Slip out of your rig just after sunrise, coffee in hand, and a five-minute stroll from Pikes Peak RV Park lands you face-to-face with a bronze doughboy frozen mid-charge on a 20-ton slab of local granite. Why does he brandish a grenade in one fist and thrust a rifle skyward? Who was the hometown athlete whose name still echoes through Memorial Park nearly a century after Belleau Wood? And how did bake sales, ballroom dances, and pocket-change donations turn small-town grief into the most photographed monument in Manitou Springs?
Key Takeaways
• The bronze “doughboy” statue honors all World War I soldiers, with a special link to local Marine George Eber Duclo.
• It stands on a huge piece of Colorado granite inside Memorial Park in Manitou Springs.
• Townspeople paid for the statue in 1924 with bake sales, dances, and small coins.
• Look for easy-to-spot gear: rifle, grenade, round helmet, gas-mask bag, and leg wraps.
• Arrive before 9 a.m. for free curb parking and soft sunrise light for photos.
• Flat trail from Pikes Peak RV Park makes a quick, five-minute walk; benches and shade wait by the monument.
• A short loop also leads to Duclo’s grave and downtown cafés for a craft-beer or soda toast.
• Park is free, open 5 a.m.–11 p.m.; keep voices low, leash pets, and find restrooms two blocks west at the Chamber building.
Stick around and you’ll get:
• The back-story that links a fallen Marine named George Eber Duclo to every pinecone cast in the sculpture’s bronze.
• A quick-glance key to the uniform pieces your kids will quiz you about.
• Insider timing—arrive before 9 a.m. for free curb parking and golden photo light.
• Bench, shade, and RV-turnaround intel that spares aching knees and tight bumpers.
• A walking loop that ties the statue to Duclo’s hillside grave and a craft-beer toast on Canon Avenue.
Ready to go “Over the Top” and still be back by lunch? Let’s decode Manitou’s most storied sentinel.
Why This Monument Matters
Long before hashtags and geotags, Memorial Park served as Manitou Springs’ open-air scrapbook—a place where local sacrifice met national memory in bronze and granite. The doughboy stands for every American who stepped off a transport ship in 1917, yet his foundation is literal hometown rock, quarried within sight of Pikes Peak. That dual identity makes the statue both universal and fiercely local, giving visitors an instant bridge between macro history and a micro stop on their road trip.
Whether you’re a history buff tracing Great War battlefields, a veteran couple on wheels looking for reflection, a family sneaking educational moments into vacation, or a content creator chasing that sunrise shot, the monument delivers. The story threads courage, craftsmanship, and Colorado geology into one tight vignette you can absorb between breakfast burritos and Garden of the Gods. Staying curious here rewards you with context you can’t get from a quick photo swipe.
The Man Behind the Bronze
George Eber Duclo was the only child of a widowed mother and a mining-town upbringing that prized grit and athletic skill. By fourteen he was delivering groceries up and down Manitou Avenue, sprint training disguised as after-school work. Locals still trade stories about his mile-long snowshoe races that ended in laughter by the mineral springs. Those tales explain why community grief ran so deep when Duclo enlisted in January 1917 and never came home alive.
Belleau Wood a year later turned Marines into “Devil Dogs,” and Duclo was among the men who pushed through mustard gas and machine-gun nests on June 15, 1918. His death telegram reached Manitou the same week local hotel ballrooms were welcoming summer visitors, jolting the resort town into wartime reality. When his body returned in 1921, the funeral procession lined El Paso Boulevard shoulder-to-shoulder, seeding the resolve to build a memorial worthy of every name still echoing overseas. His hillside grave now rests in Crystal Valley Cemetery, a half-mile north of the statue, completing a pilgrimage you can walk in under fifteen minutes.
How Bake Sales Built a Landmark
Cash was scarce in post-war mountain towns, but determination filled the gap like mortar. Duclo American Legion Post 39 hosted Friday-night dances, pancake breakfasts, and even door-to-door “penny patrols,” funneling proceeds into a monument fund. In an era when nearly every U.S. county commissioned at least one doughboy statue, Manitou Springs refused to let population size dictate ambition.
The result was a $3,000 bronze—no small sum in 1924—that signaled both mourning and resilience. According to the Legion record, community members logged every nickel and dime to keep the project transparent. Memorial Day, May 25, 1924, dawned clear and cool when the school band struck up “Over There” beside cottonwoods along Fountain Creek. Gold Star mothers unveiled the sculpture as veterans saluted, and the town’s mayor declared the park forever open to “reflection free of charge.” You still feel that civic promise today: park gates never close until 11 p.m., and the lawn remains a gathering ground for both solemn flag-raisings and toddlers in tag games.
