Monuments that honor the people who served in the American Civil War can be as culturally significant as they are monumentous, but regardless of their form or intended function, their presence allows contemporary communities to connect with a vital element of the past in order to influence their future. It’s why markers like the one that honors Camp Burnside in Iowa have so much potential to influence the culture and economy of a contemporary community in a profound manner.
Erected in 1925 and located on the east side of Des Moines, the Camp Burnside Marker marks the spot of Camp Burnside where the Iowa 23rd and 39th Regiments were assembled and trained in 1862. It was dedicated in by the SUVCW Dodge Camp Auxiliary and now resides just outside of the modern-day Redhead Park, where a pavilion, playground and basketball court give the community several different ways to connect with one another.
While the park has provided the community with a place to congregate, nearby monuments like the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park as well as American Enterprise Art Park showcase how sculptures and other significant monuments can attract the attention of residents and tourists. The wide-open field that surrounds the area showcases the monumentous potential that resides at the Camp Burnside marker site which could enable a completely new and more substantial connection for the community.
The residential community that surrounds the Camp Burnside marker could prefer to keep the site on the smaller scale and not invite the attention that would come with a monument or entire sculpture park that could draw that much more attention to the area. That kind of decision is one that community leaders should actively discuss and talk through with the businesses and stakeholders, as the economic and cultural benefits of a monument that expands on the presence of the marker could prove to be especially significant.
Regardless of how the surrounding community elects to embrace the Camp Burnside Marker, the historical significance and emptiness of the space underscores the monumentous potential it possesses. Creating a monument or monuments that could enable a far more significant cultural and economic impact for the entire area is something that is easily within reach for community stakeholders.
