The Jewett Memorial Bench

Located in Golden Gate Park near the crossroads of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Chain of Lakes Drive East. The bench can be found facing west looking at South Lake.

The Jewett Memorial bench is a 12-foot long granite bench celebrating the life of Fidelia Jewett (1851-1933) a public school teacher in San Francisco for nearly fifty years. Jewett was also the longtime partner of Stanford psychologist Lillien Jane Martin. Martin commissioned the bench following Jewett's death in 1933 and the the bench was initially installed in Union Square. The bench is inscribed on the front to Jewett, while the reverse is inscribed with "Lillien J. Martin (1851-1943), Guide the Child, Salvage the Old." The latter inscription commemorating Martin was added after her death by Clare De Gruchy. With the redesign of Union Square, the bench was relocated to Golden Gate Park in 1946.

Both Martin and Jewett had family ties to significant events in California's history. Martin was the niece of Horace Hawes who wrote the 1856 Consolidation Act that resulted in the establishment of San Mateo and San Francisco Counties. Jewett was a part of the Kern County Jewetts, who introduced sheep to the San Joaquin Valley and were early founders of Bakersfield California.