Thomas Paine National Historical Association - History

History

The Association's first elected president was writer, abolitionist, and confidant to Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Moncure Conway. Conway is credited with writing the first comprehensive biography of Paine in 1892. On October 14, 1905, the Association held an elaborate ceremony to rededicate the Thomas Paine Monument. Previously, on Memorial Day 1899, the Association had held a big meeting in connection with the erection of the bronze bust of Paine which now sits on a marble base. It was in 1905 that the monument was moved and placed in its present location in the center of Paine Avenue. The ceremonies included speeches, a parade and a salute of thirteen guns by second battery, U. S. Army, in honor of the thirteen original states. In 1906 the Association was reorganized, and incorporated under the laws of New York and is now known as the Thomas Paine National Historical Association.