Minuteman statue

Copies of sculptor Allen G. Newman's 1903 zinc "Pioneer" statue were placed in at least 5 towns throughout the western United States in the first years of the 20th century, stretching from Iowa to Oregon. Because they were sculpted from zinc rather than sturdier bronze, none of the original castings have survived to the present day.

Most castings of Newman's frontiersman sculpture acquired local nicknames. The Greeley, Colorado, sculpture was known as the Minuteman. This nickname is apparently a reference to Revolutionary War soldiers. It is likely not connected to the similarly nicknamed intercontinental ballistic missile complexes that were installed in during the late 20th century, nor the 21st century civilian group that seeks to prevent undocumented immigration.

The Minuteman statue was placed on Colorado's teacher's college in Greeley in 1911. It was removed and lost when an adjacent building was remodeled in 1938.

The Greeley normal school was originally known as the State Normal School when it was founded in 1889. This statue was placed on the campus in 1911, in the same year that the school was renamed Colorado State Teacher's College. The school was later known as Colorado State College of Education, at Greeley, and then as Colorado State College, before being renamed the University of Northern Colorado in 1970.

Cullen, Delores. "Copying the Pioneer." The Storm Lake Times October 7, 2015. https://stormlake.com/articles/2015/10/07/copying-pioneer

University of Northern Colorado. Institution Names. Accessed September 4th, 2019. https://www.unco.edu/library/archives/university_archives/university_history/institution_names.aspx

Prescott, Cynthia Culver. Pioneer Mother Monuments: Constructing Cultural Memory. University of Oklahoma Press, 2019.