After more than a year of planning, fundraising, fine carving and heavy lifting, Luke Johnson has completed his Eagle Scout project: a soapstone and granite monument in the little-known Goodell Park on Main Street in Antrim.

In March of 2009, Johnson presented his idea for an Eagle Scout Leadership Project to the Select Board, which blessed the plan and wished Johnson the best. Johnson, who turned 18 on Tuesday, has been toiling ever since to collect the materials and history for a proper monument to a founding father of Antrim, David H. Goodell, who was governor of New Hampshire from 1889 to 1891. Johnson said he chose to design a monument in Goodell Park because the park and its namesake deserve more attention.

“I’ve always had an interest in Goodell and his products,” said Johnson. “And I’ve known about Goodell Park, which is pretty empty. I thought I’d put a centerpiece down there, a place for people to go and sit down and relax. It’s really just to bring awareness to Antrim residents that the town has a pretty cool history.”

Goodell, “a man of remarkable energy and perseverance,” according to the town history, was born in Hillsborough in 1834 and later built and operated a substantial enterprise in Antrim. Johnson’s father, Ian, owns the Patriot Mill building erected by Goodell in 1895 on Water Street. Now home to Cogworks. Ltd., the mill initially housed equipment used in the fashioning of Goodell’s many inventions and world-famous products, such as the Lighting Apple Corer, a cherry stoner, and a mechanical seed dispenser.

Johnson has also proved to be a man of remarkable energy and perseverance, putting nearly 300 hours into the planning and creation of the monument. Using his father’s machinery at the Cogworks factory, Johnson carved each cog tooth on a massive router.

“It’s the biggest cog we’ve ever made,” said Johnson. “And it will probably last the longest.”

Johnson said it was a good feeling to create something with a lifetime that will extend for decades beyond his own.

“The monument that Luke has created for David Goodell is a long-overdue tribute to a forward-thinking member of our community,” wrote Troop 2 Scoutmaster Brian Beihl in a recent e-mail. “Governor Goodell would have been honored and proud of all the work that Luke and the Scouts of Troop 2 have put into the project.”

When Johnson met with selectmen in March of 2009, he estimated the materials and associated landscaping would cost approximately $1,320. He has since finished under his estimated budget, with a total cost of $1,047.38. The timeline, however, took somewhat longer. After initial hopes to complete the project before last fall, Johnson soon realized his project was more ambitious and would take some time to plan.

“It takes longer than you think,” he said. “I learned a lot about planning and how to get things done.”

Johnson relied on fundraisers and contributions from local businesses to make the project happen. He said granite benches are pricey, but it was the cost of apple trees that surprised him.

The finished monument blends elements of the past and the present. Two apple trees signify Goodell’s contributions to mechanized apple coring. A granite boulder from the mill site, donated and installed by S.R. Jones Excavating, is a stone Goodell himself likely saw on a daily basis. A massive cog carved from Vermont soapstone caps off the monument.

“As a Scoutmaster, I see kids come and go out of the program,” wrote Beihl. “It’s a rare kid that sticks it out to Eagle Scout and develops into the fine young man that Luke Johnson has become. He works hard, he teaches others, he leads, and he follows the Scout Law. I’m not sure what more one could ask for in a Scout.”

Johnson is trying to become the youngest of three Eagle Scouts in his family. So far, all of their projects have focused on cogs, wood, or both. His older brother, William, built signs for the Henniker Community Center for his Eagle Scout project. His oldest brother wrote a book profiling a local wooden clockmaker from the 1700s. He has submitted his application and project portfolio for review by the troop council.

After turning 18, Johnson now becomes an Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 2, whose members pitched in to make his project happen. On Wednesday, Johnson thanked his fellow scouts and everyone who helped, including businesses near and far.

“It just amazes you how much a community is willing to help out, you know?” said Johnson. “I never expected in a small town that so many people would help out. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

The following contributors helped make Johnson’s lasting monument a reality:

The Verney Farm, Bennington; Mush Cooks Garage, Antrim; Greg Perry, Antrim Dentistry; Davis Brook Farm, Hancock; Stonefalls Gardens, Henniker; Tenney Farm, Antrim; Swenson Granite, Concord; Iron Dragon Welding and Fabrication, Antrim; Cogworks Ltd., Antrim; S.R. Jones Excavation, Antrim; Scoutmaster Brian Beihl and Antrim’s Troop 2 Boy Scouts; Antrim Library; Antrim Historical Society; Green Mountain Soapstone, Vermont; Neil Brown and Lyman Gilmore did the research and editing for the plaque.