The Statue of Liberty in Butler: the story evolves

Longtime readers may recall our surprising discovery of the Statue of Liberty on the balcony of the Butler Police station. To sum up, this eight foot-high replica - which looks pretty accurate at a distance - stands proudly in a prominent part of town, with no apparent connection to the community besides a general air of patriotism. A street in town is named for the statue's sculptor, Frederic Bartholdi, whom we later discovered was a friend of Richard Butler, the community's namesake whose rubber factory was once the largest employer in town. However, there's no prominent signage to describe the link to curious passers-by.

A bit more digging led us to discover that Mr. Butler had his own connection to Liberty Enlightening the World, as the statue is more officially known. The rubber magnate was the Lee Iacocca of his time, playing a major role in raising funds for the construction of the Statue's pedestal. As secretary of the American Committee for the Statue of Liberty, he donated the services of his rubber factory to ship miniature Statues to contributors. In recognition of his service, the French government named him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.

That solved one mystery, but we were still left to wonder about the origin of the police station Liberty. We figured she probably wasn't actually manufactured in Butler, since the statuettes the rubber company shipped were made by the Newton Bottle Stopper Company of New York. Still, she looks too accurate to have been crafted by a well-meaning fan.

It took us a while, but we got the answer during a visit to the Butler Museum during Morris County's recent Pathways to History weekend. According to the Butler Historical Society folks, their Liberty was one of several that were used as decoration on Liberty Island for the Statue's rededication celebration in 1986. How it got from the celebration to Butler is another question for another day; our friends at the Historical Society invited us to come back to review their substantial collection of Statue-related documents, ephemera and artifacts.

We kind of like this mystery and where it's taken us. Sometimes uncovering the story in pieces is even more fun than getting to the bottom of it in one swipe.

Liberty in Butler: an update

Regular readers know that I volunteer for the National Park Service and a non-profit organization called Save Ellis Island. Besides getting me into some pretty cool behind-the-scenes situations, I get to learn more about the Immigration Museum and the Statue of Liberty than most people would ever think to ask about. Many of the rangers are more than happy to share details they unearth in their own research.

Sometimes that leads to weird coincidences, like when a ranger discovery crosses a Hidden New Jersey jaunt. It happened just the other day, when one of them pointed out that a bust in the building's library portrays New Jersey rubber magnate Richard Butler.

The mystery of the Butler
Statue of Liberty has been solved...
sort of.

What does a manufacturer have to do with a national park? Good question, and I thought I knew the story. You might recall that a few months ago, Ivan and I learned about Butler after discovering a replica Statue of Liberty in the Morris County town that bears his name. The borough also has a street named for the Statue's sculptor and Butler's close friend Auguste Bartholdi. Since my research didn't come up with much more of a connection, I'd figured that the replica Statue was yet another tribute.

Well, apparently I should have looked at it from the opposite direction. Butler wasn't just a friend, he was the Lee Iacocca of his time, playing a major role in raising funds for construction of the Statue's pedestal. As secretary of the American Committee for the Statue of Liberty, he also donated the services of his rubber factory to ship miniature Statues to contributors. In recognition of his service, the French government named him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.

I wish I could say that the fundraising statuettes were manufactured in Butler, but that honor went to the Newton Bottle Stopper Company of New York. Marked with the name of the committee that sold them, the six- and twelve-inch tall keepsakes are no doubt valuable collectors items today.

The provenance of the Butler police station Liberty is still a mystery for us. Did Richard Butler purchase it for the borough, or is it a newer addition to the community? Various larger-sized replicas were cast in France, but lists of their possible locations don't include New Jersey. We'll track it down someday.

Liberty enlightening... the Butler police station?

Our recent visit to Butler brought about a somewhat puzzling find; one that led me to discover a little known link between the borough and the great New York Harbor.

They're both home to the Statue of Liberty.

Yup, you read that right. Lady Liberty surveys downtown Butler from the balcony of the police station.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love the statue as much as the average American, maybe even more. I still cling to the belief that she stands in New Jersey, despite a 1998 Supreme Court decision that upheld the bi-state compact that deemed Liberty Island to be within New York borders. Other New Jerseyans feel so strongly about her that they've erected their own renditions of her on their property.

However, I have never seen a copy of the statue on public property. Why Butler? I mean, it's a perfectly nice town, and I'm not saying they aren't entitled to a Statue of Liberty, but what's the special significance for that community?

The answer may come from a long ago friendship. The town's namesake, business executive Richard Butler, was an art lover and was one of the founders of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Among his friends was Frederic Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty that stands in New York Harbor. My guess is that the statue somehow memorializes that friendship, giving the town their tenuous but clearly prized relationship to Liberty Enlightening the World. There's even a Bartholdi Avenue in town, making it even more certain, in my mind, at least, that the local statue is no coincidence.

We didn't try to see if we could get closer to the Butler version to check it out -- it's at the police station, after all -- but it looked pretty authentic. Except for the color, that is. Perhaps she was erected to celebrate the 100th birthday of her counterpart in the Harbor?