Dear fellow Hanoverians:
\nAs you may have noticed, the cannons in the center of Town next to the
\nCongregational Church and across from the Town Hall and Library have
\nbeen restored. A thoughtful Hanover teacher and long-time resident
\nasked me not too long ago about the restoration – wondering who did it
\nand what the process was; noting also that they looked awesome! So, I
\ndid a little digging and Rick Rockwell, Collections Committee co-chair
\nof the Hanover Historical Society, kindly sent along the following
\ndetail for me to share with all of you:
\n\u201cThis was a lengthy project for us. A few years back, our committee
\ncame up with the idea of restoring the cannons. While they are not
\nowned by us, we thought it would simply a great thing to do for the
\ntown and the cannons themselves. Per our understanding, the cannons
\nwere surplus inventory from the United States Navy and have been on
\nour small Town green as long as anyone can remember.
\nThe cannons are 12 pound Dahlgren Boat Howitzers and were manufactured
\nin 1863. Our first step was getting a Community Preservation Grant
\nfrom the Town of Hanover, which Town Meeting approved. We then put the
\nprocess out to bid in order to obtain someone to take on the
\nrestoration. We were lucky enough to get a bid from the Steen Cannon
\nand Ordnance Works Company located in Ashland, Kentucky. This company
\ncame with great support from the Scituate Historical Society (who had
\na cannon restored by the company) and from a private cannon collector
\nin Essex, Massachusetts who had also worked with Steen Cannon.<\/p>\n
After selecting Steen Cannon for this project, in June of 2012, Steen
\ndrove from Kentucky and took the cannons back to their home state.
\nBack in their workshop is where all of the restoration took place. The
\ncompany removed all the layers of rust and corrosion from the carriage
\nportion of the cannons and painted them black. The bronze cannon bores
\nthemselves had all of the corrosion removed and they are now shiny and
\nnew looking. While they will oxidize with time, this bronze cleaning
\nwas necessary during this process.<\/p>\n
Lastly, once the carriage portions and the cannons themselves were
\nrestored, Steen Cannon cast a pattern and made four historically
\naccurate wheels (as the original wooden wheels had long since
\ndeteriorated in our harsh New England weather). The new wheels were
\nmade out of aluminum; they are made to look like the wooden wheels
\nthat were originally part of the carriage portion of the cannons. The
\nwheels were painted in a grey color using a powder coating technique.
\nThis paint basically baked onto the carriages and should last for
\ncountless years, if not indefinitely. Once the restoration and wheel
\nreplicas were complete, the cannons were brought back to Hanover in
\nNovember of 2012.<\/p>\n
Thanks go out the numerous people in Hanover who gave us advice and
\ndrive to take on the project, to the Town of Hanover DPW, the
\nCommunity Preservation Committee, the Town Selectmen and the
\nHistorical Commission for supporting us and allowing us to take on
\nthis project. All in all, this project involved countless support from
\ngroups and people within our town. The end result is two beautifully
\nrestored cannons, which are a beacon of history for our small town
\ncommon.\u201d
\nSpecial thanks to Rick Rockwell for sending that interesting
\ninformation along, and for his dedication to the project in the first
\nplace! For more information, please contact Rick at
\nrmrhanover@hotmail.com
\n , or Historical Society Executive Director Rachel Lovett at
\nrachel.louise.lovett@gmail.com
\n .<\/p>\n
For “Around Town on the Web”,
\nCathy H-B<\/p>\n
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Dear fellow Hanoverians: As you may have noticed, the cannons in the center of Town next to the Congregational Church and across from the Town Hall and Library have been restored. A thoughtful Hanover teacher and long-time resident asked me … Continue reading