Benjamin F. Ferguson

Last updated

Benjamin Franklin Ferguson (died 1905) was an American lumber merchant and co-founder of the Santee River Cypress Lumber Company. The firm specialized in the harvesting of old-growth timber from the blackwater river bottomlands of central South Carolina, in and around the Santee River watershed. The tracts of land logged by Ferguson, in partnership with fellow logging executive Francis Beidler, included substantial tracts of valuable bald cypress. [1]

With profits from the Santee River logging venture, Ferguson became a philanthropist. His 1905 $1 million ($28.8 million today) charitable trust gift funded seventeen of the most notable public monuments and sculptures in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The works include Lorado Taft's Fountain of Time and Fountain of the Great Lakes , Henry Moore's Nuclear Energy at Chicago Pile-1 and Man Enters the Cosmos , and a work by Isamu Noguchi. [2] [3] Ferguson's gift set out terms whereby the Art Institute of Chicago was empowered to select subjects and sites for "The erection and maintenance of enduring statuary and monuments, in whole or in part of stone, granite or bronze in the parks, along the boulevards or in other public places." The Art Institute also funded Carl Milles's Fountain of the Tritons, which sits in its courtyard, with this fund, but by the 1930s began to tire of standard sculpture and sought a court ruling to include buildings within the terms of the agreement. In the 1950s, they used some of the funds to add a wing to the Art Institute of Chicago Building, named the B. F. Ferguson Memorial Building. [4] [5] A relief sculpture of Benjamin Ferguson appears on the back on Fountain of the Great Lakes. [6] The fund also commissioned the recognizable The Bowman and The Spearman sculptures by Ivan Meštrović on opposite sides of Congress Parkway at Michigan Avenue and in Grant Park. [7] The fund has commissioned the Illinois Centennial Memorial Column in Logan Square by Lincoln Memorial architect, Henry Bacon, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Illinois' statehood. [8] One of the more recent fundings was Louise Bourgeois's black granite The Waltz of Hands Jane Addams Memorial in 1996; [9] however, the management of the fund has come under question in the 21st century. [10] Ferguson lived in the Jackson Boulevard District of the Near West Side community area of Chicago, where he built a red brick Queen Anne house in 1883 that took up three city lots. [11] [12]

The ghost town of Ferguson, South Carolina, named after Ferguson, contained the mills operated by the lumberman and his partner. [1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "The Ghost Towns of Lake Marion, Part 2 - Ferguson". randomconnections.com. April 17, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  2. ↑ Gilfoyle, Timothy J. (2006). Millennium Park: Creating a Chicago Landmark . University of Chicago Press. p.  346.
  3. ↑ Greene-Mercier, Marie Zoe (Winter 1982). "The Role of Materials in My Geometric and Abstract Sculpture: A Memoir". Leonardo. 15 (1): 1–6. doi:10.2307/1574334. JSTOR   1574334. S2CID   191380859.
  4. ↑ "High Winds in Chicago". Time . Time Inc. June 13, 1955. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  5. ↑ "1955-1977: Expansion Mid-Century". The Art Institute of Chicago. 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Fountain of the Great Lakes, Art Institute (1913)". Brainsnack Tours. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Ivan Mestrovic (The Bowman and the Spearman)". City of Chicago. Retrieved July 18, 2008.[ dead link ]
  8. ↑ Hermann, Andrew (August 9, 1991). "Public statues are lumberman's legacy to city". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  9. ↑ De LaFuente, Della and Rich Hein (September 30, 1997). "Museum's new bronze 'Spider' isn't exactly garden variety". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
  10. ↑ "The Art Institute's Ferguson Fund Must Always Be for Public Sculpture". The C.A.C.A. Review. Chicago Art Critics Association. April 2004. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Jackson Boulevard". Chicago Architecture Foundation. Archived from the original on July 10, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  12. ↑ "New on the Market - Three Mansions". Chicago Magazine. June 21, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2008.

Related Research Articles

Buckingham Fountain United States historic place

Buckingham Fountain is a Chicago Landmark in the center of Grant Park, and between Queen's Landing and Congress Parkway. Dedicated in 1927, it is one of the largest fountains in the world. Built in a rococo wedding cake style and inspired by the Latona Fountain at the Palace of Versailles, it is designed to allegorically represent nearby Lake Michigan. It operates from May to mid-October, with regular water shows and evening color-light shows. During the winter, the fountain is decorated with festival lights.

