The Mary Jemison Statue is an well known landmark in Letchworth Park. But did you know that there is another Statue to the "White woman of the Genesee"? Not far from the famous Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania is the "other" statue which we show below.
Special thanks to Pete and Sue Piraino and their family who provided us with the modern photographs of the Statue.
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 Photo by the Piraino Family The statue was erected in 1923 by Father Will Whalen. Father Whalen was fascinated by the Jemison story and also published a small booklet entitled the "Red Lily of the Buchanan Valley", a fictional account based upon the famous story. On the title page to the 47 page story he wrote that it was "A romance founded on the life of the Irish girl stolen by the Indians from Buchanon Valley, Adams County, Pennsylvania, in 1878. -- A story too strange and grim not to be true" The image to the left is from a real photo postcard from the early 1920's It appears to be the state before it was mounted on the pedestal The modern photo above shows the original title: Stolen from Buchanan Valley by Indians, 1758" The smaller brass plaque says "Erected June 1923 by Father Will Whalen" |
The
image below shows the statue on the grounds of St. Ignatius Loyola
Church soon after it was erected. The image to the right shows
that the statue as it looks now. You can still see the statue
on the Church grounds on Church Road, Orrtanna Pa. |
 Photo by the Piraino Family |
Directions
to the Statue can be found in our Frequently Asked Questions!
Also see
A Glimpse of Henry Kirke Bush-Brown
A Letchworth Letter on the Mary Jemison Statue
A Description of the Mary Jemison Statue