Image of the front elevation of the Temple at Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, October 1, 2021 showing vandalism/NPS

National Park Service law enforcement rangers and New Hampshire State Police are searching for information regarding recent vandalism at Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park.

The damage, reported the morning of October 1 by park staff, includes the defacement of the park’s Temple funerary monument, where the family of Augustus Saint-Gaudens is interred. The monument was tagged with paint and anti-Semitic language and symbols.

“We were heartbroken to discover this act of vandalism to the Temple monument and grave of the Saint-Gaudens family and we condemn both the act and the language used,” said Superintendent Rick Kendall. “We are already working with National Park Service conservators to carefully restore the monument.”

National Park Service museum conservators arrived on site October 4 to begin treatment of the site. They are expected to complete the restoration by October 15.

The Temple was originally constructed in plaster in 1905 for a pageant celebrating Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ 20-year anniversary in Cornish, New Hampshire. Following Saint-Gaudens' death in 1907, his wife, Augusta, commissioned a replica of the Temple in marble. The temple is the final resting place of Saint-Gaudens and his family and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 1-888-653-0009. Anonymous tips can be emailed to [email protected] or sent by text message or voicemail to 1-888-653-0009.