Oakley Explorations
Learn more about Oakley by following the links below:
WWI Doughboy statueAddress:
126 E. Second Street
Email Address: info@buffalobilloakley.org About this Exploration: Located in the city park on the grounds of Oakley city office, is one of Kansas' three "Spirit of the American Doughboy" statues honoring our WWI soldiers. The acquisition of the sculpture and the monumental base were authorized by the Logan County Board of Commissioners in September of 1921 and dedicated on May 4, 1923. The reason 1920 is shown for the ending year of the war is unknown. The other two statues are located in Axtell and Parsons. Oakley's and Axtell's are made of pressed copper and the one in Parsons is stone.
Our soldiers in WWI were popularly called "Doughboys" and the statue's proper name is "Spirit of the American Doughboy". The sculptor was Ernest Moore "Dick" Viquesney, son of a French immigrant sculpture. In total, including originals made in Viquesney's lifetime, replacements of originals, copies, those in storage, etc., about 140 are known to be standing in courthouse lawns, town squares, and other locations and in storage, all across America. It was Viquesney's intention that at least one of his "Spirit of the American Doughboy" be located in every state in the union, however, record has them recorded in only 39 states. this information was reprinted from doughboysearcher.weebly.com
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Laurie Millensifer
3083 US Hwy 83
Oakley, KS 67748 Phone: 785.671.1000 Fax: 785.671.1244 |