It’s only natural that Peggy Darst Townsdin is enamored by the fine detail of Wayne Lewis’ latest piece of artwork.

It’s only natural that the art piece brings her great joy.

As much as Townsdin has written about her family’s link to Oak Harbor history and the early pioneers that helped shape the city, it’s something all together different to see that history come to life in the form of a bronze sculpture.

Lewis, an Oak Harbor sculptor, has recently completed the clay art piece he calls “The Barringtons,” and is preparing to take it to an Oregon foundry for bronzing.

Lewis is planning to donate the sculpture to the city with the hopes it will become a fixture in historic downtown on Pioneer Way just a short walk from the “Island Spirit” Native American sculpture he donated to the city last fall.

However, none of this is etched in stone.

The city’s arts commission first must be formally presented with the proposal, then consider all of the project’s merits before making its formal recommendation to the city council for approval.

A project already two years in the making and no secret to the commission or city, the proposal is expected to be considered at the June 8 arts commission meeting.

Trying to curb any further delays, Townsdin is paying the nearly $12,000 for bronzing and installation so there will be no costs to the city and has started a fundraising effort in hopes to recover some of those costs.

“I want my uncle Earle (Darst), who’s 96, to be around to see it,” she said.

The sculpture is of Capt. Edward Barrington and his bride Christina McCrohan Barrington, two prominent early Oak Harbor pioneers and the great-great grandparents of Townsdin.

Lewis enlarged a photograph of the Barringtons on their wedding day from Sept. 13, 1865 and spent parts of the past two years in his Oak Harbor studio re-creating the scene in clay.

There were adjustments along the way, including the softening of McCrohan’s face after Lewis was reminded that she was only 19 on her wedding day. Barrington was 47.

The finished piece, except for the bronzing, is a delight to Townsdin.

She said the project originated about five years ago when Lewis called her on the phone after viewing one of her Oak Harbor history books and expressed an interest in doing an art piece depicting early Oak Harbor pioneers.

She said it was Lewis’ idea to focus on the Barringtons.

“He kind of fell in love with the history and also the wedding photograph of Captain Barrington and Christina McCrohan,” Townsdin said. “He thought it it was something that could really be challenging.”

Edward Barrington was a sea captain from Nova Scotia who came to Oak Harbor in the mid 19th century and found great success as a merchandiser and lumberer.

He wound up owning most of the Oak Harbor waterfront land after purchasing two of the town’s original three Donation Land Claims from Martin Taftezon and Charles Sumner. Barrington also opened the town’s first business on what was then known as Barrington Avenue, a street that would retain that title for a century until it was renamed Pioneer Way in the 1960s. Barrington Avenue was then moved a block away to its present site.

McCrohan’s place in Oak Harbor history also was important, Townsdin said. She was a nurse and midwife. After Barrington’s death in 1883, she inherited the immense land and plotted it into lots, setting aside property for town parks such as what is now Smith Park.

Oak Harbor’s pioneer history was shaped by many prominent figures, including Ulrich Freund, one of the town’s original founders who wouldn’t sell his land to Barrington; and entrereneurs L.P. Byrne and brothers John and Joe Maylor.

However, the selection of the Barringtons as an art piece to represent pioneer history isn’t a poor choice, arts commission chairman Skip Pohtilla said.

“There is some historical justification for it,” he said.

Pohtilla said that a careful review will take place before the commission’s recommendation to the city council, including where to suggest the art piece should be placed.

Townsdin recommends it be placed on the sidewalk along Pioneer Way between the “Island Spirit” piece and the downtown mural.

Townsdin’s position as an arts commission member means she’ll likely need to recuse herself of any vote for the recommendation to the city council, Pohtilla said.

This is more due to her fundraising involvement than her family connection to the art piece’s subjects, Pohtilla said.

“I’m doing it as an individual not as an arts commission member,” Townsdin said. “It’s not a conflict of interest.”

The project took years to reach fruition after Lewis and Townsdin originally discussed the more pressing need of a Native American piece of artwork to recognize Oak Harbor’s earliest inhabitants, Townsdin said.

That led to Lewis’ donation of the “Island Spirit” sculpture, which also was delayed after Native American remains were uncovered downtown during construction in 2011.

Under a special exception, the city paid for the bronzing and installation of the Native American sculpture.

Townsdin didn’t want to press the issue this time, so she paid for those costs herself and will try to recover it through fundraising.

If all goes as Townsdin hopes with the commission and city council, she’d like to see the piece in downtown by the end of the summer.

She figures this project has been delayed long enough.

“I’m putting the pedal to the metal on this,” she said. “Now’s the time to get it done.”

n To send a donation to help pay for the project, mail contributions to Peggy Darst Townsdin, 810 N. El Cine St., Coupeville, WA 98239. She also may be reached at 360-678-5970.