Erected at the center of the city's Public Square in 1860, its Perry statue by sculptor William Walcutt was Ohio's first monumental sculpture.

[3] Prominent sculptors Hiram Powers, Thomas Ball, and E. D. Palmer were approached for the Perry statue, but demurred due to the limited budget.

City Council granted T. Jones & Sons the power to solicit funds for an additional $2,000 over the project's contracted budget.

Over 100,000 people attended its unveiling, which featured speeches by Harvey Rice, chairman of the monument committee, historian George Bancroft, and the governors of Ohio and Rhode Island (Perry's home state).

By 1927 winds and rain had deteriorated the statues of Perry, Sailor Boy, and the Midshipman The Early Settlers Association raised $10,000 to replace them with bronze castings, which were unveiled in Gordon Park in 1929.

[9] Following restoration, the bronze statues and monument were re-erected in 1991 at a sixth (and current) location – Fort Huntington Park, on the east side of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, in downtown Cleveland.

The two subsidiary figures intended to flank the pedestal – a midshipman and a sailor boy – were completed in plaster by 1860, but required additional funds to be carved in marble.

[9] At the same time, a second bronze copy of the Perry statue was made for Rhode Island, and installed on the grounds of the Statehouse in Providence.