1910: Marie Riester poises on the County Courthouse deer. This is the oldestknown photo of the statue.

1910: Marie Riester poises on the County Courthouse deer. This is the oldestknown photo of the statue.

<p>1914: A trio of woman pose on with the statue.</p>

1914: A trio of woman pose on with the statue.
<p>1915: Anselm and Lucy Riley on the deer.</p>

1915: Anselm and Lucy Riley on the deer.
<p>1917: Helen Grausam, Nauss E. Halter and E. Conway with the deer.</p>

1917: Helen Grausam, Nauss E. Halter and E. Conway with the deer.
<p>1920: Margaret Barnhardt Roberts poses on the statue.</p>

1920: Margaret Barnhardt Roberts poses on the statue.
<p>1920: Thomas Jonesand Mary Morgan Jones have their picture taken with the deer.</p>

1920: Thomas Jonesand Mary Morgan Jones have their picture taken with the deer.
<p>1940: Iren Juris Cavanaugh sits on the statue.</p>

1940: Iren Juris Cavanaugh sits on the statue.
<p>1946: Don and Jean Linker poise with the deer.</p>

1946: Don and Jean Linker poise with the deer.
<p>1946: Martha Britten sits on the statue.</p>

1946: Martha Britten sits on the statue.
<p>1949: Edith Hilburt brought her granddaughter Edith Hilburt to pose on the deer.</p>

1949: Edith Hilburt brought her granddaughter Edith Hilburt to pose on the deer.
<p>1953: Gordon Williams and his mother, Claire Williams, on the statue.</p>

1953: Gordon Williams and his mother, Claire Williams, on the statue.
<p>1957: Bernice Langel sits on the deer.</p>

1957: Bernice Langel sits on the deer.
<p>1968: Young Tony Brooks, a future Wilkes-Barre city councilman, takes his turn on the deer with family members.</p>

1968: Young Tony Brooks, a future Wilkes-Barre city councilman, takes his turn on the deer with family members.
<p>1984: Neil C. Jones goes for a ride on the statue.</p>

1984: Neil C. Jones goes for a ride on the statue.
<p>2017: Swoyersville Cub Scout Pack 193 and Webelo Den 2 have their photo taken with the statue.</p>

2017: Swoyersville Cub Scout Pack 193 and Webelo Den 2 have their photo taken with the statue.
<p>2017: Wilkes-Barre Tony Brooks gets his picture taken with the deer for at least the second time.</p>

2017: Wilkes-Barre Tony Brooks gets his picture taken with the deer for at least the second time.

Generations of Wyoming Valley residents have posed with the Luzerne County Courthouse deer statue.

Located on the south lawn of the historic Luzerne County Courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, the cast iron statue is the oldest public sculpture in the city, dating back to 1866.

It was moved from Public Square in the city’s downtown to River Street around the time the courthouse opened in June 1909, news accounts say. Robert Wood & Company of Philadelphia, which built an iron fence surrounding the county’s third courthouse on Public Square, had produced the statue as a bonus.

The sculpture was featured in at least two postcards of the county courthouse in the 1940s.

Tony Brooks, a Wilkes-Barre councilman and director/curator of the Wilkes-Barre Preservation Society, started collecting photographs of people posing with the deer years ago to showcase them, saying the statue is a “one-of-a-kind feature” that helps make this area unique and special.

The county used a grant and natural-gas recreation funding to restore the statue in 2021.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR