Historic “Under the Oaks” Plaque Restored

The restored plaque at Under the Oaks Park.  Courtesy photo.

(July 11, 2022 8:29 PM)  In a partnership by the Jackson County Michigan Historical Society and the Jackson County Republican Committee, the 112-year-old “Under the Oaks” historic plaque was restored to its original condition. “I’m extremely proud of this parentship. Projects like this show how working together, we can achieve great heights, such as preserving this historic anti-slavery plaque that will inspire generations to come,” said Maurice Imhoff, President of the Jackson County Michigan Historical Society.

The historic plaque was restored by Giorgio Gikas and his assistant Clifton English of Venus Bronze Works, which is one of the top sculptural restoration firms in the country. Its founder, Giorgio Gikas, learned his trade in the artists’ foundry run by his family in Athens, Greece, and he brought the skills to the U.S. in the 1970s.

On June 4, 1910, President William Howard Taft visited Jackson to dedicate the monument. “History is worth preserving, and 168 years ago the Republican Party was founded at ‘Under the Oaks’ right here in Jackson.” 

Another noteworthy visit included presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower. On October 1, 1952, Eisenhower visited Under the Oaks Park where the monument is located. According to a Jackson Citizen Patriot article, Eisenhower told the crowd, “I had heard of the Republican rock. I always believed it was a lonely rock. I pictured it in the middle of a river or a lake or something. Instead, look what I found!” Several years later, on the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Republican Party, Vice President Richard M. Nixon came to Under the Oaks Park and spoke next to the plaque.

On July 6, 1854, a state convention of anti-slavery men was held in Jackson to found a new political party. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” had been published two years earlier, causing increased resentment against slavery, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of May 1854, threatened to make slave states out of previously free territories. Since the convention day was hot and the large crowd could not be accommodated in a downtown meeting room, the group adjourned to an oak grove on “Morgan’s Forty” on the outskirts of downtown. Here a state-wide slate of candidates was selected and the Republican Party was born. 

The Under the Oaks Park is located at the corner of Second and Franklin Streets.