By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
The Adams County Historical Society has announced that it is working in conjunction with the Decatur Cemetery and Adams Memorial Hospital to restore the tombstones of French Quinn, one of Decatur’s most respected and revered citizens.
Society officials say that over the years the stones have become discolored and covered with lichen and other such growth that can be hazardous to gravestones.
The growth can trap moisture on and under the surface of the stone, thereby leading to cracks. It can also contain an acid that will, in time, dissolve the stone and mortar.
“It is our desire,” the society officials said, “to remove the growth that causes deterioration of the stone and replace the concrete bases, thereby honoring an outstanding man who gave much to his community.”
A historian, author and lecturer, Quinn was born in 1872 and died in 1948. His obituary notice said he was “an inspiring influence in every gathering and in every worthy cause and contributed beyond measure to the development of his home town. He had an inspiring influence in every gathering and in every worthy cause and contributed beyond measure to the development of his home town.”
Some of his efforts as a community activist are listed by the historical society as follows:
* He spearheaded a street tree program which accounts for the large trees lining Second Street today.
* He directed the Elephant Rock project, bringing a 50-ton glacial boulder that laid upstream in the St. Mary’s River, to the Adams County Courthouse square as a tribute to Gene Stratton Porter.
* He led the huge effort to establish and build the Peace Monument on the Courthouse Square. It is believed to be the first monument dedicated to Peace in the United States.
* In order to preserve some of the wilderness and old growth timber which was rapidly being destroyed by the growth of the community, Quinn worked with the family of Oliver Hanna and his wife Mary Nuttman Hanna, who eventually deeded to the city the more than 45 acres known today as Hanna-Nuttman Park. That land has a deed restriction to remain as a park and preserve the old growth timber stands.
* As an economic development project in 1919, Quinn and others reached an agreement with General Electric to establish a small motor plant in Decatur. The plant closed in 1987.
* Quinn was the author of a history of Adams County, a “Short, Short Story of Adams County.” It was a compilation of many stories, facts and memories, and is a sought-after book today.
* He was the first president of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce.
Anyone who would like to donate to the project should go to the Adams County Historical Society’s website.
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