Historic Civil War cannon sold by Kendall officials

Residents in the Town of Kendall are upset that a historic piece of town history was sold late last year. Because of the weather, the missing cannon wasn't noticed by residents until recently.

Town Supervisor John Becker said no one has been able to determine the origin of the Civil War era cannon but said it was situated in the town sometime back in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

"For a time, the government gave Civil War cannons away to municipalities for placement at courthouses or cemeteries," Becker said.

The cannon, which is valued at approximately $20,000, was sold to a private Civil War Artillery museum in Pennsylvania, Becker said.

"The museum owner had approached the town board several times in the past wanting to purchase the cannon," he said. "This past fall, they offered us $20,000 for the cannon's barrel and we figured if it was worth that much just sitting in the cemetery there was a chance that someone might steal it and we felt it was best and safest for it to be preserved in a museum."

The town received $15,000 and a replacement replica cannon. The replica will be installed when the weather breaks, Becker said.

"The money we received for the canon was put into a trust fund account and we'll use the interest to help defray expenses of upkeep in the cemetery," he said.

Mike Lester said the cannon was a national monument that was given to the town.

"It's illegal for the town to have sold that cannon," he said. "Much of the cannon's value came from its history, not just a dollar amount. The cannon was a big draw because it was a rare antique."

Lester, a scout leader, said for the past seven years he has led scouts on trips through the cemetery to visit the cannon. "The boys really looked forward to seeing an authentic cannon when we took the walking trips," Lester said. "The whole town got duped with the sale of this cannon and I think there is some fraud to all of this."

Bruce Stiles, who operates the museum, Lester said, is a collector, not a museum curator.

"We've heard that Kendall's cannon has already been re-sold and relocated," Lester said. "We also know that there is no way the average person could have gone into that cemetery and stolen the cannon - it's not physically possible."

Lester said that if the town board had asked, he and several other residents would have volunteered their time and materials to secure the Civil War cannon to its base to prevent its possible theft.

Becker said the decision to sell the cannon was the best one for the town. "The sale was approved by the board and before the decision was made, we polled several long time families to gauge their feelings on the sale," Becker said.