"With flags flying and brass bands playing to lead the way, on October 7, 1872, 10,000 people trudged up from the Duxbury Depot to the crest of Captain's Hill. Many had come to Duxbury by special trains from Boston to witness the laying of the cornerstone of the Myles Standish Monument. Almost as many enthusiastic citizens had the year before attended solemn ceremonies at the consecration of the monument site Designed by architect Alden Frink, the granite shaft rises 116 feet from the foundation to the parapet. The statue of Myles Standish, fourteen feet high, was the work of S.J. O'Kelly of Boston. O'Kelly molded the heroic model in plaster. From the cast, the statue was cut out of Cape Ann granite by Stefano Brignoli and Luigi Limonetta of Bayeno, Italy. The commanding figure of the Pilgrim captain holds the charter of Plymouth Colony in his hand, as he looks east across the bay.
The arch over the bronze doors was made from stone contributed by the New England states; the keystone was a gift from President Ulysses S. Grant to represent all of the United States. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts contributed money for the iron staircase, the bronze doors, and ornamental windows. All other funds for construction were raised by the Standish Monument Association through private subscription. When fund raising became a problem, work on the granite shaft was stopped at a height of seventy feet for a number of years. It was finally completed in 1898, twenty-six years after the cornerstone had been laid with such enthusiasm
The Standish Monument Association gave the monument and surrounding area to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1920. Now known as the Standish Monument Reservation, it is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management.
In 1924, lightning struck the statue of Myles Standish, destroying the head and right arm. Two years later, Boston sculptor John Horrigan cut a replacement head from a solid block of granite and repairs were completed in 1927. In 1980, however, the monument had to be closed as the spiral staircase was deemed unsafe. Funds were appropriated in 1986 to refurbish and restore the well-known landmark in time for Duxbury's 350th anniversary."
Written by Frances D. Leach for the book entitled "The Duxbury Book 1637-1987"