The Lenape Diaspora Memorial site will be located where the Lenape village of Gekelmukpechunk once stood. This village was established c.1759 by one of the figures represented in the monument, Chief Netawatwees, “Skilled Advisor”, who the early English and French traders called “The Newcomer”. During the American Revolution this Lenape village was home to 800 people. The site of the monument will be set on a 58’ wide by 40’ deep tract adjacent to the Temperance Tavern Museum and the Olde Main St. Museum on West Canal St. in Newcomerstown, Ohio.
The HEART of Appalachian Ohio will see the completion of this project which has been heavily invested in utilizing both public and private dollars.
The installation will feature six, 7 ft tall bronze sculptures of historic and successive generations of a Lenape family from 1625 to 1850. Each figure will be set in a pose that reflects an important historical moment during their lifetime.
An 8’ handicap accessible brick walkway leading from the sidewalk and around this monument will include twenty historic narrative plaques, 20’’ x 12”, each mounted on a shin high 260-pound gray granite base. Installation of a small pollinator area and native prairie grasses will be added to highlight the aesthetics the Lenape would have known and to serve as a destination on the Appalachian Ohio Pollinator Trail.
The back side of the site will be planted with tall evergreen shrubs that will provide a nice backdrop while viewing the monument and provide a visual separation from the parking area.
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