Committee Sets Groundbreaking Date for Newton 9/11 Memorial

After 18 months of planning, outreach and fundraising, the officially has a groundbreaking date for its memorial to honor the eight people Newton lost in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 

The committee will break ground on the new memorial next month during . The event starts at 6 p.m. and will be held at , the site of the future memorial. 

“As a veteran and Mayor of this great city, I have been honored to work with the [Newton] 9-11 Memorial Committee,” Mayor Setti Warren said in a press release issued by the committee. “This memorial will serve as a place of remembrance and reflection for generations to come."

Warren is set to speak during the event, which will also include Newton's first Sept. 11 commemoration at the memorial site. The ceremony will include a reading of the names and ages of the eight people with Newton ties who were killed in the attacks. 

“I always hoped that the memorial would host 9/11 commemorations and would, in some way, be a comfort to the living and the dead,” Director of Fundraising Virginia Gardner said in the press release. 

Late last month,  that finalized the siting, installation and landscaping for the Newton 9/11 Memorial.

Along with "perennial grasses, spring bulbs and flowers," , the Pentagon and the flight path of United Airlines Flight 93. .

The committee does not have a set date for the memorial's completion, but says it is possible it could be finished by November. Once the memorial is completed, a more formal dedication ceremony will be held.

“We hope to have music, for example, and a color guard when we dedicate the memorial,” Newton 9-11 Memorial Committee Chair Sande Young said in the press release. “We are so eager for the time when our beautiful granite is in place for everyone to see, touch, and use.”

As the process moves forward, the committee is continuing to raise money for the maintenance of the memorial.  allows residents to purchase and customize a brick that will be included in the memorial walkway.