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Intersection of Coit Avenue and Hastings Street NE on southeast corner.
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| Notes: |
Charles Belknap is depicted in his Boy Scout uniform because he was the first commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America. He was also mayor of Grand Rapids in 1884 and became a congressman in 1888. When dedicated in 1931, the statue stood in Baldwin Park on the corner of Lake Drive SE and East Fulton Street. It was moved to Belknap Park in 1975 and to its current location in September, 2017. A plaque at the base of the statue reads: CHARLES EUGENE BELKNAP DISTINGUISHED SOLDIER WORTHY PUBLIC OFFICIAL SELF SACRIFICING CITIZEN FAITHFUL FRIEND BORN AT MASSENA, ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY NEW YORK, OCTOBER 17, 1846 SETTLED IN GRAND RAPIDS 1854 SERVED FOUR YEARS IN CIVIL WAR AS CAPTAIN OF COMPANY H, 21ST MICHIGAN INFANTRY AND AIDE TO GENERAL PHIL SHERIDAN CHAIRMAN OF CHICAMAUGA MEMORIAL COMMISSION HISTORIAN OF ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND FOUNDER OF BELKNAP WAGON WORKS A FOUNDER OF GRAND RAPIDS FIRE DEPARTMENT MEMBER OF BOARD OF EDUCATION SEVEN YEARS ALDERMAN FROM THE OLD SEVENTH WARD MAYOR OF THE CITY 1884 MEMBER OF CONGRESS 1889 – 1892 BOY SCOUT COMMISSIONER 1922 – 1929 PATRON OF CAMP FIRE GIRLS RACOUNTEUR AND PUBLISHER OF PIONEER EXPERIENCES DIED JANUARY 16, 1929 BURIED IN GREENWOOD CEMETYARY THIS MEMORIAL ORIGINALLY INSPIRED BY THE BOY SCOUTS AND CAMP FIRE GIRLS, HAS BEEN ERECTED BY FRIENDS WHO ADMINRED CAPTAIN BELKNAP’S PATRIOTIC PUBLIC SERVICES HIS WINSOME FRIENDLINESS AND SIMPLICITY AND THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY OF HIS EXEMPLARY LIFE
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