The Woodstock Monument - A Cornerstone to a Monument

The Woodstock Marker
The Cornerstone for a Monument

The Woodstock Monument - 1996

The Monument to Woodstock is the 37.5 acre parcel of land known around the world as the original Woodstock Site. It

stands as a testament to the cultural, social, and historical events that transpired the weekend of August 15-17, 1969, in Bethel, Sullivan County, N.Y.

In the years that followed the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, there has been an absence of any road signs or symbols pointing out the exact location where this historical event took place, but in spite of this, thousands of visitors from around the world, continue to make their way back to “the Garden”.

In 1984, a marker was set at the foot of this field - located at the corner of Hurd and West Shore Roads. The vision of Bethel town historian Bert Feldman and Arthur Shubert, both alumnus of the Woodstock security force in 1969 - the determination and talent of

Woodstock Performers- Woodstock Monument-Left Plate

welder Wayne Saward - and the support of then land owners Louis Nicky and June Gelish, saw this marker take its place 15 years after the original festival.

Designed and sculpted by Wayne Saward, the marker is constructed of cast iron and concrete, weighing 5-½ tons. Its face measures

Woodstock Performers- Woodstock Monument-Right Plate

74 X 47 inches, and is topped with the Woodstock “dove on guitar neck” logo. Below, 3 embossed steel plates, denoting the event and performers, are held in place by titanium alloy screws. The marker, which cost $650 and funded by Louis Nicky, obtained town permits, and took its place as a cornerstone to a Monument, to mark the 15th anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Festival. It is truly a monument worthy of a marker.

                 MY VIEW
                    By: Wayne Saward
                  (Times Herald-Record - June 12, 1993)

The Woodstock Monument - Opposition to Development

Woodstock Monument Designer Condemns Greed

REST IN PEACE
WAYNE SAWARD
1962 - 2009

Article - Times Herald-Record

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