The city of Bridgeport, Connecticut unveiled a statue of Phineas T. Barnum in Seaside Park on July 4, 1893, two years after his death. Barnum is depicted seated in a chair, looking out toward Long Island Sound.
The land for the park had once been owned by Barnum, and he donated it to the city. In fact, the statue itself had belonged to Barnum, as his partner in the circus, James A. Bailey, had given it to him years earlier, according to an article in the New York Times on July 5, 1893.
While Barnum's name is sometimes used today as a synonym for a con man, it's worth noting that in his own time he was widely respected and even beloved. A speaker at the dedication of the statue in Bridgeport said of Barnum that he "gave more pleasure to the plain people, especially the children," than any other person of his era.