Anson record file photo
The confederate statue outside the courthouse in Wadesboro was removed last summer.
To remain in care of private benefactor.
Anson record file photo
Protestors march down a Wadesboro street on in summer 2020 while protesting police brutality and racism in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
A Scotland County monument, allegedly erected to honor the Confederate dead, may soon find a new home, according to Anson County Attorney Scott Forbes.
The monument was removed from its pedestal in front of the Anson County Courthouse in the early hours of July 8 following a split-vote by the Anson County Board of Commissioners the night before. Today it resides in storage at an unspecified location but, Forbes said, that may soon change.
“The monument is going to a private benefactor in the county,” Forbes said following a meeting where two Anson County residents sought its location.
“Let’s face it,” Forbes said in a phone interview. ”There are two sides. One wants to melt [the monument] down and another that wants to preserve it forever.”
According to Forbes, the compromise was to take statue off public property and off a taxpayer-based support system.
The statue, erected on January 19, 1906, was built by both Wadesboro Granite and Marble Finishing Company as well as Coggins Memorial Art and it was paid for by the Anson Chapter 357 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).
Established in 1894, the UDC was created to commemorate the Confederate States army through the funding of memorials. The UDC’s involvement in building statues to celebrate the Klu Klux Klan as well as their romantic portrayal of the confederacy has been the root of much controversy.
The Anson County Confederate Soldiers Monument features a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier with his gun by his feet standing atop the multi-tiered base. The soldier is said to be based on Ansonville-native and Civil War veteran Richardson, who was a member of the 23rd Regiment, Company A North Carolina Troops.
Calls for the removal of Confederate monuments, like the one at the Anson County Courthouse, came with renewed fervor across the country following the 2015 Charleston Church Shooting. The death of George Floyd caused interest in removing Confederate symbols from public spaces to flare up again. Some of these statues were voted to be removed by local governments while others were torn down by protesters.
According to Forbes, the removal of the statue and of the still-standing pedestal, was paid by an undisclosed private party at an estimated cost of between $18-$20,000.
Its new location will be announced once the property is leveled and the pedestal put in place.
“The reason we are not announcing the location is that the guy’s a private guy and is still working on his land,” Forbes said. “We didn’t want people trying to go on his private property before it’s done.”