Giant wooden soldier taken down in St. Charles

If you have traveled north of St. Charles on Route 25 in the past 38 years, you've probably been greeted by a larger-than-life soldier.

That iconic wooden Revolutionary War soldier was slowly dismantled Wednesday and relocated to a new battlefront.

Clint Carey of Pingree Grove bought the 25-foot-tall wood sculpture that's been a staple on the front lawn of Custom Furniture in St. Charles for many generations.

Carey describes the statue as "a piece of folk art."

Carey said that he learned the soldier was for sale while he was reading the Daily Herald at breakfast with his wife. He knew right then that he wanted to buy it.

The soldier is being dismantled piece by piece, and will be taken to a carpentry studio in Elgin, where it will be restored.

The head, which had eyes made out of washers, weighed in somewhere between 400 and 500 pounds.

The chest may have been made out of a barrel, and the arms out of solid tree trunks.

Carey said that a good portion of the statue will have to be repaired and refinished as much of the wood is rotting.

During the disassembly more than a handful of people stopped on the side of the road to take their own photos and memories.

Carey plans to put in on his property sometime in the spring.

He has started a Kickstarter campaign called "Save the Revolutionary Soldier"