Grant Park (Chicago) United States historic place

Grant Park is a large urban park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Located within the city's central business district, the park's features include Millennium Park, Buckingham Fountain, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum Campus. Originally known as Lake Park, and dating from the city's founding, it was renamed in 1901 to honor US President Ulysses S. Grant. The park's area has been expanded several times through land reclamation, and was the focus of several disputes in the late 19th century and early 20th century over open space use. It is bordered on the north by Randolph Street, on the south by Roosevelt Road and McFetridge Drive, on the west by Michigan Avenue and on the east by Lake Michigan. The park contains performance venues, gardens, art work, sporting, and harbor facilities. It hosts public gatherings and several large annual events.

Ivan Meštrović Croatian sculptor and architect

Ivan Meštrović was a Croatian sculptor, architect, and writer. He was the most prominent modern Croatian sculptor and a leading artistic personality in contemporary Zagreb. He studied at Pavle Bilinić's Stone Workshop in Split and at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where he was formed under the influence of the Secession. He traveled throughout Europe and studied the works of ancient and Renaissance masters, especially Michelangelo, and French sculptors Auguste Rodin, Antoine Bourdelle and Aristide Maillol. He was the initiator of the national-romantic group Medulić. During the First World War, he lived in emigration. After the war, he returned to Croatia and began a long and fruitful period of sculpture and pedagogical work. In 1942 he emigrated to Italy, in 1943 to Switzerland and in 1947 to the United States. He was a professor of sculpture at the Syracuse University and from 1955 at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

Lorado Taft 19/20th-century American sculptor, writer and educator

Lorado Zadok Taft was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, The History of American Sculpture, was the first survey of the subject and stood for decades as the standard reference. He has been credited with helping to advance the status of women as sculptors.

1933 Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition

The Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition was part of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The Fair's theme that year was a Century of Progress, and celebrated man's innovations in architecture, science, technology and transportation. The "Homes of Tomorrow" exhibition was one of the most noteworthy exhibits of the Fair, and showcased man's modern innovations in architecture, design, and building materials.

<i>The Bowman</i> and <i>The Spearman</i> Set of two equestrian statues in Chicago

The Bowman and The Spearman, also known collectively as Equestrian Indians, or simply Indians, are two bronze equestrian sculptures standing as gatekeepers in Congress Plaza, at the intersection of Ida B. Wells Drive and Michigan Avenue in Chicago's Grant Park, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The sculptures were made in Zagreb by Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović and installed at the entrance of the parkway in 1928. Funding was provided by the Benjamin Ferguson Fund.

Lumbermans Monument

Lumberman's Monument is a monument dedicated to the workers of the early logging industry in Michigan. Standing at 14 feet, the bronze statue features a log surrounded by three figures: a timber cruiser holding a compass, a sawyer with his saw slung over his shoulder, and a river rat resting his peavey on the ground. The granite base of the statue is engraved with a memorial that reads "Erected to perpetuate the memory of the pioneer lumbermen of Michigan through whose labors was made possible the development of the prairie states." It is also inscribed with the names of the logging families who dedicated their time and efforts to the industry in the area. It was built in 1931, dedicated in 1932 and is managed by the USDA Forest Service. It is located in the northeastern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan along the Au Sable River within Huron-Manistee National Forests. Access to the park is on River Road, which intersects M-65 west of Oscoda, Michigan. Monument Road, from East Tawas, also leads directly to the monument, which is in Oscoda Township in Iosco County. The monument is part of the River Road Scenic Byway, a 22-mile (35 km) drive between Oscoda and South Branch that runs parallel with the beautiful Au Sable River. It is a designated National Scenic Byway.

<i>Fountain of Time</i> sculpture by Lorado Taft in Chicago

Fountain of Time, or simply Time, is a sculpture by Lorado Taft, measuring 126 feet 10 inches (38.66 m) in length, situated at the western edge of the Midway Plaisance within Washington Park in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. This location is in the Washington Park community area on Chicago's South Side. Inspired by Henry Austin Dobson's poem "Paradox of Time", and with its 100 figures passing before Father Time, the work was created as a monument to the first 100 years of peace between the United States and the United Kingdom, resulting from the Treaty of Ghent in 1814. Although the fountain's water began running in 1920, the sculpture was not dedicated to the city until 1922. The sculpture is a contributing structure to the Washington Park United States Registered Historic District, which is a National Register of Historic Places listing.

Victory Monument (Chicago) United States historic place

Erected in 1927, the Victory Monument, created by sculptor Leonard Crunelle, was built to honor the Eighth Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, an African-American unit that served in France during World War I. It is located in the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District in the Douglas community area of Chicago, Illinois. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1986. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on September 9, 1998. An annual Memorial Day ceremony is held at the monument.

