Town Common
Standing with quiet dignity on Ashby’s town common is a simple granite obelisk dedicated to the Town’s local soldiers who served in the country’s early wars.
Financed with a $100 donation by local philanthropist Lewis Gould, Esq., the monument originally served a dual purpose, commemorating John Fitch and the conflict that led to his capture by Native Americans in the mid-18th century as well as those who “Served in the War of the Revolution.” The soldiers were not mentioned by name.
In the summer of 2018, local resident Henry Moulton, inspired by a visit to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, proposed adding the names of the five Ashby residents who had been killed during the Revolutionary War to the monument. His vision to locally acknowledge their sacrifice was realized on February 2, 2020. The inscription on the monument reads:
To the
SOLDIERS
from Ashby who
served in the War
of the Revolution
1776 to 1783
KILLED
BUNKER HILL
Amos Wheeler
John Meeds
REVOLUTIONARY WAR
Ezekiel Bigelow
William Walker
Simon Patch, Sr.
In gratitude to God
The Love of Liberty
Erected
By Lewis Gould.
1848.