State Commission Approves Plans For Relocation Of Denton Confederate Monument
DENTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The Texas Historical Commission on Thursday unanimously approved plans to relocate the Denton County Confederate soldier monument to inside the Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum.
"We are very fortunate that we have a professional staff that has an eye for the long-term preservation of our artifacts, this and many others," said Denton County Judge Andy Eads. "This is just a great partnership between the local elected officials, our community advocates, the THC and our staff. We wanted to do the right thing, the right way.
The installation of the permanent exhibit will happen within the next six months.
"I do not believe we'd have this artifact today if we did not take the action we did collectively last year," Judge Eads said. "We are in the business of historic preservation. Part of that is preserving our artifacts. And, I think the appropriate and timely actions taken by the THC in conjunction with the Commissioners Court preserved this artifact for future generations. That is what we are all about. I think this new home and new location just still on the Denton County Square but indoors is a great new location."
On June 25, 2020, Denton County retained the services of a professional fine arts moving company to remove and relocate the monument. It has remained in climate-controlled storage owned by the county since then.
"Although the Confederate Statue relocation and contextual additions have taken time, it's been well worth it," said John Baines, member of the Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square Art Committee. "The committee has worked together to come up with what we think is the best thing for Denton County and the memorial."
The monument, in its entirety, measures 18 feet, 54 inches in height. The ceiling height for the Courthouse-on-the-Square is 12 feet, 8 inches. As a result, the permanent exhibit inside the museum will feature the statue of the soldier and two engraved tablets from the original monument.
"We submitted a proposal to the state of Texas on the relocation and contextual additions and we were pleasantly surprised at the state's acceptance, appreciation and the glowing words regarding our submission," Baines said.
The exhibit will be surrounded on three sides by a 3-D version of the Confederate monument where it was once located on the Courthouse-on-the-Square lawn. In addition, a narrative will explain the history of the monument as well as the history of slavery statewide and locally. A kiosk at the exhibit will also feature videos including narrators from the committee on everything from the removal of the monument to the history of slavery in America to the African American experience during the Jim Crow era to the history of the United Daughters of The Confederacy and Confederate monuments.
