Akron - Civil War Obelisk GPS Coordinates: 42.838716 by -96.547266

This attractive monument is at the Riverside Cemetery located about one mile north of town. Thanks to Steve Hanken for the notification of this monument. Thanks also to Dennis Hultgren for his excellent description of this monument,"It is a very nice obelisk, quite tall, slender, 4 sides, and coming to a point at the top. It is made of red granite. it is surrounded by 4 very old pine trees. I imagine those trees were planted at the same time as the dedication of the monument in 1910. This is almost in the center of the Cemetery, on a high location at the conjunction of cemetery roads. There are at least 12 Civil War Veterans buried in the cemetery. Most are buried near the Monument." He points out that all veterans would be immigrants to the area as Akron did not exist at the time of the war and is across the Missouri River from South Dakota. The inscription on the south side is "This stone is sacred to the memory of all soldiers, sailors, and marines who served the United States 1861-1865 wherever their ashes may lie known or unknown." The north side reads "erected A. D. 1910 by the Grand Army of the Republic, Womens Relief Corps and Citizens." The GAR inscription on the front is "Jas. Biddlecome Post No. 461." The WRC inscription on the east side is "Jas. Biddlecome Corps No. 245." Photos taken 9/23/21.

Le Mars - Civil War Soldier GPS Coordinates: 42.787833 by -96.151616

This is a striking monument located in the crossroads within Memorial Cemetery. There is a 10 foot red polished granite base and a 7 foot bronze soldier. There are 131 CW veterans and 10 Spanish-American veterans listed on three sides of the monument. It was dedicated in 1907. The cemetery is on the east side of town at 10th Avenue E and 3rd Street SE. The first photo was taken 4/23/08. The second and third photos were taken 9/22/21. The final photo was taken 5/3/14 at a monument re-dedication with members of the SUVCW Kinsman Camp.

Kingsley - Plymouth County Freedom Rock - GPS Coordinates: 42.596550 by -95.965316

There is a 12 pounder bronze Napoleon, M1857 in the Kingsley cemetery. The dedication was in 1912. The cannon mount was breaking up and a new carriage of PVC was installed in 2015. The new setting is very attractive. The cemetery location is north of Kingsley on Main Street. Thank you to Roy Linn for the photos of the cannon and inscription. There is also a photo with the old cannon mount taken 4/23/08.

A Freedom Rock was placed in Kingsley with one side showing the first county resident who died in the Civil War and the most recent soldier who lost his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Civil War soldier was Private Isaac Gripp of the 29th Iowa Infantry Regiment and Corporal Chad Groepper in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Rock is located east of the Kingsley business district at the Community Center. It was painted by Ray "Bubba' Sorensen. The photo was taken 9/26/21.