Articles in the Union veterans Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)newspaper, The National Tribune, generated interest in a chance to live in Florida in the community founded by New York developer W. H. Lynn and developed as a home for Union veterans of the Civil War.

The first land offerings occurred in January 1911 and the first building erected the following March. The Ladies Auxiliary of the GAR received land from Lynn's company for a GAR hall and a cemetery.

Dedicated in September 1911, the Lynn Haven Cemetery contains the remains of over 100 Union veterans. In 1913, Union veterans began planning a memorial to their fellow soldiers.

Underwritten by donations from GAR members, this statue of a Union soldier was constructed in 1920 and dedicated on February 12, 1921, the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday.

Resting on a 40-foot high pedestal, the statue faces north and is reported to be one of the first privately funded Union monuments

in the South not located in a cemetery.

Image courtesy of William Lees, Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)

Information Provided by the Florida Department of State.