Faith, 36 foot sculpture
The National Monument to the Forefathers #27, formerly known as the Pilgrim Monument, commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims. Dedicated on August 1, 1889, it honors their ideals as later generally embraced by the United States. It is thought to be the nation’s largest solid granite monument.
Carved of local granite in Hallowell in the site of the current Camden National Bank
The “Faith” statue, modelled after the sculptor Hammatt Billings’ mother, stands atop a 45 foot pedestal and ringed by 4 additional figurative sculptures.
This sculpture was central to the early sketches of the mural.
artist, Chris Cart
Carved in Hallowell
Located at 72 Allerton Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the 81-foot-tall (25 m) monument was commissioned by the Pilgrim Society. The 36 foot solid granite Faith figure stands on a 45 foot granite pedestal. The original concept dates to around 1820, with actual planning beginning in 1850. The cornerstone was laid August 2, 1859 by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, under the direction of Grand Master John T. Heard. The monument was completed in October 1888, and was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on August 1, 1889.
Hallowell stonecutters, Hallowell Granite
Statuary cutter Joseph Archie stands on Faith’s outstretched arm. He was the primary cutter and Italian immigrant, Prostasio Neri, supervised the carving of base statues Morality, Education, Law and Liberty. Although the statue appears solid, it was carved in sections and most likely transported to Plymouth in one of the two large ships owned by the Hallowell Granite Works.
The photo was taken in the cutting yard on Franklin Street and the one-time steeple of the Baptist church can be seen in the background.
Creating the granite texture in this large sculpture and the other granite elements in the mural design took a lot of work layering close colors and splattering fine paint drips. Any simpler rolled or brushed texture technique ended up looking like concrete rather than Hallowell’s elegant white granite.
artist, Chris Cart
…a lot of work but I think worth it.
local heritage
Tony Masciadri, #26, shown on the right with the heavy hammer is the owner of S Masciadri & Sons Monuments in Hallowell. Tony is the direct descendant of some of Hallowell’s original stone carvers from Italy, Settimio Masciadri. The family stone carving business was passed from grandfather to father to Tony, who has spent his life carving granite in Hallowell.
Jon Doody, #28, on the left, is a local stone sculptor who carved the granite sturgeon that can be seen today in Granite City Park in Hallowell.
stone cutters from Italy, Spain and Scotland
Settimo Masciadri came from Italy near Lake Como, in 1895 when Governor Joseph Bodwell’s company Hallowell Granite Works sent out a worldwide call for stone carvers.
Settimio worked for Bodwell for 5 years and got his United States citizenship. He returned to Italy and married his girlfriend. They returned in 1902 where their son Americo, Tony Masciadri’s father, was born.
Americo grew up working stone like his father. He also worked for the WPA for a time. Then Americo and Joe Perrazi bought Kennebec Monument which eventually became the Masciadri & Sons Monument that we know today.
In the 1970’s Tony Masciadri came back to town to assist his father in the family stone monument business. He stayed on to take over the business. He only recently retired in 2023. Though he still does some work at the shop.
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