WEST HARTFORD, CT — This week’s Hidden Gem kind of makes you go “whoa,” not only because of a prominent statue, but who carved it and his lasting impact nationwide.

OK … let’s set the stage. You’re shopping in the Blue Back Square commercial district in West Hartford. You’re at roughly 20 Main St. and gaze toward a set of red brick, traditional New England buildings.

Poof … there’s Noah Webster.

Most of us know the contributions of Mr. Webster. After all, he essentially taught us how to understand words before we use them. Aside from the statue, his West Hartford home also serves as a testament to his legacy.

Back to the statue …

To Webster’s left is a monument to Korczak Ziolkowsky, a professional artist who lived from 1908 to 1982.

Ziolkowsky was Born is Boston and was self-taught. He moved to West Hartford and began selling his works throughout New England and, in 1932, gifted the 13-and-a-half-foot Webster statue to the town, a two-year-project.

Then, in 1939, he was living large in South Dakota and assisted Gutzon Borglum with caving Mount Rushmore.

He then returned to South Dakota and initiated the carving of the Crazy Horse Monument that measures 563-feet high and 641-feet long.

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Picture Connecticut is a weekly series that features images of the state, past and present.
Here are past images:

2024

• The Cirque, Hartford
• The Amerbelle Spillway, Rockville
• The ECSU Gallery, Willimantic
• Great Captain Island, Greenwich
• Bobblehead Madness, Storrs
• Bobby Sands/Hunger Strike Memorial, Hartford
• Mr. Jonathan Goes To Hartford, Hartford
• The Latest Discount Airline, New Haven
• State Groundhog Gets Arrested, Manchester
• Historic Wartime Sutures, Willington
• Big Business Week In CT, statewide
• The Marketplace at Guilford Food Center Guilford
• Main Street at night, Middletown
• The Hide-and-Seek Bear, Tolland
• The MLK Mural, Manchester
• The Mount Southington Summit, Southington

2023

• All Faiths Gather At Town Park, Vernon
• Riverside Igloos, Milford
• The TPC Pro Shop, Cromwell
• The Santa House, North Pole, er, Northern Connecticut
• Mile 4 Funnel, Manchester Road Race, Manchester
• UConn Lacrosse Giving Back, Connecticut River Valley
• The Capitol Grounds Tour, Part 3, Hartford
• The Capitol Grounds Tour, Part 2, Hartford
• The Capitol Grounds Tour, Part 1, Hartford
• The Doughboy, East Hartford
• The Walt Whitman Stone, West Hartford
• The indoor bush plane, Hartford County
• The Big Pink Chair, Ellington
• The Notch, Granby
• The CT 9/11 Monument, Westport
• Vintage Gas Pump, Somers
• Tobacco Harvest, East Windsor
• Late Afternoon, Lakeside, Coventry
• Fogarea, New Haven County
• Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens, Washington Depot
• Connecticut River Police Boat, Rocky Hill
• The first dentist, Windsor
• The Frog Bridge, Willimantic
• The World War Bridge Rapids, Putnam
• The Peeking Cow, Tolland County
• The Ivy Lacrosse Tournament, New Canaan
• The Bradley International Airport runway, Windsor Locks
• The Underground Railroad, Unionville
• The cow carousel, Ellington
• Charles Island, Milford
• State Veterans Cemetery, Middletown
• Glastonbury-Rocky Hill Ferry, Glastonbury/Rocky Hill
• The Old County Jailhouse, Tolland
• Agent Orange Monument, Andover
• The Sunken Garden, Farmington
• Lafayette Tour Monument, Vernon
• The Pinchot Sycamore, Simsbury
• Bob’s Discount Furniture Studios, Manchester