The city of Astoria had hoped to finish the restoration of Uniontown’s Doughboy Monument a year ago, long before Sunday’s 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
Although delayed by a truck slamming into its eastern flank, the monument’s restoration is on pace to finish in February.
Named Over the Top at Cantigny after the first successful American offensive in World War I, the monument was dedicated in 1926 in honor of Clatsop County veterans. Money was raised through local subscriptions gathered by the American Legion and an association of Uniontown businesses.
The city’s restoration, overseen by former City Planner Rosemary Johnson, involved Clatsop Community College’s historic restoration program, Tongue Point Job Corps Center and local contractors.
“It was a lot of shuffling and coordination to make sure it got done in the right order,” Johnson said.
The city received a state Historic Preservation Office grant for $12,000, along with a local match of $10,000, to restore the Doughboy Monument, which includes the first public bathrooms added to the National Register of Historic Places. But before the work could be finished, a driver plowed his truck into the eastern flank of the structure, setting back the restoration while the city sought insurance reimbursement and assessed any structural damage.
With the help of outgoing City Councilor Cindy Price, the city later received $5,000 from the Samuel S. Johnson Grant Foundation, named after the father of state Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose. The grant provided the local match for a second State Historic Preservation Office grant of
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