Photo by Joselyn King Wheeling historian Margaret Brennan, left, is presented with a plaque by West Virginia Commissioner of Arts, Culture and History Randall Reid-Smith Monday designating her “A Distinguished West Virginian.”

WHEELING — The Soldiers and Sailors Monument at West Virginia Independence Hall was rededicated on Memorial Day, and the woman most responsible for its newest location received a surprise honor during the ceremony.

Wheeling historian Margaret Brennan was presented with the Distinguished West Virginian Award by Randall Reid-Smith, state commissioner of arts, culture and history. The award comes from the West Virginia Governors Office, and is the highest honor that can be presented to a citizen by the governor.

Brennan oversaw the fundraising effort for moving the monument from its last location at Wheeling Park to outside West Virginia Independence Hall. Her efforts brought in about $135,000, according to Reid-Smith.

“We could not have done this without Margaret,” he said.

A surprised and humbled Brennan said no one person can achieve such a success on their own.

“It’s just impossible,” she said. “It’s taken three years…. We raised over $135,000, and that’s a lot of money in the community.

“In the end, it’s all about the men who fought. Thank you.”

Brennan credited the record-keeping efforts at the New England Granite Company for setting the project in motion. The company first was commissioned to craft the monument — the first of its kind in the young state of West Virginia — in 1878.

It was finished in 1880, but sat for a year while Wheeling leaders where it would be placed.

The monument didn’t arrive in Wheeling until 1881, when it was first placed in Capitol Square where the City-County Building is today.

The monument, though, wasn’t dedicated until 1883. The city had hoped to bring then Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln — the son of former President Abraham Lincoln — to Wheeling for the ceremony, but the visit never materialized, according to information provided by Brennan.

Wheeling Jesuit University History Professor Joseph Laker spoke at Monday’s rededication, and detailed the multiple moves of the monument over time.

In 1956, it was first moved from Capitol Square to make room for a new City-County Building.

It was taken to temporary location near the current Hampton Inn on National Road in Woodsdale before being placed on the Linsly Campus for short time. It 1955, it was moved again to Wheeling Park, where it was sat for the next 62 years until being moved to its current location in 2018.

Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott spoke Monday, and said he remembers as a child riding his bike to Wheeling Park and seeing the statue there.

“The location was strong in beauty, but weak in visitors,” he said. “I had no appreciation of the role my state and city had played in the Civil War.”

“It is a monument that is meant to be seen and touched.”

Elliott said city council soon will consider a resolution giving permanent ownership of the monument to the West Virginia Division of Arts, Culture and History.