On December 7th, 2009 the statue of James Beaty was installed in the courtyard of King George Square. As the installation began the first snowflakes of the season fell, reminiscent of the real James Beaty's 1818 arrival in Muddy York, where an unusual March snowfall had taken place.
On a flatbed truck, and wrapped in blankets and special padding, Beaty's statue was delivered to the courtyard on King Street East from the foundry in Georgetown, Ontario, where it had been cast. It took over an hour for the truck's large crane to swing the statue into place over its resting place on a cement pedestal in a nook of the courtyard. The statue's permanent location was chosen for its sight line to the historic building across the street at 169 King Street East, the site where among other achievements, James Beaty published his newspaper, "The Leader."
The accompanying photo of James Beaty's statue reveals a few of the statue's unique features. For instance, the statue's shoes were modeled from an actual boot found in the roof boards of 169 King Street East. As well, the design of the newspaper under the arm was based on actual copies of "The Leader" found in the same location. The discovery of this box of historical treasures prompted King George Square to conduct research on James Beaty, with very interesting results.