Francis Scott Key Monument
Photograph by Nancy Kurtz
The Francis Scott Key Monument stands inside the main entrance to the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick. Facing east, and marking the grave of Key and his wife, Mary Tayloe Lloyd Key, the monument features a bronze statue of Key atop a tall, cylindrical granite pedestal. At the base of the pedestal is an allegorical group of three bronze figures. A bronze tablet on the rear of the pedestal is inscribed with all four verses of the Star Spangled Banner.
The Francis Scott Key Monument, which commemorates the author of the Star Spangled Banner, is significant as an outstanding example of the work of sculptor Pompeo Coppini (1870-1957). The monument was dedicated August 9, 1898. The total cost of the monument was $25,000, paid for with funds contributed by school children and others from around the country, and a $5,000 allocation from the State of Maryland in 1897.
Entrance to Mt. Olivet Cemetery with Key statue
from a postcard postmarked 1908