Since it's been just about forever since we had a courthouse trivia question I thought this morning that I'd go out and take some courthouse photos. I've had my eye on this courthouse (which was built in the early 20th century) for a long time and I knew there was a Confederate monument in front of it, so I figured, this would be a good one to visit. The courthouse was completed around the same time that Alabama moved aggressively to limit African American voting. And in fact it turns out that the Confederate monument in front of the courthouse was put up shortly after the courthouse was finished -- so perhaps it joins a celebration of the Confederacy with the new courthouse. This turns Faulkner's observation in Requiem for a Nun around somewhat. In that where Faulkner depicted his community as (largely) moving on from the Confederacy, more concerned with monuments to the Spanish-American war or to commerce than to the Confederacy. Though that could be said for just about all early 20th century Confederate monuments, I suppose. Also significant, I think, is that the Confederate monument is different from many I've seen, in that it has the names of all (so far as I can tell) of the Confederate soldiers and sailors from the county on it, rather than just a subset -- like the officers. No incorporation of names by reference here, as happens at the Sussex County, Virginia, monument and in the plaque honoring Washington College alums who fought for the Confederacy, at the Washington and Lee Chapel. So shall we start with the question: where is this courthouse? And then after the fold I'll talk a little more about the monument.
Sumter County.
Posted by: Bill Turnier | March 10, 2018 at 07:41 PM
Bill! You're good. This is it exactly. Very nicely done.
Posted by: Al Brophy | March 10, 2018 at 07:52 PM