VOLUME 22/NUMBER 3/SUMMER 2024       (c) Connecticut Explored

The restored Gallaudet Monument on campus at the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford. photo: Francis Miller, Conserve Art

By Christina Volpe

In 1814, the newly minted Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet met Alice Cogswell, the deaf daughter of his family’s neighbor, Dr. Mason Cogswell. Inspired by his initial attempts to communicate with Alice and sponsored by her wealthy father, Gallaudet traveled to Europe, where, unlike in the United States, schools had been established to educate deaf students. In France, Gallaudet met Laurent Clerc, a deaf teacher, and convinced Clerc to return with him to Connecticut. There, Clerc learned English, Gallaudet learned sign language, and together with Mason Cogswell, they founded the nation’s first continuously operating school for deaf persons in Hartford.

The school, now known as the American School for the Deaf, welcomed its first students in 1817, with Gallaudet leading as principal. Gallaudet’s dedication to his teaching advanced deaf education nationwide, setting a standard for both students and teachers. The American School for the Deaf is the birthplace of American Sign Language and was at the center of a transformative period that provided the Deaf community with access to education, social inclusion, and the development of unique cultural customs and identities. The Gallaudet Monument, built at the school in 1854 to honor Gallaudet and his contributions to the development of American Sign Language and deaf education in America, stands as a testament to the efforts of the Deaf community to commemorate a remarkable man. The history of the monument’s preservation serves as a reminder of the fragility of memory and memorializing.

Sculptor Steven Peterson with his plaster relief sculpture.
photo: Francis Miller,
Conserve Art

With funds raised by the New England Gallaudet Association, the Deaf community provided for the construction of the Gallaudet Monument, marking a crucial moment in American public art. Standing over 20 feet tall, the monument boasted intricate sculptures crafted by notable deaf artist John Carlin of Philadelphia. Its impressive relief sculptures deviated from other public sculptures developed at the time. The front piece depicted Gallaudet not as a noble figure but as an everyday person teaching three deaf students sign language. According to conservator Francis Miller’s 2019 conditions assessment of the monument, the back carving, which spells “Gallaudet,” may be the earliest portrayal of the American Sign Language manual alphabet on a national public monument.

Albert Newsam, Gallaudet Monument/On Stone, ca. 1855. Lithograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Despite the collective effort to erect the monument, within 20 years, it had fallen into disrepair. Concerns about its state prompted the formation of the Gallaudet Monument Repair Committee in 1892. Progress was slow, and by 1912, newspapers far removed from Hartford raised alarms about the memorial’s deteriorating condition. On May 15, 1912, The Kansas Star asked: “Shall this monument be allowed to fall to ruin?” Efforts to raise funds continued, with the goal of restoring the monument set to coincide with Gallaudet’s birthday on December 10, 1912. Unfortunately, little money was raised, and in 1915, at the 11th Convention of the National Association of the Deaf, the urgency of the situation was evident as pictures circulated showing the monument’s cracked and broken state. Discussions about its fate intensified, especially as rumors about the school’s relocation circulated. Eventually, in 1919, when the American School for the Deaf moved to its current campus in West Hartford, the decision was made to dismantle the monument.

For decades, the monument’s fragments lay in storage, largely forgotten, until a resurgence of interest in the early 2000s was sparked by the discovery of several pieces of the monument on school grounds. In 2019, spurred by donations from school graduates and the Deaf community, plans for the monument’s return gained traction. Conservator Francis Miller was enlisted to oversee the restoration efforts. Following U.S. Department of the Interior standards for conserving public monuments, Miller expertly guided the project with precision and care. His approach encompassed a comprehensive range of restoration techniques, including cleaning, stain removal, consolidation to strengthen deteriorating stone pieces, and injections to fill and repair cracks in the monument’s surface.

One significant aspect of the restoration involved creating replicas of the original sculptures to replace damaged sections. To achieve this, Miller proposed creating a mold for the front relief sculpture and casting an exact copy in bronze. This process preserved intricate details of the original artwork while ensuring its longevity. The restoration also included the unique back relief sculpture, which needed to be completed or repaired. Drawing upon the expertise of artists from the Deaf community, Miller created a full model of the back relief. This collaborative approach not only honored the monument’s historical significance but also celebrated the contributions of the Deaf community to its restoration.

Front relief carving designed by John Carlin and carved in James G. Batterson’s Marble
Steam Works in Hartford. Detail from a photograph in the archives of the Cogswell
Heritage House, American School for the Deaf.

Under Miller’s guidance, the restoration project aimed to repair the physical damage and preserve the monument’s cultural and historical significance for future generations. In 2020, with approval from the West Hartford Town Council, the restoration project was poised to return the Gallaudet Monument to its former glory. From grassroots efforts to erect the monument in 1854 to April 2022, when the restored monument was unveiled on the West Hartford campus, preservation has been the guiding force. Restoring the monument was not just about fixing what was broken; it was a pledge to remember and share a story that is as vital today as it was centuries ago.

Christina Volpe is a public historian and PhD student in humanities at Salve Regina University. She holds an MA in Public History from Central Connecticut State University and currently serves as curator of the Barnes Museum in South