Life-size Elizabeth Taber statue commissioned in Marion

MARION — A life-size bronze statue of Elizabeth Taber will soon be installed in Centennial Park facing two of the buildings she helped build on Spring Street: the Town House and the Elizabeth Taber Library. 

The Celebrate Elizabeth Taber Committee commissioned the statue of “Marion’s Fairy Godmother”, to celebrate her contributions in Marion and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment in 2020, which provided women the right to vote. 

Taber was born and raised in Marion, but moved to New Bedford with her husband when she was 33-years-old. She returned when she was 79-years-old and built multiple buildings which still stand today: the Town House, Taber Hall, Elizabeth Taber Library and Natural History Museum, Congregational Chapel and the Music Hall. 

New Bedford sculptor Erik Durant was chosen by the committee to make the statue, which will depict Taber sitting on a bench with a book in one hand and a pipe in the other. 

It is anticipated that the cost of the statue, landscaping and a maintenance fund will be approximately $150,000, which will be raised through a town-wide fundraising effort. The Sippican Historical Society will match all donations to the project up to $50,000 and Tabor Academy has already made a $10,000 gift to honor the founder of the school.

According to Judith Rosbe, the Chairman of the Elizabeth Taber Statue Committee, the statue will not cost the town any money. When work on the statue is completed, ownership will transfer from the society to the town along with the maintenance fund for site preservation.  

“We’re very pleased to be a part of this,” said Frank McNamee, president of the Sippican Historical Society. “We feel it’s important Elizabeth Taber’s memory and legacy is preserved in town and we feel the creation of this sculpture will do that for generations.”