At the heart of downtown New Glarus stands one of the village’s most enduring symbols of heritage and perseverance—the Pioneer Monument, also known as the Settlers Monument. Erected in 1915, it honors the Swiss immigrants who arrived here in 1845 and laid the foundation for what would become one of Wisconsin’s most distinctive and culturally rich communities.

According to the New Glarus Architectural and Historical Survey by Carol Cartwright, a survey that was compiled in 2015 for the New Glarus Historic Preservation Commission and Village of New Glarus, Wisconsin, the monument “was erected in 1915 to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the Village of New Glarus.” Cartwright describes the statue as “a life-sized figure of a male pioneer, carved in granite, standing atop a tall shaft inscribed with the names of the original settlers.” He notes that the monument “was placed near the site where the first log cabin of the settlement was built,” giving the location both symbolic and historical significance.

That precise spot—today a small triangle of green space at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Second Street—is said to mark where the settlers’ first cabin stood after their arduous journey from Switzerland to Wisconsin. It was here that they built shelter, weathered their first winter, and began carving out a life in what was then wilderness.

The monument, one of the few depicting someone other than a war hero or political figure, was carved by F.B. Luchsinger of Luchsinger’s Monument Works in Monroe, Wisconsin. Luchsinger, a craftsman of remarkable skill, was also known locally for his love of horse racing, a hobby in which he reportedly excelled at the Green County Fair. His company was responsible for several prominent works in southern Wisconsin, including the Green County Civil War Monument outside the courthouse in Monroe—a memorial that bears a noticeable resemblance to the New Glarus monument in both material and style.