HISTORY REMEMBERED
Benjamin Ragland may be best known in Lake City as an award-winning artist, instructor and display artist at Gateway Art Gallery. But recently, he took on another role—this time, stepping out of the present and into the Revolutionary War era as a re-enactor portraying a Minute Man.
Ragland’s appearance was part of Gateway Art Gallery’s America250 programming, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. His presentation reminded audiences about the remarkable—and largely forgotten—figure in American history: Lady Columbia, America’s first national mascot.
Ragland said the question he heard most often from his audience was a surprisingly simple one: “Why was this emblem of America so overlooked?” It is a good question.
Columbia remained a prominent national symbol for nearly two centuries. She even gave her name to “Hail, Columbia,” a song that served as an unofficial national anthem for much of the 19th century. Eventually, however, her place in the American imagination was taken largely by two newer symbols: the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam.
Today, a newly installed Lady Columbia statue in downtown Lake City is giving this forgotten American symbol another opportunity to be seen—and remembered.
And Ragland, through his recent portrayal of a Revolutionary-era Minute Man, helped Lake City residents look backward in order to better understand one of the earliest symbols of the country we celebrate today. Ragland added, "Sometimes history doesn't disappear. Sometimes we simply need someone to introduce us to it again."
Ragland's next presentation of his very important "Chalk Talks" series will be about Beethoven on March 20, 2027 at the Gateway Art Gallery.