Despite Mississippi Rep. Stacey Hobgood-Wilkes (Rep.-Picayune) urging the City Council to reconsider relocating the Confederate Statue during last Monday night’s meeting, crews began relocating the aging monument early last Wednesday morning.
To the surprise of business owners and employees of businesses on the Downtown Square, the roads leading to and around the area where the statue has stood for decades, were blocked off to make way for boom trucks being used to lower and load the statue onto an awaiting 18-wheeler. Several months back, the Council voted to spend more than $60,000 on its relocation.
“Upon coming to the office this morning, we found out that the entire Downtown Square is blocked off today,” the Grenada County Sheriff’s Office posted on social media just after 7 a.m. last Wednesday. “If you have business at the Courthouse or business on the Square today, you won’t be able to park on the Square. We weren’t aware that the Square would be blocked off today nor how long it will be blocked off.”
Throughout the day, the Confederate Monument was uncovered, disassembled and placed piece by piece on a flatbed trailer where it was strapped down and transported to the fenced-in lot behind the city’s maintenance building for storage. It remains there today uncovered.
Despite Rep. Hobgood-Wilkes’ pleas, the Council voted 5-2 to proceed with moving the statue. It was Item 6 on the Executive Session agenda regarding Potential Litigation — Downtown Monument. According to Mayor Charles H. Latham, Warren B. Cox (Ward 1), Fredreick “Pete” Wilson (Ward 2), Lewis Johnson (Ward 3), Michael D. Smith (Ward 4) and Eric Harris (Ward 5) voted to proceed with the monument’s relocation. Ward 6 Councilwoman Lori Chavis and Ward 7 Councilman Ronald J. Merriman both cast no votes.
The Confederate Monument is currently strapped and uncovered to a flatbed trailer in the fenced-in lot behind the city’s maintenance building for storage. | Staff Photo
Rep. Hobgood-Wilkes, who represents Dist. 108 in Pearl River County, took to the podium Monday night explaining to Councilmembers that the law requires that the statue be relocated to a suitable location.
“I know that the monument is going to be moved soon and I know that the Attorney General’s Office has spoken numerous times with the City Attorney (Mary Brown), and back-and-forth,” she said. “There are several things that we have going on that I would like for you to consider before you move the monument.”
Rep. Hobgood-Wilkes went on to explain that the permit that the City received from Mississippi Department of Archives & History involves the Code section dealing with the Antiquities Law 39-7-3. It reads: “It is hereby declared to be the public policy and in the public interest of the State of Mississippi to locate, protect, and preserve all sites, objects, buildings, shipwrecks, and locations of historical, archaeological, or architectural significance, including, but not limited to historically or architecturally significant buildings, structures relating to significant engineering accomplishments, prehistoric and historical American Indian or aboriginal campsites, dwellings, and habitation sites, archaeological sites of every character, treasure imbedded in the earth, sunken or abandoned ships and wrecks of the sea or any part or the contents thereof, maps, records, documents, books, artifacts, and implements of culture in any way related to the inhabitants, prehistory, history, natural history, government, or culture in, on or under any of the lands, tidelands, submerged lands, and bed of the sea within the jurisdiction of the State of Mississippi.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with a suitable location,” she added. “That has to do with the ground, archeological things — making sure it’s not a beach — things like that to make sure that the monument is moved safely without damage. That does not address suitable location.”
It was later announced that crews discovered a time capsule in the cornerstone of the monument during disassembly. Mayor Latham admitted that he opened the metal box, which uncovered several editions of “The Grenada Sentinel,” predecessor to The Grenada Star, and later shared a video on social media of workers opening the time capsule and both parties speaking. “The Grenada Sentinel” published a story on June 3, 1910, about the cornerstone being laid.
The story stated that the following items were placed in the time capsule: public school faculty, students’ trustees and also students in the Hester School; names of volunteer soldiers as could be ascertained; $100 Confederate bill; medallion of Grenada Bank; names of city and county officers including board of supervisors; copy of proceedings of the board of supervisors of April 1910’ Bible, names of (United Daughters of the Confederacy) Dixie chapter; names of WR Barksdale camp (United Confederate Veterans); names of resident veterans; copy of proceeding of the General Convention UDC Dixie chapter; copy of the minutes of the Miss. Div., UDCs; copy of “The Grenada Sentinel” from May 27, 1910; copy of “Grenada Optimist” from May 27, 1910; name of builder of monument and a copy of “The Commercial Appeal” from May 29, 1910.
Last Thursday night during the Council’s final budget work session, Latham reported that the Mississippi Department of Archives & History would be contacted for guidance on how to preserve the contents of the capsule, which he said has been locked in the vault inside City Hall.
Rep. Hobgood-Wilkes continued stating that MDAH “has not acknowledged” that the location where the statue is being moved — tucked away in a small patch of woods behind Grenada Fire Station 3 not visible to the public — as a suitable location to the city’s proposed site, which preparations began on several weeks ago. She added that she requested and reviewed Council Meeting minutes dating back to 2020 through present that make no mention of the new site.
“There was one meeting where you voted to cover (it with a) tarp until it was moved to another location,” she said. “The location was never specified. According to all the minutes provided — and the Attorney General requested minutes too — showing that the location at the fire station was voted on was not noted in any minutes that we’ve seen. So, there’s not been a vote taken to move it to that location.”
In addition, Rep. Hobgood-Wilkes reminded the Council that several alternative options for both moving and a relocation site for the statue have been expressed by numerous city residents. All other options have fallen on deaf ears.
“This is causing divisiveness that doesn’t have to be had and done,” she continued.
Several residents were also in attendance Monday night voicing their concerns. They all agreed that the city’s Confederate Cemetery is the “most suitable” relocation site for the statue.
“With the men that died and lost their lives in that conflict, the Confederate Cemetery is the most suitable location,” Rep. Hobgood-Wilkes concluded. “That Archives & History permit does not grant that. And if you go to the Webster dictionary and look up ‘suitable,’ and look at the locations that have been presented, there’s really no question. So, if the city proceeds forward, I’m sure that there will be litigation. I do realize that you want it gone for the Jubilee — I do understand that — but it’s not too late to just remove the tarp and let’s get this done and moved one time, so it doesn’t have to be moved twice, moved to the appropriate location.”
