The famed Black Angel at Fairview Cemetery was based on the dream of a dying woman.
COUNCIL BLUFFS PUBLIC LIBRARY
Legend of the Black Angel captivates travelers

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The Dodge family left its mark on Council Bluffs in many important ways. Patriarch Grenville Dodge was instrumental in bringing the railroad to town. His Dodge House, a 14-room mansion, is one of the city's most important landmarks.

But surprisingly, one of the contributions that generates the most interest is a piece of art that Dodge’s daughters, Anne Dodge and Eleanor Dodge Pusey, had commissioned in memory of their mother, Ruth Anne Dodge.

The monument is located at the edge of Fairview Cemetery and was created from solid bronze by American sculptor Daniel Chester French, who also completed the seated Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Commonly known as “the Black Angel,” the statue features a wingedangel standing at the prow of a boat and is said to be the translation of a dream Ruth Anne Dodge experienced three nights before her death in 1916.

According to the legend, Ruth Anne Dodge related to family members that she had a vision of being on a rocky shore and, through a mist, seeing a boat approach. In the prow was a beautiful young woman whom Dodge thought to be an angel.  The woman carried a small bowl under one arm and extended the other arm toward Mrs. Dodge in an invitation to partake of the water flowing from the vessel.
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Then, according to accounts later published by Mrs. Dodge's daughter, Anne, the angel spoke twice, saying: "Drink, I bring you both a promise and a blessing."

Anne wrote that the vision came three times to her mother and on the third visit, Dodge took the drink as offered and felt "transformed into a new and glorious spiritual being."  She died soon after the third vision.

Through the years, the statue fell into a state of disrepair.  Restoration began in June 1984.  The cleaning of the corroded surfaces has returned its original luster

The National Park Service has placed the Black Angel on the Register of National Historic Places.  It is open to visitors year-round.       

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