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Female Statuary Project

For the past several years Historic Oakland Foundation has partnered with Atlanta Town Committee of the National Society of The Colonial Dames in the State of Georgia to clean and restore 27 female sculptural monuments located throughout the cemetery.

Since its creation in 1890, The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America have worked on and sponsored numerous preservation projects across the nation promoting our early American heritage. With the partnership between the NSCDA and the Historic Oakland Foundation continuing to grow and flourish, the PRO team will continue to efficiently complete and promote the project, and acknowledge those who make it possible.

Project Status

Total Cost: $16.5K

100% Complete

Click on the numbers on the map above to see the locations of the monuments restored as part of the Female Statuary project.

The Plan and the Process

The Plan

In early October, a survey was conducted to locate and inspect all of Oakland’s 27 female sculptural monuments in order to determine which statutes to begin cleaning. Five monuments were chosen for their locations, size, and overall time estimated for completion. As is consistent with most of the sculptures in Oakland, these female statues are fixed upon bases and pedestals of varying size. Three of the five monuments required ladders to ensure the entire monument was reached.

The Process

To safely and thoroughly clean the female monuments we used a combination of small and large nylon bristles brushes, two spray bottles, a bucket of water and D/2 cleaner, an ecological cleaner safe for both the monuments and their surrounding landscape. Cleaning the monuments began with dry scrubbing the stone to remove any loose debris or vegetation. Next, the monuments were sprayed with water to open pores in the stone. After letting the stone dampen we spray it with the D/2 cleaner, allowed it sit for a few minutes, and began scrubbing, focusing on areas that were particularly dirty.

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