Before the Court of Flowers, 'high on a pedestal,' stood Solon Borglum's Pioneer: 'the old bearded figure with axe and rifle, on his lean horse,' sharing 'that virile spirit of realism that ran through all the Exposition statuary' (Todd). It was placed as the deliberate counterpart to Fraser's End of the Trail before the matching Court of Palms, the settler's arrival opposite the Native rider's exhaustion.
Barry's companions argued over it. The figure seemed too old to be a typical forty-niner, but they decided it justified itself by suggesting a pioneer who had grown old with the community, and saw in it the poet Joaquin Miller. 'It's Miller sure enough,' said the architect, 'even if the likeness isn't close. But why those military trappings on the horse?'
Before the entrance, high on a pedestal, stood Solon Borglum's equestrian statue of the "Pioneer," the old bearded figure with axe and rifle, on his lean horse.
Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2 (1921), ch. LI
At a glance
- Sculptor: Solon H. Borglum, younger brother of Gutzon Borglum (Wikipedia).
- Visalia obtained it for $150, the cost of shipping from San Francisco (Wikipedia).
- It stood in Mooney Grove Park, Visalia, from 1916 to 1980, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 (Wikipedia).
- An earthquake toppled it in 1980 and it was destroyed, its internal metal having rusted away; only the base remains (Wikipedia).
Afterward
Moved to Mooney Grove Park, Visalia, in 1916; toppled and destroyed by an earthquake in 1980, leaving only its base, which remains on the National Register (Wikipedia).
Sources
- Todd, The Story of the Exposition, vol. 2, chs. LI, LXI
- Barry, The City of Domes (1915), ch. XII
- Wikipedia: The Pioneer (Visalia, California), later history