On 10 September 1813 Oliver Hazard Perry, commanding an American fleet of nine vessels, defeated a British fleet of six ships at the Battle of Lake Erie. Perry's pivotal victory was the turning point of the War of 1812 in the Old Northwest, and his success also enabled William Henry Harrison to transport his army to Canada, where a small British army and its Indian allies were defeated at the Battle of the Thames River on 5 October 1813. These dual victories virtually ended the war in the Old Northwest and provided one of the principal bargaining points for the United States commissioners at the peace talks in Ghent, Belgium. Perry's triumph ultimately helped achieve the commitment to peace, and in 1817 led to the signing of the Rush-Bagot Agreement between the United States and Great Britain. An internationally significant treaty which called for disarmament on the Great Lakes, the tenets of the Rush-Bagot Agreement are still in effect today.

The first move toward establishing a memorial to Perry's victory was initiated in 1852 when the Sandusky Register proposed the formation of an association to develop plans for a monument and raise funds. Enthusiasm was abundant at first, and it was not long before the Battle of Lake Erie Monument Association was established, with veteran War of 1812 General Lewis Cass elected as the first president. Annual celebrations commemorating the battle were held and funds for a memorial were solicited. On 5 September 1859 over 15,000 people attended the annual Battle of Lake Erie anniversary celebration, which culminated with the laying of a cornerstone for a great monument to be erected on Gibralter Island. Enthusiasm waned however, and with the onset of the American Civil War, interest in the movement soon evaporated.

Another effort was instigated in 1867, resulting in the formation of the Perry Monumental Association. South Bass Island was the newly suggested site for "a hollow column, something like Bunker Hill Monument, with winding stairs..." Once again funds were raised, and while hope was kept alive for many years, sufficient momentum to get the project off the ground could not be generated.

From 1890 to 1903 eleven separate bills were introduced in the U.S. Congress for the creation of a monument, but every effort proved fruitless. For more than 50 years a gleam of hope had been kept alive in one fashion or another, yet nothing happened. What the movement lacked was a dominant personality; someone who possessed both the drive and determination to impel the dream to fruition - it was only a matter of time. Two significant factors provided the final impetus: the approaching centennial of the battle, and Webster P. Huntington.

Webster P. Huntington was the scion of the founder of the Huntington National Bank of Columbus, Ohio. The younger Huntington broke the family trend, becoming a newspaperman instead of a banker. Early on he became enamored with the concept of a monument to Perry, and in time Huntington became the monument's strongest advocate. Because of his favorable reputation Huntington was approached in 1907 by the Put-in-Bay Board of Trade and asked to help develop a joint resolution, which the board wished to have adopted by the Ohio General Assembly. Asking only for "moral recognition," the resolution called for "a great Centennial Celebration on land and water, to be held at Put-in-Bay from June to September 1913." The Put-in-Bay resolution passed in June, 1908 without opposition. To oversee preparations for the event the Governor of Ohio appointed five commissioners, thus establishing the Ohio Perry's Victory Centennial Commission. Chief among those commissioners was Webster P. Huntington.

As a newspaper editor, Huntington used his pen and his influence to keep the memorial concept alive. By 1909 there was an appropriation bill before the Ohio General Assembly for $10,000.00. Huntington stalked the halls of the Ohio legislature, lobbying long and hard, strongly urging passage. While lobbying at Columbus one day, Huntington enlisted the aid of a man who seemed well acquainted with many of the legislators. Unknowingly, Huntington had just recruited a kindred spirit who would also play a major role in the construction of the memorial - John Eisenmann.

An engineer and an architect, Eisenmann soon became fascinated with the idea of a Perry memorial. Already familiar with the topography of the Lake Erie islands, he executed a large water color conception of a memorial, which would be located on the isthmus connecting the two larger sections of South Bass Island. Presentation of Eisenmann's architectural conception to the governor and legislature instilled the desired spirit, assuring passage of the first major memorial appropriation.

Using Eisenmann's water color, the Ohio commission contacted other states to enlist support for constructing a monument. Ultimately eight more states joined Ohio to financially support a monument concept, and together they formed the Inter-State Board of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commission. The nine states included: Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Unfortunately, their monetary contributions fell far short of the estimated amount needed to fund Eisenmann's design.

In order to acquire additional funds the Inter-State Board courted the federal government for partnership. The memorial movement had by this time generated considerable enthusiasm nationwide, and it was supported by many prominent and influential individuals. Thus the government acceded to the board's request, appropriating $250,000.00 to help construct a monument. To oversee the federal government's interest in the project, President William Howard Taft appointed three commissioners to the Inter-State Board, the most noteworthy among them being Lieutenant General Nelson A. Miles. Federal participation in the project would, however, be contingent upon one important qualifier. President Taft would make the funds available only if the actual memorial design was chosen by means of a public competition. Taft's motive was to employ the newly formed U.S. Fine Arts Commission for the selection process, which would use the Perry Memorial for it's first ever design competition.

In October, 1911 the "Program of a Competition" to select an architectural design for a Perry Memorial was issued by the Building Committee of the Inter-State Board. With a total of 54 designs - submitted by 82 architects from 19 cities -to consider, the Fine Arts Commission conducted the judging competition on 25 January 1912 at the famous Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. The design of associated architects Joseph H. Freedlander and Alexander D. Seymour, Jr. of New York City was selected as the winner. Not selected was the original design of John Eisenmann, who received a consolation award of $1,500 from the Inter-State Board to help compensate for the time and energy he devoted to the project.

While selection of a memorial design was underway the search for a site to build the monument was also taking place. It was generally accepted that Eisenmann's choice of the tombolo connecting the two larger sections of South Bass Island was an ideal location, so an effort was initiated to purchase several parcels of land totaling approximately 14 acres, which in total were owned by six different individuals. After some difficulty the land was eventually procured for a little over $15,000.00; almost half was raised locally by the Put-in-Bay Board of Trade, with the balance being supplied by the Ohio commissioners of the Inter-State Board. Once the land had been purchased, the State of Ohio ceded title of the plot to the United States of America.

By May, 1912 a draft of specifications had been prepared by the architects and estimates for construction of the memorial were solicited. The following month the Building Committee met at Detroit, where the architects presented the four separate estimates that had been submitted. After a motion by Henry J. Watterson, seconded by Nelson A. Miles, the bid of $329,851.00 tendered by John C. Robinson & Sons of New York City and Chicago was accepted. The architects were then authorized to prepare a contract, which was signed by the authorized parties on September 10, 1912, although the amount had been raised to $357,588.00

A separate contract was awarded by the Inter-State Board to John H. Feick, a local contractor from Sandusky, Ohio. Feick was selected to clear the construction site, which was actually a wooded swamp. On 24 June 1912 the first spade of earth was turned, and the 75 year dream was about to be fulfilled.