“Rock Island County Soldier's Monument” by Leonard Wells Volk 1869

This 33' Civil War monument is located on the court house grounds near Centennial Bridge. Inscribed on four sides of its base are the names of 2,299 soldiers from Rock Island county who served in the Civil War.

The monument was dedicated on April 9, 1869, the fourth anniversary of the war's end, before a crowd of 30,000. Its cost was $10,000, which came mostly from citizens' donations.

The monument was created by Leonard Wells Volk, a noted sculptor who operated the Rock Island Marble Works in the 1850s. He later became a leader in Chicago's art movement and a founder of the Chicago Academy of Design. Volk has the distinction of being the only sculptor to model Abraham Lincoln's features from life.