Memorializing Sidney Speed

Stop by the library’s second floor to learn about Civil War veteran, Crawfordsville mayor, and renowned stoneworker, Sidney Allen Speed. He designed and built many iconic monuments in Montgomery County and beyond, including General Lew Wallace’s thirty-foot-tall gravesite memorial at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Sidney Speed was one of three Speeds to work in the monument business. His father, John Speed, worked on the Capitol buildings in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, North Carolina, and led the stonework on the National Road construction project. Sidney’s younger brother, Robert Bruce Speed, is the namesake of “Speed & Zook, importers and manufacturers of Italian marble and Scotch granite monuments!” as advertised in an 1878 newspaper.

Sidney Speed began his stoneworking career in 1874, following his service in the Civil War and a stint at Wabash College. He was a trusted craftsman, responsible for high-profile monuments as well as his neighbors’ tombstones. He carved the marker where William Offield first settled in Crawfordsville and the baptismal font at St. John’s Episcopal Church. He also designed the monument for the 18th Battery at the Battle of Chickamauga, the battle that saw him promoted from private to corporal for heroism. A shell had landed among the cannoneers, and Speed picked it up and threw it before it could explode.

In 2018, over a hundred of his sketches and blueprints were found stored at the Crawfordsville Monument Company by the descendants of his competitors. These sketches were donated to our Local History collection and are on display now. Be sure to scan the QR codes on the display for more information or pick up a handout to take home. If you enjoy local history research, all this information and more is available in the Marian Morrison Local History Collection on the 2^nd floor at CDPL.

This display is associated with the Dearly Departed exhibit at the Carnegie Museum, which traces the history of mourning practices in Montgomery County. You can visit the museum between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is free!

For more information on local history and genealogy topics, the Genealogy Club meets on the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. in the Donnelley Room. If you can’t make it to the meetings, a video of the program is uploaded to the library’s YouTube channel.

Our Sidney Speed display will be up through September 2024 and is available to view anytime the library is open. Our regular open hours are Monday-Thursday 9a-9p, Friday-Saturday 9a-5p, and Sunday 1-5p.