MILAN, Ohio — Don Gfell, Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum vice president, Edison Statuary Hall Committee chairman, and lifelong aficionado of all things Thomas Edison, watched with pride Tuesday afternoon as a truck rolled into town carrying a massive bronze statue of the Milan-born inventor.

Mr. Gfell, who also owns a store that sells wood horns for Edison phonographs, was the central architect of an initiative to have Mr. Edison’s likeness represent Ohio at the National Statuary Hall in Washington. 

On Tuesday, he reaped the fruits of his long-standing effort.

“I’ve spent the last nine years of my life to get here today,” Mr. Gfell said. “Growing up in this community, Thomas Edison has been my hero and hobby my whole life.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Statue makes stop in Edison’s hometown of Milan, Ohio

The statue was delivered to Milan just before noon, passing first by the Edison Birthplace Museum before being unloaded in front of the Milan-Berlin Public Library and transported inside.

At 2:30 p.m., residents welcomed the statue in an official ceremony that featured speeches from state Sen. Randy Gardner, sculptor Alan Cottrill, and Robert Wheeler, Mr. Edison’s great-great-grandnephew. 

The statue will be on display at the library until September, then continue on to Washington.

In his fervent admiration for Mr. Edison, Mr. Gfell is far from alone. In Milan, Mr. Edison shares his name with the local school district, and artifacts from his life adorn the walls of the town’s library. Local eateries bear names like “Invention Family Restaurant.”

About 60 people came to see the statue, which is 6-foot-10 inches without the base and weighs 900 pounds.

“All the technology we have today started with the light bulb,” said Vern Basterash, a Milan native who attended the welcome ceremony. “With the light bulb, he opened up the daylight — at night — for everybody.”

The National Statuary Hall dates back to 1864 and features statues of two prominent people from each state. Until this year, assassinated President James Garfield and Civil War-era Governor William Allen have represented Ohio. Mr. Allen — an opponent of the Civil War and President Abraham Lincoln’s policies on slavery — will be replaced by Mr. Edison.

In 2000, Congress passed an act allowing states to replace statues that were then on display in the National Statuary Hall. The Ohio General Assembly voted Mr. Allen out in 2006, and Ohio residents selected Mr. Edison as the state’s representative in an online poll in 2010. The General Assembly officially passed the motion in 2012.

Mr. Cottrill said Mr. Edison’s pose holding up a light bulb is meant to mimic the torch-bearing goddess depicted in the Statue of Liberty. He added that he wanted to show Mr. Edison in a triumphant gesture, because “he had to have a big ego to do what he did.”

Ron Krock, who lives in nearby Huron and drove to see the statue Tuesday, said he voted for Mr. Edison in the 2010 poll — an easy choice.

“Who else?” Mr. Krock said. “He changed the world.”

Contact Jon Victor at: jvictor@theblade.com, 419-724-6050, or on Twitter @jon_victor_.

First Published June 8, 2016, 4:00 a.m.