Iron Riders Memorial Artist Speaks at Museum at Bighorns

On November 7, The Sheridan Public Arts Committee (SPAC) hosted a special public reception at the Museum of the Bighorns to meet Professor Littleton Alston, the selected artist for the Iron Riders Memorial Project.

President of the Museum at the Bighorns Greg Luhman welcomed the crowd and introduced the artist.

Luhman explained about the Iron Rider’s Memorial Project, which will honor the remarkable history and legacy of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, a group of African American soldiers who, in 1897, undertook an extraordinary 1,900-mile bicycle expedition from Fort Missoula, Montana, to St. Louis, Missouri. Their historic journey took them through the Sheridan area and demonstrated incredible endurance, innovation, and determination.

“This project represents an exciting opportunity to recognize an important chapter of American history while continuing to enrich Sheridan’s public art collection. As the project moves forward, SPAC looks forward to engaging the community in bringing this meaningful memorial to life,” Luhman said.

He added a thank you to the museum for hosting the event, and said that there will be more events in the museum. He said the museum will also be available for other groups to book events.

Luhman also thanked Kevin Knapp and the Sheridan Community Land Trust for the loan of the banners about the Iron Riders, which will be displayed in the museum for a time.

Luhman then introduced the guest speaker and talked about choosing the artist.

Alston shared his insights into his vision for the memorial and discussed the inspiration behind his design.

Then he talked about how it creates his artwork and explained about the marquette which is a small preliminary model or sketch used in art and design. It serves as a three-dimensional representation of a larger work,

Kevin Knapp, who has researched the Iron Riders and helped to create the SCLT Iron Riders Driving/Cycling Tour that is an audio tour of the trip they made through Sheridan County, talked about the soldiers.

Alston added that he was very familiar with the Iron Riders History.

He said that the bronze memorial will take a little over a year to complete, and it will be displayed in Kendrick Park. Alson added,

The Iron Riders journey is an interesting, little-known part of the history of the United States military. The trek proved the military effectiveness of bicycles, but the Army then decided not to establish a permanent bicycle corps, as bicycles did have important limitations.

The memorial will honor those brave soldiers who undertook the journey.