Andrew Jackson - on the horse
James Knox Polk - to the left
Andrew Johnson - to the right
These plaster models were used for making the molds to cast the bronze statues unveiled on capital square in Raleigh on October 9, 1948 as a memorial to the three United States Presidents from North Carolina -- Andrew Jackson who served from 1829 to 1837, James Knox Polk who served from 1845 to 1849, and Andrew Johnson who served from 1865 to 1869. President Harry Truman made an address and many dignitaries were present for the ceremony.
After the unveiling, it seems an article appeared in the newspaper saying the plaster models were in Providence, Rhode Island begging for a home. Mrs. Sadie Patton, Hendersonville Historian, read the article and thought "Why not bring them to Hendersonville?" Pete Camak, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce at the time, asked "Why not?". Letter writing began immediately but they soon found that accepting a statue was no small task. The statues would have to be crated and hauled to Hendersonville. That meant money. Pete finally persuaded a local trucker to let civic pride and $100 cover the cost.
When the big crates arrived, they were found to contain a loose horse's head, human legs, and other disconnected parts. Those who had worked so hard to bring the statues here sadly agreed to nail up the crates, return them and forget the whole thing. Whereupon, Ted Conabeer, a talented sculptor living in Hendersonville came to the rescue. He built a special ramp up the City Hall steps; hauled the crates up, opened them; refitted all the disconnected parts, patched and bronzed the plaster models.
When renovation of City Hall began in 2003-04, the plaster model again had to be taken apart and the pieces were stored until the renovation was complete. Several items of interest were found in the model when it was disassembled including a newspaper from that time. Local sculptor James Spratt, reassembled the statue in the first floor lobby of City Hall. The wooden rails in front of the statue were the original rails from the courtroom at City Hall when Mayor's court was held here.