Old Ben of Yorktown

A blog reader recently asked me about "Old Ben," the cannon that reportedly guarded the Menasha dam for a period of time in the 19th century.  Reportedly, folks down the Fox River blamed Menasha for flooding and as a result, wanted to destroy the dam we had here.  Enter Old Ben.  Meant as a legitimate safeguard from such threats, Old Ben was thought to have been obtained through the efforts of Governor Doty, bringing the cannon down from Fort Howard to our fair city. 

"Old Ben of Yorktown," as the story goes, was originally captured from the British during the Revolutionary War and had been sent to the western frontier, to Detroit, where it was reclaimed by the British during the War of 1812.  After the US took the cannon back at war's end, it was sent first to Mackinac Island and then on to Fort Howard in 1816.  Until the early 1900's, the cannon was stationed at the Racine Street battery, the point where the current Racine Street bridge meets Main Street.  But over time, the cannon disappeared and no one seems to know where or why.  Few references even mention Old Ben. 

The following news item provides a bit more background on Old Ben:

Menasha Record, July 12, 1911

 

photo courtesy of Menasha Public Library and thanks to the Wisconsin Historical Society