Decoding the Doughboy’s Symbols
Sculptor John Paulding froze his infantryman in full forward lunge, capturing the heartbeat between trench and no-man’s-land. The raised Springfield rifle and “pineapple” grenade form a V-shape that shouts victory before you even note the details. Scan for the Brodie helmet, puttees, and gas-mask satchel—gear that doubles as a scavenger hunt for kids and a conversation starter on how soldier kit evolved into today’s Kevlar plates.
Paulding modeled much of the uniform directly from quartermaster issue items sent to his New York studio, a fact confirmed in the Clio entry on the monument. He wanted the bronze to feel as if it were clawing its way out of the very soil, so the granite remains rough and unpolished. Each ridge and pit makes the viewer step closer, turning the statue into an interactive lesson on texture, light, and emotion.
Granite Roots in High Country
The 20-ton boulder was quarried just west of town from the same Pikes Peak granite that dots Garden of the Gods. Tough enough to laugh at freeze-thaw cycles and affordable for post-war wallets, the hometown rock also anchors the narrative physically and symbolically to the Front Range. Pink quartz flecks glitter at sunrise—tiny mirrors flashing back the sky Duclo never lived to see again.
Geologists note that this feldspar-rich granite erodes more slowly than marble, adding decades of life to the memorial without costly restoration. Its sheer mass also discourages vandalism, making the site one of the best-preserved doughboy statues on the memorials map maintained by WWI historians. Even during winter, when snowdrifts blanket the park, the warm pink hue peeks through, reminding passersby of the mountain roots beneath their feet.
Stress-Free Visit Planner
Planning matters, especially when you’re rolling in with an RV or corralling curious kids. Think of this section as your playbook for snagging the best light, easiest parking, and quickest access to amenities without breaking a sweat. Arriving prepared means you invest your attention where it belongs—soaking in history—rather than fumbling with logistics.
The park’s flat terrain, broad curb cuts, and proximity to downtown make it a rare trifecta of accessibility, convenience, and scenery. While summer weekends draw bigger crowds, weekday mornings feel almost private, giving photographers elbow room for those low-angle shots. A little foresight—like topping off water bottles before you leave the rig—turns a simple outing into a polished experience.
• Distance: 0.5 mile flat walk from Pikes Peak RV Park via the paved Midland Trail.
• Best light: Sunrise to 9 a.m. for golden bronze and easy curb parking on El Paso Boulevard.
• Amenities: Two shaded benches within 30 feet; public restrooms and water two blocks west at the Chamber building.
• Accessibility: Curb-cut onto the pad allows a full 360-degree roll for wheelchairs; trail surface is smooth asphalt.
• RV tips: Rigs under 24 feet parallel-park nearby early; larger units stay at the RV park and enjoy the stroll.
Choose Your Own Mini-Guide
Some visitors arrive with a shot list, others with a history checklist, and a few with nothing more than a fresh cup of coffee and an open mind. The doughboy adapts to all of them, transforming from solemn sentinel to interactive prop depending on your mood. Whatever your angle, the statue delivers a bite-sized narrative that slots neatly into a broader Front Range itinerary.
Kids might race to spot the grenade first, while veterans often circle slowly, tracing familiar contours on the uniform. Influencers seek that perfect over-the-shoulder frame with Pikes Peak looming in the background. By the time you leave, you’ll have crafted a personal chapter in the monument’s unfolding story, one that feels as authentic as the bronze itself.
Half-Day Heritage Loop
Start at the RV park gate, follow trout-painted wayfinding along Fountain Creek, and circle the bronze before crossing El Paso Boulevard toward Crystal Valley Cemetery. A gentle incline leads to Duclo’s headstone, where the granite shifts from pink to gray and the view opens toward Red Mountain. Take a moment here; the silence lays bare the distance between Belleau Wood and the mountain sanctuary that finally claimed him.
Descend into Manitou’s Victorian district for coffee or a craft brew on Canon Avenue, passing mineral springs that still burble with the same effervescence Duclo once tasted. By lunch you’ll have logged less than three miles but gained a century of perspective. The loop stitches together grief, grit, and glory in one tidy package you can tackle before the afternoon thunderstorms roll in.
