterian church prop- erty was purchased a burying ground was laid out at its east end in Temple street. People who had friends buried in the old burying ground caused the bodies to be taken up and removed to .- the new ground, and the Court street property was abandoned as a burial place.
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The project for a village cemetery was advocated and carried through in 1851 by William F. Warner, with some opposition. Mr. Warner was at thai time clerk of the village board of trustees.
The first action taken for the estab- lishment of the cemetery was on Sat- urday evening, March 8, 1851, at a ·public meeting of citizens at the court house, when resolutions were adopt d. directing the village trustees to pur- chase suitable land for a village bury- ing ground and authorizing a tax of $1,500 to be levied within three years, for the purpose of paying for the land, fencing it, and putting it in proper condition.
There was a difference of opinion as to where the cemetery should be loca- ted, some of the people desiring that it should be on level ground, others favoring the present site on the hill north of the village as the most de- sirable, for the reason that the land would never be needed for any other purpose in case the village should grow to any extent and would remain undisturbed as a burying ground for many years. The hill site was finally selected.
In the spring of 1851 the village trustees purchased of George Talcott a piece of eleven and one-fifth acres of land for $952, together with the right of way for a road thereto. East avenue, then known as "the mountain road," was adopted as the road to the cemetery for a distance of 70 rods, at which point a triangular course was taken to the entrance to the cemetery, a further distance of 56 rods, making the entire distance from North avenue
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130 rods. The road was at once laid out sixteen feet wide.
The ground was surveyed in the winter of 1851-2 by Stephen. Dexter, who laid it out intosquares of four lots each, with a walk on two sides of each lot, and in March, 1852, it was named Evergreen cemetery.
The first body buried in the ceme- tery was that of. Mrs. Frank Swift, wife of Dan C. Swift, and daughter of Gideon O. Chase. Mr. Chase went to the cemetery .. and with his cane marked in the 'snow. the spot where the grave was to be dug.
The first keeper of the cemetery was Thomas P. Hall, who was ap- pointed in March, 1852. In January, 1853, he was succeeded by- Prince Van- Ness, who was keeper until his death in 1867.
The cemetery was enlarged by sub- sequent purchases of land adjoining the original plot. In August, 1864, Mr. Talcott sold for $1,500 eleven acres additional land. It was further en- larged in December, 1888, by the pur- chase for $135 an acre of a strip of land 240 feet wide and containing ten and one-half acres, north of and ad- joining the cemetery. The next en- largment was in January, 1897, when a lot in the form of a trapezoid was purchased for $200 of the heirs of George Talcott. It was 50 feet wide on North avenue, about 300 feet on the cemetery line, and about 400 feet deep. The land was purchased in order to give people living in that part of the village easy access to the cemetery. Another addition to the cemetery was made in January, 1902, when the prop- erty of George Brown was sold at par- tition sale. At this sale a piece con-
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taining about sixteen acres adjoining the cemetery was purchased by the village for $910 and added to the ceme- tery.
The Sasana Loft Monument.
On the summit of the hill in the southeastern part of the cemetery stands the Sasana Loft monument, erected to the memory of an Indian girl, who was killed in a railroad acci- dent in 1852 and whose body is buried there.
The Lofts were Mohawk Indians of unmixed blood, direct descendants of the great Thayendanegea (Brant), and they left Canajonarie, in the valley of the Mohawk river, soon after the breaking out of the revolutionary war, and went to Canada West, where they settled in what was known as the Mohawk Woods, township of Thayen- danegea, on the Salmon river.
The family consisted of a widowed mother, a son, and three daughters. The son, Rok-wa-ho Loft, and two of his sisters, Ya-go-weia Loft and Sa-sa-na Loft, leaving their mother and eldest sister at their Canada home, came to the United States, for the purpose of giving concerts, the proceeds of which were to be used in educating and christianizing the Mo- hawk people.
The Lofts gave two concerts in Owe- go in February, 1852, at which time Sa-sa-na, the eldest of the two sisters, was 21 years of age. While they were here judge Charles P. Avery, who was greatly interested in Indians and Indiań history, became particularly in- terested in this family and entertained them at his home.
After leaving Owego they went to Deposit, where they gave a concert
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February 17. The following day the sisters were seated in the rear car of a train at the railroad station, while the brother was buying tickets at the office. An alarm was given that the engineer of a freight train at the sun- mit, eight miles back, had lost control of his locomotive and had abandoned his train, which was dashing down a grade of sixty feet to the mile at ter- rific speed toward the station. , Most . of the passengers were in the station dining room at dinner. The two sis- ters made an effort to escape from the car. Both reached the platform. Ya-go-weia escaped, but Sa-sa-na fell back upon the car, which was almost entirely torn to pieces by the collision, and she was crushed and scalded to death.
Judge Avery caused the body to be brought back to his home in Owego, and her funeral was held February 20 at St. Paul's church, Rev. James Wat- son, the rector, officiating. Her body was taken to the old Presbyterian church yard in Temple street, where it was deposited in the Avery family vault. It was intended by the brother to remove it in the following spring to his home in Canada, but the family was afterward prevailed upon to allow it to be buried here in Evergreen cem- etery. There are persons still living in Owego, who remember, when chil- dren, walking in the procession from the church to the church yard, and have not forgotten the erect figure of the bereaved brother, tall and thin, dressed . in black, and with his long black jet hair falling down over his shoulders.
Two days before the funeral in Owego the coroner's jury at Deposit
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found a verdict censuring the New York and Erie railroad company for the accident. In the following April judge Avery took out letters - of ad- ministration from the Broome county court in the estate of the deceased, his object in this proceeding being to obtain in behalf of the next of kin the amount of damage which the statute authorized and the circumstances of the case rendered equitable ... Judge Avery gave his services free, as he had previously given his hospitality. The railroad compromised suit Sep- teinber 20, 1852, by paying to the In- dian family $2,000, all of which amount was afterward religiously expended in the publication of useful books in the Mohawk language for the education and christianization of the Mohawk people on the Canada reservation.
In May, 1852, some of the ladies of Owego originated a movement to ob- tain funds by subscription, with which to erect a monument to the Indian girl. They did not accomplish any- thing. . In the fall of the same year the ladies of Auburn, Albany, Bing- hamton, and Oxford raised $109.75. Two years later, March 24, 1854, judge Avery, at the request of a committee of gentlemen delivered a lecture at the court house on "Tioga County and Its Early History," to raise funds to finish paying for the monument. The amount realized from the lecture was $34.27.
These amounts, with interest, in May, 1855, amounted to $165.61. The monument was erected that month at a cost of $201.58, the difference being afterward paid by the ladies of Owego .. The monument, which was worth at ordinary prices from $350 to $400 was
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furnished at cost. It is a pure white marble obelisk, standing seventeen feet above the surface of the ground, with bases of veined marble, on a sub- base of blue granite fourteen inches thick and three feet square, resting on a pier of solid masonry, carried up five feet from a rock foundation and laid in cement. It overlooks the Sus- quehanna valley, standing in full view of the village on the highest point in Evergreen cemetery. On the front or obverse side are the words: In mem- ory of 'Sa-sa-na. Loft, an Indian Maiden of the Mohawk Woods, Can- ada West, who lost her life in the Railroad Disaster at . Deposit, N. Y., Feb. 18, 1852, aged 21 years." On the reverse is a handsomely executed de- vice-a single wild rose, with stem broken and a leaf gone. On the west side is this inscription: "By birth a daughter of the Forest; by adoption a child of God." The body of the In- dian girl is buried at the foot of the monument on the east side.
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