In the winter of 1865, the Soldiers' Monument Association of Avon was formed with Calvin Knowles as president, John Marsh as secretary, and Stephen Hosmer as treasurer to raise funds for a memorial recognizing the sacrifice made by Avon soldiers in the Civil War. In the spring of 1874, the Town of Avon was approached to determine the cost of the monument and report at the next annual meeting in April 1875. Recommendations were made to appropriate $1284, with an additional $3000 added at the next annual meeting. The accepted design was submitted by Peter Pitkin, a well known designer from Rochester, N.Y. The granite monument rises 45 feet above the base and is capped with a 7 foot marble statue of a Civil War soldier at parade rest. The monument was raised, the grounds landscaped, and decorated for the dedication ceremony on Memorial Day in 1877. Pvt. Dennis Buckley, one of the soldiers listed on the monument, received the Congressional Medal of Honor for action during the Battle at Peach Tree Creek, GA., July 20, 1864. Senator James W. Wadsworth was asked to secure decommissioned Civil War cannons to enhance the monument. Four cannons, Parrott rifles, arrived in Avon by rail in 1882. They had been manufactured in 1861 by Robert P. Parrott at the West Point foundry near Cold Spring, N.Y. On April 4, 1882, Calvin Knowles, Avon Board trustee, arranged to have the 4 cannons mounted on granite bearings, one at each corner of the coping, around the base of the monument.