A Cayuga County native and former US president will be honored this weekend with a new statue.
The Aurora Historical Society in East Aurora, Erie County will hold a public dedication and unveiling of a statue of Millard Fillmore outside his house at the Millard Fillmore Presidential Site.
Kathy Frost is the co-curator of the site. She told Finger Lakes News Radio that the sculpture, created by Susan Giessler of Youngstown, New York, depicts Fillmore as he would have looked when he built the house in 1826 while working as a lawyer in the village.
“So many images of Millard Fillmore are from when he was the president which is from 1850-1853. Here, he’s very youthful.”
Frost added that the statue depicts the future 13th president with a dictionary in his hand, symbolizing his lifelong love of learning.
“Our research shows that he loved books and loved learning. He was pretty much self-taught. He would read a page out of the dictionary each day.”
The statue is seated on a bench to allow people to take their pictures with the 13th president.
The dedication is free and open to the public. It will take place at 2:00p.
While not in its original location, the East Aurora house is the only house of Fillmore’s still standing, other than the White House. The log cabin that stands at Fillmore Glen State Park is a replica of his childhood home.
Tours are available by appointment.
Millard Fillmore was born on January 7, 1800, on a farm in what is now Moravia. He grew up in Cayuga County before moving with his family to East Aurora.
In 1848, Fillmore was elected Vice President on the Whig ticket under President Zachary Taylor. When Taylor died 16 months into his presidency on July 9, 1850, Fillmore became the 13th president of the United States and the second from New York after Martin Van Buren.
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