The statue, sculpted by Haig Patigian, stood in the center of the town plaza in Arcata, California, from 1906 to 2019, when it was moved to Canton, Ohio.

The artist discovered his statue lying down in a foundry near the waterfront south of Market Street in San Francisco.

[citation needed] Patigian later discovered that his statue of McKinley had been saved from the burning foundry by the employee of a nearby machine shop, along with several passersby.

[3] Community members of Arcata fought for the removal of the statue, citing McKinley's annexing of tribal lands in the western U.S. and Hawaii, and the racist ties that the former president maintained while in office.

[6] A nearby plaque on the plaza containing what many considered racially insensitive language regarding local native history was also removed in 2018.

[10] Ohio governor Mike DeWine and political advisor and McKinley historian Karl Rove gave speeches, and carnations were distributed to the crowd.