This bronze plaque honors Wendell L. Willkie (1892–1944) who was the Republican Party nominee for the U.S. presidency in 1940.

[1] During the dedication ceremony a Statehouse employee, William Holmes, fell from a ladder and broke his arm while checking the veil hung over the plaque.

But they were not able to operate a fund-raising campaign on their own, so the assistance of the Junior Chamber of Commerce in Elwood, Anderson, and Alexandria was accepted in order to raise the $2,500 needed for the memorial.

[3] The creator of this Wendell Willkie plaque was Paul Fjelde (August 12, 1892 – May 3, 1984) of New York City, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

[3] Fjelde is also the creator of two other Wendell Willkie plaques, one located in the Summit County Courthouse in Akron, Ohio,[4] and the other in New York City.

[5] To create the plaque, Fjelde first carved Willkie's likeness into clay using a picture as a reference.