Denton Confederate Soldier Monument Explained
The Denton Confederate Soldier Monument was an outdoor Confederate memorial installed in downtown Denton, Texas, in the United States.[1]
Description
The statue depicts an armed Confederate soldier standing on an arch with the inscription, "Our Confederate Soldiers".
History
The monument was funded and erected in 1918 by the Katie Daffan Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.[2]
The courthouse behind where the monument had stood was named a Texas Historic Landmark in 1970, a National Historic Registry landmark in 1977, and a Texas State Archeological Landmark in 1981.[3] [4]
Vandalism and removal
One local resident, Willie Hudspeth, has been working to remove the memorial since 2000.[5]
The monument was vandalized with the words "This Is Racist" in 2015.[6] On February 1, 2018, Denton County leaders voted 15–0 to keep the statue but add a plaque denouncing slavery and a video kiosk explaining the city's racial history and progress (which was never added or completed).
On June 9, 2020, in the wake of the protests following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Denton County commissioners voted to remove the memorial.[7] [8]
On the morning of June 25, 2020, removal of the statue began just before dawn.[9]
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Confederate Memorial - Denton Texas - American Civil War Monuments and Memorials on Waymarking.com. www.waymarking.com. 2017-08-19. 2017-08-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20170819063139/http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6VKE_Confederate_Memorial_Denton_Texas. live.
- Little, Carol Morris, A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1996 p. 196-197
- Web site: Denton Confederate Soldier Monument Draws Debate. 24 June 2015 . 2017-08-19. 2017-08-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20170819063758/http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Denton-Confederate-Soldier-Monument-Draws-Debate-309669071.html. live.
- Web site: Turning 100, a Confederate Soldier Monument in Denton Faces an Uncertain Future. Christian. McPhate. 16 August 2017. 19 August 2017. 19 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170819063558/http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/confederate-statue-in-denton-faces-uncertain-future-9769642. live.
- Web site: Denton Man Fights For 17 Years To Have Confederate Monument Removed. Andrea Lucia. . 16 August 2017 . 2017-08-19. 2017-08-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20170819061412/http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2017/08/16/denton-man-fight-confederate-monument/. live.
- Web site: Video shows pair vandalizing Confederate monument in Denton. 20 July 2015. 19 August 2017. 4 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181004021400/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2015/07/20/video-shows-pair-vandalizing-confederate-monument-in-denton. live.
- Web site: 2020-06-09. Denton, Tarrant counties vote to remove Confederate monuments. 2020-06-10. Dallas News. en. 2020-06-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20200610203004/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2020/06/09/denton-tarrant-counties-vote-to-removed-confederate-monuments-from-cities/. live.
- Web site: Higgs. Ryan. Commissioners approve removal and relocation of Confederate soldier memorial. 2020-06-10. Denton Record-Chronicle. 9 June 2020 . en. 2020-06-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20200610193951/https://dentonrc.com/news/denton_county/commissioners-approve-removal-and-relocation-of-confederate-soldier-memorial/article_952af884-90dc-5820-af1d-4295c26f885d.html. live.
- Web site: 2020-06-25. Confederate monument being removed from Square. 2020-06-25. Denton Record Chronicle. en. 2020-06-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20200626212651/https://dentonrc.com/news/confederate-monument-being-removed-from-square/article_5c08cdbf-e801-5cc8-a373-78bd4042c873.html. live.
