COLUMBUS-A marble statue preservation and restoration specialist visited Columbus on Thursday, Feb. 1 to assess Polk County’s doughboy statue, located at the entrance of Courthouse Street.

The Polk County Board of Commissioners asked the Polk County Appearance Commission earlier this year to find a specialist to analyze the statue and recommend repairs, as age and acid rain have damaged the doughboy.

Kara Warren, Preventive Conservation Specialist at the Biltmore House in Asheville offered to assess the doughboy at no charge to the county.

She was scheduled to evaluate the condition of the statue on Thursday to make recommendations for preservation and maintenance to the county.

The doughboy statue was dedicated in 1925 by the school children and the patriotic citizens of Polk County to recognize Polk residents killed in WWI. It lists names of all soldiers from Polk County who died in WWI.

In July, Polk County Commissioner Ray Gasperson said it has been 100 years since the U.S. entered the first World War and the statue has been in Columbus for about 90 years.

Gasperson said the county needs to rediscover the history of the monument and the statue is melting away due to the effects of acid rain. Gasperson said he’d like to see the doughboy restored by its 100^th anniversary.

The helmet especially on the doughboy is starting to deteriorate.