The Doughboy’s raised rifle reminds us that courage is a forward-moving choice—one you can honor simply by lacing up your shoes, wandering five minutes from your campsite, and letting granite, bronze, and mountain air do the storytelling. When you’re ready for the next chapter—be it Garden of the Gods at golden hour or a quiet campfire by Fountain Creek—your basecamp is already waiting. Book your stay at Pikes Peak RV Park today, connect your rig, and let history, adventure, and mountain comfort stand at attention for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who created the Manitou Springs Soldiers’ Monument and when was it installed?
A: The bronze doughboy was sculpted by John Paulding, a New York artist who specialized in World War I memorials, and it was unveiled on May 25, 1924 during a Memorial Day ceremony that drew nearly the entire town to what is now Memorial Park.
Q: What inspired the dramatic “over-the-top” pose with the rifle and grenade?
A: Paulding deliberately froze his infantryman at the split-second soldiers leapt from the trench, using the V-shape formed by rifle and grenade to telegraph victory and forward momentum; the posture mirrored newspaper photos returning from the Western Front and was meant to embody fearless advance rather than quiet mourning.
Q: Why is Marine Private George Eber Duclo so closely linked to the monument even though no individual names are carved on it?
A: Duclo was Manitou’s most prominent World War I casualty and his American Legion post led the fundraising, so the community viewed the memorial as a living tribute to him while intentionally leaving the boulder un-inscribed to remain inclusive of all service members who never made it home.
Q: How was the $3,000 cost covered in a small mountain town during the 1920s?
A: The Legion and Gold Star mothers organized a two-year string of bake sales, Friday-night dances, door-to-door “penny patrols,” and merchant donations until every dollar was raised locally—no state or federal grant money was used.
Q: Where did the 20-ton granite boulder come from and why choose local stone instead of marble?
A: Quarrymen hauled the pink-flecked Pike’s Peak granite from just west of town; the hometown rock was cheaper, could withstand freeze-thaw cycles at 6,400 feet, and tied the memorial physically and symbolically to the Front Range landscape.
Q: Does the monument honor any specific regiment or branch of service?
A: While the figure wears generic Army gear, the dedication plaque states it commemorates “all who served in the World War,” and the nearby Legion Hall still reads “Duclo Post 39” to keep the Marine’s name front and center.
Q: How tall is the sculpture and what materials were used?
A: The bronze figure stands just over seven feet high, mounted on a roughly six-foot granite base, giving the combined monument a height of about thirteen feet; only cast bronze and native granite were used, with no concrete core.
Q: What kid-friendly details can we point out for a quick learning stop?
A: Challenge them to locate five items—Brodie helmet, puttees, gas-mask satchel, “pineapple” grenade, and the rough granite outcrop—and time the hunt under two minutes for bragging rights on the drive home.
Q: When is the best light for photos and which corner should I stand on?
A: Sunrise to about 9 a.m. bathes the bronze in soft gold while the background cottonwoods are still in shade; plant yourself on the northwest edge of the concrete pad to catch the rifle silhouette against Pikes Peak.
Q: Is RV parking available close to the monument?
A: Rigs under twenty-four feet can usually parallel-park on El Paso Boulevard before 10 a.m.; anything larger is better left at Pikes Peak RV Park, which is a flat five-minute walk along the Midland Trail.
Q: How accessible is the site for visitors with limited mobility?
A: The Midland Trail from the RV park is paved and level, a curb-cut leads onto the monument pad for a full 360-degree roll, and two shaded benches sit within thirty feet for rest breaks.
Q: Are there restrooms, water, or shaded picnic spots nearby?
A: Public restrooms and water fountains are two blocks west inside the Manitou Springs Chamber building, and cottonwoods on the park’s north side cast reliable shade over a grassy picnic lawn all afternoon.
Q: Is the park open year-round and does it cost anything to visit?
A: Memorial Park is city-owned, admission-free, and open daily from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., making it easy to fit a quiet dawn reflection or a dusk photo session into any itinerary.
Q: May I bring my dog or tripod for photos?
A: Leashed dogs are welcome as long as owners pick up after them, and tripods are fine provided you keep them off the granite base to prevent scratches; commercial shoots require a quick permit from City Hall.
Q: Is there reliable cell service or a quiet spot to record an interview?
A: LTE coverage averages 25–30 Mbps around the northeast bench, which also sits far enough from Fountain Creek to minimize background noise for podcasts or video calls.
Q: Where can I learn more or see original dedication photos?
A: The Manitou Springs Heritage Center, three blocks away on Manitou Avenue, keeps a small archive of 1924 ceremony images and fundraising ledgers and welcomes walk-ins Friday through Sunday or by weekday appointment.