1907 - A Monument to Mr. Kimball

[NW Mailing List]

Roanoke Times - June 18, 1907

A MONUMENT TO MR. KIMBALL

A Huge Fountain Will be Erected Fronting Passenger Station

   When the late Frederick J. Kimball, president of the Norfolk & Western
passed away there was considerable talk of erecting a memorial to one who,
up to that time, had been Roanoke's best friend. From time to time during
the following years such steps were mentioned and it was pretty generally
known that plans were being made for the erection of that monument.
   President L. E. Johnson and other friends of Mr. Kimball were not idle
and lately plans where adopted for a most appropriate memorial. It will be
a drinking fountain for man and beast and will be placed at the entrance to
the plaza, fronting the Norfolk & Western passenger depot.
   The design is the work of a Philadelphia artist and the contract for the
erection of the memorial has been awarded. It will be of granite, 13 feet,
10 1/2 inches in length and 11 feet in height. At the base will be a pool
for dogs, and higher up basins for horses and drinking places for man.
   The following inscription will front the memorial:

      To Him Unto Whom
       We Owe So Much:
    FREDERICK J. KIMBALL

On the sides and rear will be Biblical quotations. One will be:
   "He prayeth well, who loveth well, both man and bird and beast."

The memorial will cost several thousand dollars and when erected will be a
great ornament to that part of the city and a fit monument to the great
railroader.

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- Ron Davis, Roger Link