Hermann, or Arminius, of the Cherusci tribe led several German tribes against their Roman conquerors in 9 A.D. and defeated them in the hills of Teutoburg Forest near present Detmold. To later unified Germany, Hermann symbolized liberty and unity. In 1874 Ernst Von Bandel completed a colossal German monument dedicated to Hermann near the Teutoburg site. In the United States, Julius Berndt, a New Ulm architect and county surveyor, conceived a similar monument in New Ulm at half the size as a project of the National Sons of Hermann Lodges. Local Lodge No. 21 acquired the New Ulm site in 1885 and named it Hermann Heights. Berndt completed the base and cornerstone in 1888. Alphonso Pelzer of Salem, Ohio, created a plaster model 32 feet high. W. H. Mullins Company made the statue in copper sheet sections with abutting edges riveted to metal strips as part of the interior bracing, and Milwaukee Bridge and Iron Works produced the interior framework. The 32 feet statue arrived boxed at New Ulm in 1890. Inadequate financing slowed construction, with some lodges protesting assessment because of the site as a secluded country place in the wilds of Minnesota. In 1894 the statue was mounted on the pedestal above the uncompleted monument, and at an overall height of 102 feet it was plainly seen from Sleepy Eye and other neighboring towns. Completed in 1897, the dedication was a three day celebration, and the total cost was about $24,000. Through persistent effort by Otto Oswald and other local Sons of Hermann, New Ulm was given the monument and site in 1929. In 1972 it became a registered Minnesota Historic Site, and in 1973 it was designated a Registered National Historic Place.