Long live Lady Liberty, wherever she may stand. And for nearly 75 years, America’s most iconic monument of freedom, the Statue of Liberty — well, an eight-foot-tall, 290-pound copper replica of the statue — has stood in downtown Wilmington, beckoning to the tired, the poor, the huddled masses who yearn to breathe free … or who at least yearn to stop by for a picture.

Such is the nature of this scale model, which still stands for freedom, but also has become one of the city’s more unusual tourist attractions. “Oh yeah, we see lots of people taking selfies,” says Shane Fernando, CEO of Wilmington’s Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, beside which the statue stands on a six-foot-high concrete pedestal in a small park.

“The statue is in a very prominent place on a very busy street, so you see her when you’re driving by — it’s not like she’s hidden away,” Fernando says. “I think a lot of people see her and wonder why she’s here — why does Wilmington have a little Statue of Liberty?”

Credit goes to the Boy Scouts of America. In 1950, to commemorate the organization’s 40th anniversary, the Scouts launched a national initiative — dubbed “To Strengthen the Arm of Liberty” — by installing some 200 miniature Statues of Liberty at sites across the country. One was erected in Raleigh, but it was removed when the Wake County Courthouse was demolished in 1967, and never seen again.

The cost of Wilmington’s statue? $350 — plus the price of the pedestal and installation — which the local Scouts raised themselves to purchase the stamped-copper replica. It may not seem like much now, but today that would be about $4,500.

The statue, which was nicknamed “Little Sister of Liberty,” was formally dedicated on October 20, 1951, with Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and the city’s mayor, E.L. White, attending the ceremony. Karl Rosenthal, rabbi of Wilmington’s historic Temple of Israel — the oldest synagogue in North Carolina — spoke poignantly about his personal experience with oppression, and what it meant to him to see the real Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor when he emigrated from Europe to the United States.

All the Scouts who were present were also given an eight-inch replica of Lady Liberty to commemorate their participation in the project. Just like the original Statue of Liberty, Wilmington’s miniature version holds the torch of freedom in her upraised right hand and a tablet inscribed with the date of the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals) in her left. A plaque on the pedestal explains the Scouts’ role in placing the statue there.

“It’s a lovely likeness,” Fernando says. “The torch even lights up at night.” The only differences, he says, are the massive size disparity and the style of the pedestal. The statue in New York Harbor is 305 feet tall and stands on granite. By contrast, Wilmington’s statue, measuring eight feet from toe to torch, looks out on the seat of New Hanover County from a concrete plinth.

Make no mistake, though. In Wilmington, where the Little Sister of Liberty has been proudly displayed for almost three-quarters of a century, the statue will always stand tall in the eyes of this city.

Statue of Liberty, Wilmington
North Third and Princess streets
Wilmington, NC 28401