Georgetown, Ohio: U.S. Grant, Native Son

Future President Ulysses S. Grant wasn't born in Georgetown, but he did live there longer than he lived anywhere else. The town cements that bond with two different statues of him.

U.S. Grant, Native Son

Future President Ulysses S. Grant wasn't born in Georgetown, but he lived there for 16 years, longer than he lived anywhere else. That was enough of a connection for the town to want a statue in his honor.

At first, the plan was for a bronze Grant on horseback. But such a statue cost a lot of money, and by the time fundraising got underway another, private, horseless statue of Grant went up in town, outside the veteran's home. Undeterred, the town tried to buy a used statue of Grant from Frazeysburg, Ohio, but someone else outbid them. Next, Georgetown was lured by an offer from China, which promised to sculpt a granite replica of the bronze statue of Grant in the U.S. Capitol for only $18,000. Georgetown got the statue, but it was so bad that it was sent back to China.

Next, a local sculptor offered to match China's offer, but he gave up after two years. Then another sculptor, Eric Oderg, was hired to complete the granite statue. He also modified it to make Grant younger and thinner. Titled "Native Son," it was finally unveiled -- after 13 years of effort -- in August 2012, making Georgetown the only town outside of Washington, DC, to have two statues of Ulysses S. Grant.

[RoadsideAmerica.com Team, 08/28/2012]