The first of four entries for the society’s First Guardians statue contest was received at the end of 2014. The one-foot scale model was submitted by Newburyport’s resident sculptor, Jeff Briggs. It depicts three men in historic uniforms from each of the three early federal agencies that merged to become the modern U.S. Coast Guard. The three agencies were the U.S. Lighthouse Service, the U.S. Lifesaving Service, and the Revenue Cutter Service.
The oldest of those agencies was the Revenue Cutter Service, which got its start in Newburyport with the building of their first ship, The Massachusetts. The proposed statue will therefore commemorate the birthplace of the U.S. Coast Guard in Newburyport, Massachusetts.
The winning design will be selected at the end of 2015, after the remaining three models are submitted by the other competing professional sculptors from the region. If things proceed as planned, after the winning design is selected, and the funds are raised to build a full-scale sculpture, the First Guardians statue will be placed on the Newburyport waterfront.
