CARMEL – The renowned statue of Revolutionary War heroine Sybil Ludington will soon return to its pedestal overlooking Lake Gleneida in the Putnam County seat at Carmel.
In late April, crews from a Fishkill company carefully removed the statue and transported it for restoration. The process includes refreshing the patina and polish on the statue’s surface, as well as refurbishing its base.
Putnam Historian Jennifer Cassidy checked in on Sybil which she described as “Sybil in the Raw” as the statue undergoes restoration.
“Patina testing is underway on the raw bronze state. An incredible undertaking by a talented team of sculpture specialists. The countdown is on for Sybil Ludington’s return to the shore of Lake Gleneida. July 4th, here we come,” Cassidy said.
One of the less-known figures of the American Revolution Sybil Ludington, was all of 16 years old in April of 1777, when she rode on horseback from Danbury to Carmel, to warn of an imminent British attack.
Ludington’s heroic efforts have earned her comparisons to Paul Revere—though she rode 40 miles, twice the distance of Revere.
Historians mapped out the likely route she rode that night to alert her father’s militia that began from the family homestead at Ludington’s Mill in what today is the Town of Kent, through Carmel, Mahopac and into Stormville before returning home.
Anna Hyatt Huntington sculpted the bronze statue in Ludington’s honor, which was dedicated in 1961. It depicts Ludington holding a stick and shouting a warning while racing through the countryside on her steed.
Cast in bronze and mounted on the fieldstone pedestal, the statue is one and one third times life size.
Over the years the monument was subjected to graffiti and vandalism making cleaning and restoration essential to preserve its appearance and honor its significance.
Cassidy has referred to the statue’s absence as “Sybil’s Day at the spa.”
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