Located east of the Depew Fountain, and north of the Lincoln statue In University Park, stands the often-over-looked bronze statue of Schuyler Colfax, Jr., one of the six men from Indiana who have served as vice president. Sculpted by artist Lorado Taft, this bronze presents Vice President Colfax (1869-1873) who served under Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) during Grant’s first term. The statue was placed originally in 1887 and then moved twice before settling in its current location in 1930. The second move, from its location at the north side of the block, was made in order to preserve a clear line of site from the Federal Courthouse, through University Park, to the Indiana World War Memorial.[1] Colfax, an Indiana District 9 Representative from 1855-1869, was elected Speaker of the House from 1863-1869. As an advisor to the president, Colfax was present at the White House on the evening of April 14, 1865, and was the last Hoosier to see Lincoln alive when he escorted the President and Mrs. Lincoln to their carriage for their evening out at the Ford’s Theater.[2] If his first name sounds familiar, you may be thinking of Elizabeth (Eliza) Schuyler Hamilton, wife of the first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Colfax and Mrs. Hamilton are cousins, sharing a grandfather several generations removed.
[1] Indianapolis Times, “News Clippings,” August 22, 1928. Accessed at the Indiana World War Memorial Museum archive.
[2] “Visitors from Congress: Schuyler Colfax (1823-1875).” Mr. Lincoln’s White House. http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/residents-visitors/visitors-from-congress/visitors-congress-schuyler-colfax-1823-1875/.