Monument for Eugene’s First Five Black Families Revealed for Alton Baker Park

A model of a public monument honoring Eugene’s first five Black families was unveiled at Reinmuth Foundry on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, with descendants and local organizers in attendance. The sculpture, created by Percy Appau, will be 3-D scanned in Portland, cast in bronze at Reinmuth, and installed in Alton Baker Park in September or otherwise "this fall" 2026, organizers said.

The piece depicts a Black family seated on a bench as they might have appeared in the 1940s, representing the community that lived on the Willamette River banks known as Ferry Street Village, Tent City, or "Across the Bridge." Lookout Eugene-Springfield described the figures as a man, a woman and three children, noting, "Aside from the sleeping baby, each person has their head held high. They wear suits and dresses and jewelry, and their natural hair is on proud display. None of them are a specific person, yet they represent every family that lived in the community, including Johnson’s."

Talicia Brown, founder and executive director of Black Cultural Initiative, hosted the reveal and framed the project as a restoration of a neglected story. "This is a representation of the 'across the bridge' community," Brown said, adding that early Black residents "couldn't live in city limits, so many residents lived across the bridge." KVAL quoted Brown-Crowell on the project process: "We really spoke with the elders and the family members themselves, and what they wanted was a sculpture that is representative of the families, not any particular family or family member, but more a representation of all their families."

The monument honors five founding families: Mims, the Johnsons, the Nettles, the Washingtons and the Reynolds. William "Billy" Delrio Johnson Jr., a descendant, pointed to archival photographs at the reveal and reflected on family memory: "It's really great that the things that my grandfather [and] my grandmother went through are being commemorated in a statue, and along with the other families as well, is that they get something that lives in infamy." Rosita Johnson added, "We love that this history is not lost, and we're excited that it's being shared with more people."

Organizers showed a clay-and-Styrofoam model weighing about 100 pounds; KLCC noted the piece "will soon go to Portland to be rendered into a 1,000-lb. bronze piece," and Lookout estimated the finished work will gain roughly 900 pounds once cast. Production steps include the Portland 3-D scan, bronzing at Reinmuth Bronze Foundry in northwest Eugene, and placement in a high-traffic area of Alton Baker Park just south of the former settlement. KVAL and Lookout said the installation will include a plaque dedicated to each family and that a dedication ceremony is planned for September.

Not all outlets use the same project name: KLCC and OPB call the work "Crossing the Bridge," while KVAL, NBC16 and Lookout refer to it as "Across the Bridge," the title also used for a local documentary featuring family interviews and archival footage. Organizers have emphasized family involvement at every step of the design.

For Lane County residents, the monument marks a formal public recognition of a community displaced by eminent domain in 1949 to build the Ferry Street Bridge and of the broader exclusion Black residents faced in midcentury Eugene. The cast-bronze sculpture and accompanying plaques are set to make that history visible in Alton Baker Park this fall, with final details and the formal dedication expected in September.