LEEDS — Members of the Leeds Historical Society joined the entire student body of the Leeds Central School recently on a hike from the school to the summit of Monument Hill.

The hike is an annual event and includes a short presentation about the granite Peace Monument for which the hill is named. The walk took the group across fields and through woods, guided by “smiley faces” painted on trees along the trail. They crossed corduroy bridges, paused to eat a snack beside a pasture with horses, identified various trees and plants and resisted capturing a tiny green frog before climbing the steep hill to the monument.

Once atop the hill, the students ate their lunch and listened as their teachers read books relating to autumn and the woods. The group then gathered around the flagpole for the dedication. The flagpole, erected last fall, was a project of the Leeds Historical Society and had been funded in part by the students, who raised funds after learning about the monument and a flagpole which had formerly graced the hill. The Masonic Lodge Asylum 133 and the Leeds Historical Society also contributed to the project.

Historical Society President Laura Juraska gave the students a brief history of the monument which was erected in 1895 by Leeds natives Gen. Olive Otis Howard and his brother Charles. The granite obelisk is a monument to peace and commemorates the service of their brother, Rowland, a peace activist, and all Leeds men who had served in the Civil War.

Before his death, Rowland had proposed the erection of flag staff in a small park set on the summit of the Otis Hill.

The dedication ceremony closed with all in attendance reciting The Pledge of Allegiance. The group of almost 200 then descended the hill and returned to school.