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Contact: Rick Kendall, 603-477-9301
National Park Service law enforcement rangers and New Hampshire State Police seek tips regarding recent vandalism at Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park. Investigators are looking for additional information from anyone who may have observed activity leading to the vandalism.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 1-888-653-0009. Anonymous tips can be emailed to nps_isb@nps.gov or sent by text message or voicemail to 1-888-653-0009.
The damage, reported the morning of October 1 by park staff, includes the defacement of the park’s Temple funerary monument, where the family of Augustus Saint-Gaudens is interred. The monument was tagged with paint and anti-Semitic language and symbols.
“We were heartbroken to discover this act of vandalism to the Temple monument and grave of the Saint-Gaudens family and we condemn both the act and the language used,” said Superintendent Rick Kendall. “We are already working with National Park Service conservators to carefully restore the monument.”
National Park Service museum conservators arrived on site October 4 to begin treatment of the site. They are expected to complete the restoration by October 15.
The Temple was originally constructed in plaster in 1905 for a pageant celebrating Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ 20-year anniversary in Cornish, New Hampshire. Following Saint-Gaudens death in 1907, his wife, Augusta, commissioned a replica of the Temple in marble. The temple is the final resting place of Saint-Gaudens and his family and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 412 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
Last updated: November 13, 2023