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It remains unclear when and where the two Confederate memorials will be relocated on the lawn of Bastrop District Court after district officials dismantled their previous plan for the war memorials on Monday.
During a special session on October 28, district officials approved a nine-point plan for the two monuments – an obelisk erected by a local Confederation of Daughters in 1910 and a granite tombstone erected by the state of Texas in 1964 in memory of Joseph D. Sayers, a major in the Confederate Army and the 22nd governor of Texas.
The plan was for both monuments to be kept in a “safe place” by a contractor of the court’s choice until the first floor of the district’s historic prison can be restored and converted into a Bastrop district museum. The court originally agreed that the middle part of the obelisk, with inscriptions engraved on its walls, would be relocated to this museum – and the rest of the monument would be kept in a different location out of the public eye.
However, during Monday’s Commissioners Court session, the court voted to abandon those plans. With a 3-2 vote – with District Judge Paul Pape and Commissioner Mark Meuth abstaining – the court agreed to delete the parts of the October 28 agreement that said where the memorials would be relocated.
The agreement also provides for the historic prison to be converted into a museum, which can take up to three years. It is not known whether the memorials will stand on the courthouse lawn or be put into storage during this time.
Pape said a contractor estimates that removing and relocating the memorials will cost nearly $ 50,000, raised by the memorial relocation committee.
The Commissioners Court, after voting to remove and relocate the Confederate monuments, set up the Monument Relocation Committee in July 2020 to find a new home for the monuments and to raise the money needed to move.
The Texas Historical Committee’s conservation program has agreed to provide funding to restore the historic prison, Pape said, adding that the court has already approved around $ 240,000 for the project.
Pape said an architect estimated the prison renovation would cost about $ 500,000.
For Pape, moving the memorials to a museum is important to “serve as a reminder of a period in American history that most of us are not proud of, but which happened and is part of what America is today “.
Commissioner Mel Hamner, who is also a veteran, called for the monuments to be preserved in their entirety “to educate future generations”.
Pape said the story could be shared and passed on without the entire obelisk being intact.
“Anyone interested in our history and willing to learn about our history, I think the majority of it will be the labeled part of the cube,” said Pape. “… Aside from maybe having a nice picture of it being set up on the courthouse lawn, I don’t know how the rest of the granite would be very educational or educational.”
Hamner said the memorials are about respecting veterans.
“We’re talking (about) veterans here,” said Hamner. “You know, I know it’s viewed differently by different groups, but I happen to be a veteran and see it as a veteran regardless of which side they’re fighting on.”
Commissioner Clara Beckett said she was reluctant to remove the memorials until the court finalized plans for their relocation.
“I think we need a solid plan to make this happen in this historic prison, and I think we are all determined to do it,” Beckett said. “I only have one real problem with dismantling and storing.”
Due to the architecture of the prison, the 27-foot-tall obelisk might not fit in if the county decides to convert its first floor into a museum. Some, including Pape, have advocated exhibiting only the middle cube of the obelisk, while Beckett and others have advocated keeping all parts of the obelisk in the museum.
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https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/11/09/confederate-monuments-bastrop-county-war-memorials-relocation-flux/6347112001/
