Up-close look by boat at Susquehanna’s Statue Of Liberty as landmark celebrates 40 years
DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. —
For 40 years, a little piece of New York Harbor has stood above the Susquehanna River, becoming one of Dauphin County’s most recognizable and quirky landmarks.
The Statue of Liberty replica, visible from Route 22 between Dauphin and Marysville, has long drawn curiosity from drivers and pride from local residents.
The statue stands as a landmark for the community.
“It’s a landmark for Dauphin,” Kathy Fisher, librarian for the Dauphin Middle Paxton Historical Society, said.
“I just really can’t think of anything else like it that we have here,” Fisher said.
Four decades later
This year marks 40 years since the first statue went up.
“It’s amazing that two generations have passed and people still are amazed by it,” Gene Stilp, creator of Lady Liberty, said.
“And people still look at it. And it still inspires people,” Stilp said.
For years, people wondered who put it there.
The secret beginning
Stilp said he made the first and second Statues of Liberty that sit in the river.
“I had the honor of making the first and the second statues of Liberty that sit in the river,” Stilp said.
He said the project began in 1986.
“It was only supposed to last eight weeks, till Labor Day, when we were going to sneak it down,” Stilp said.
He said he was inspired by the restored Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.
“They were going to have a great celebration for the restored Statue of Liberty in New York City’s harbor,” Stilip said. “And I thought we should do something to honor her here.”
He chose the pier after measuring from shore.
“I was coming down the river one day. I see the old, northern Central Railway pier out there,” Stilp said. “I said that would be very good if she’s pretty centrally located.”
Building the statue
The statue had to be built in sections, because it kept getting bigger and bigger in the process of planning.
“The concept was to build a structure whereby every foot there would be a piece of plywood,” Stilp said.
The design allowed wind to pass through.
“At first I didn’t know, but then I started to put a little 4×4 up,” Stilp said. “And then I started putting plywood every one foot.”
He said the hardest part was the arm, head and crown.
The night it went up
Stilp said the statue was taken out by canoe and jon boat.
“We raised the big statue up horizontally, and then stood it up,” Stilp said. “We had one guy who free climb the pier, threw the ropes down. The rest of us pulled ourselves up there.”
He said the group left quietly in the middle of the night.
“We went very, very, very late at night. 2:00 in the morning, had pizza and some beers and took a vow of silence,” Stilp said.
The reaction
The statue quickly became a local sensation.
“We sat on the riverbank and we watched all these cars, you know, stopping and looking,” Stilp said. “The state police were going nuts trying to get traffic moving,”
Keeping it up
Stilp said he eventually decided to leave it in place.
“Should I leave it up there longer than eight weeks? And the answer to me was yes,” Stilip said. “Let people enjoy it. People liked it.”
The first version stayed up for years, until storm damage brought it down in 1992.
Bringing it back
The community helped raise money to rebuild it.
“People all over the area and also from out of town, they made donations,” Stilpsaid.
“They made T-shirts and sold T-shirts at different places,” Stilp said. “We had made hats. Wherever we could make money, we did.”
The effort raised more than $20,000.
The new statue
To build the new version, Stilp said he used a small Statue of Liberty and even had it scanned.
“I called a friend, and I said, you know, I have a small Statue of Liberty,” Stilp said. “Do you think we can run this through the Cat scan?”
The new statue arrived in 1997.
WATCH THE ORIGINAL SEGMENT FROM WGAL:
“We came right here to Fort Hunter, right across the street in two big pieces,” Stilp said. “And then two days later, the helicopter came in and airlifted it.”
Local memories
For Trudy Koppenhaver, a 73-year resident of Dauphin County, the day remains unforgettable.
“I remember it just like it was yesterday,” Koppenhaver said. “Like you remember where you were when JFK passed away,”
She said her family was surprised by what they saw.
“What is going on out in the river?” Koppenhaver said. “And they were like, oh my gosh, there’s the Statue of Liberty.”
She said the day was a community moment.
“We stayed around and talked with everybody,” Koppenhaver said. “It was just a glorious time.”
Wilbur Evans Jr. said the first day brought traffic problems.
“I remember the first day the statue went up,” Evans said. “There were accidents all over the place.”
He later helped remove the old statue.
“I helped take the old one out,” Evans said. “It was mostly Venetian blinds, plywood and spray foam, but it was still really heavy.”
“We had to get out of the boats and we had ropes,” Evans said. “It was several hundred pounds that we had to get up over the embankment.”
Preserving the history
Fisher said the historical society keeps items from the statue’s history.
“All these items you see here, the T-shirts, the hat, the mugs, they were all sold to raise money,” Fisher said. “This was the committee to save the statue,”
She said preserving the past matters for future generations.
“Maybe our grandchildren won’t remember when the statue went up, but they can look in our books,” Fisher said. “We have to preserve it for future generations.”
What it stands for
Stilip said the statue represents American values.
“Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. It stands for the welcoming of immigrants.” Stilip said.
“It’s not my statue,” Stilip said. “It belongs to the people of Pennsylvania.”