Historic Michigan Boulevard District Historic district of Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue between 11th or Roosevelt Road, depending on the source, and Randolph Streets and named after the nearby Lake Michigan. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on February 27, 2002. The district includes numerous significant buildings on Michigan Avenue facing Grant Park. In addition, this section of Michigan Avenue includes the point recognized as the end of U.S. Route 66. This district is one of the world's best known one-sided streets rivalling Fifth Avenue in New York City and Edinburgh's Princes Street. It lies immediately south of the Michigan–Wacker Historic District and east of the Loop Retail Historic District.

<i>Fountain of the Great Lakes</i> Bronze sculpture by Lorado Taft

Fountain of the Great Lakes, or Spirit of the Great Lakes Fountain, is an allegorical sculpture and fountain by Lorado Taft. A bronze work of art, created between 1907 and 1913, the fountain depicts five women arranged so that the water flows in a way that seeks to recall the waterflow through the five Great Lakes of North America. In the Great Lakes, the waterflow begins in Lake Superior at 600 feet (180 m) above sea level and continues eastward through each lake until it reaches Lake Ontario. The Fountain is one of Taft's best known works. It is located in the public South McCormick Memorial Court of the Art Institute of Chicago, in the Chicago Loop.

Art Institute of Chicago Building

The Art Institute of Chicago Building houses the Art Institute of Chicago, and is part of the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The building is located in Grant Park on the east side of Michigan Avenue, and marks the third address for the Art Institute. The main building was built for the joint purpose of providing an additional facility for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, and subsequently the Art Institute. The core of the current complex, located opposite Adams Street, officially opened to the public on December 8, 1893, and was renamed the Allerton Building in 1968.

Statue of <i>The Republic</i> 1918 sculpture by Daniel Chester French

The Statue of The Republic is a 24-foot-high (7.3 m) gilded bronze sculpture in Jackson Park, Chicago, Illinois by Daniel Chester French. The 1893 original statue was destroyed by fire. The present statue is a smaller-scale replica, sculpted by the same artist, which was erected in 1918 in commemoration of both the 25th anniversary of the World's Columbian Exposition and the Illinois' statehood centennial. The statue is now located on the south end of the park at the intersection of East Hayes and South Richards Drive, adjacent the golf course and approximately where the exposition's Administration Building and Electricity Building once stood. The statue was funded by the Benjamin Ferguson Fund, which commissioned French to cast this recreation of the original 65-foot-tall (20 m) statue that stood on the grounds of the Exposition of 1893. Edith Minturn Stokes served as French's model for the original statue. Henry Bacon, the architect of the Lincoln Memorial, designed the festooned pedestal for the replica statue.

<i>Man Enters the Cosmos</i> Cast bronze sculpture by Henry Moore

Man Enters the Cosmos is a cast bronze sculpture by Henry Moore located on the Lake Michigan lakefront outside the Adler Planetarium in the Museum Campus area of downtown Chicago, Illinois.

Illinois Centennial Monument

Illinois Centennial Memorial Column, Logan Square Monument or Illinois Centennial Monument is a public monument in the Logan Square community area and the Chicago Landmark and National Register of Historic Places-listed Logan Square Boulevards Historic District. Built in 1918 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Illinois' statehood, the monument, designed by Henry Bacon, famed architect of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, is a single 70-foot (21 m) tall marble Doric column topped by an eagle, in reference to the Flag of Illinois. Reliefs surrounding the base depict figures of Native Americans, explorers, farmers and laborers intended to show the great changes experienced during the state's 1st century. Although Bacon designed the main column, Evelyn Beatrice Longman designed and sculpted the reliefs.

<i>Dream Lady</i>

Dream Lady, also known as the Eugene Field Memorial, is a bronze sculpture by Edward McCartan. It is located in Lincoln Park, Chicago.

Francis Beidler

Francis Beidler, was a Chicago-based lumberman active in the first decades of the 20th century.

Ferguson, South Carolina Ghost town in South Carolina, United States

Ferguson is a ghost town, a former lumber-mill settlement, in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. It was a company town owned by Northern lumbermen Francis Beidler and Benjamin F. Ferguson, both of Chicago. The co-CEOs founded the Santee River Cypress Lumber Company in 1881 for the purpose of harvesting old-growth timber from blackwater river wetlands in central South Carolina. The firm, which controlled 165,000 acres (67,000 ha) of land, concentrated its efforts on bald cypress timber.

George W. Hotchkiss 19th-century pioneer lumber dealer

George Woodward Hotchkiss was a nineteenth-century pioneer lumber dealer businessman and journalist who wrote on the lumber industry. He was the co-founder and editor of several newspapers, including the world's first lumber journal Lumberman's Gazette. He helped publish a lumber trade manual that sold 40,000 copies. Hotchkiss is considered the father of lumber periodicals.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.