MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL PRESS RELEASE
Montgomery County Executive Leggett and County Council Consider Options to Relocate Rockville Confederate Statue They Are Asking Residents to Comment on 5 Proposed Options Prior to Wednesday, Sept. 9
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and the County Council are reviewing options for the relocation of the statue of a Confederate soldier that is located next to the Red Brick Courthouse in downtown Rockville. Five options have been recently identified by representatives of several groups interested in the issue.
The group of representatives, which was brought together by Council staff, identified the potential options for relocation of the statue, although it did not endorse any of those plans. The County also is exploring whether there are other options beyond those five sites.
The County Executive and the Council are asking residents to offer their opinions on the five identified sites by Wednesday, Sept. 9. They will consider those comments before the County Executive plans to discuss the issue with the City of Rockville’s Historic District Commission at a meeting on Thursday evening, Sept. 17. County Executive Leggett has indicated he will be requesting permission from the Historic District Commission to move the statue from its current location.
Comments on the statue can be sent to Council President / Montgomery County Council / Re: Confederate Statue / 100 Maryland Ave. / Rockville, MD 20850 or by email to county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov .
“We share County Executive Isiah Leggett’s view that the statue does not belong in the center of government outside the courthouse and believe it should be relocated to a site where we are able to tell the full story of Montgomery County’s participation in the Civil War from all perspectives, including those of both Confederate and Union supporters, as well as free blacks and slaves,” said County Council President George Leventhal. County Executive Leggett. “I look forward to receiving the views of the residents of the County.”
The Confederate statue was dedicated in 1913—50 years after Confederate troops came to Rockville on their way to the Battle of Gettysburg. Recent incidents around the nation have led many communities to reconsider display of the Confederate flag and Confederate statues.
The discussion on how to address the location of the Confederate statue in Rockville included representatives from the NAACP, Peerless Rockville (the history organization of the City), Montgomery History, the Menare Foundation and representatives of several local governments with an interest in the statue or potential sites for relocation.
The potential sites recommended for consideration by the group include:
1. Beall-Dawson Historical Park in Rockville.
2. Callithea Farm Special Park in Potomac.
3. Darnestown Square Heritage Park in Darnestown.
4. Jesup Blair Local Park in Silver Spring.
5. The Edgewood Farm (privately owned) in Gaithersburg/Unity.
Information about each of these five sites is available at http://tinyurl.com/pjs4veo .
A July 30 memorandum from the Council President Leventhal to other Councilmembers proposing actions that should be taken related to the statue is available at http://tinyurl.com/o5q2g8x .
Summaries of the meetings convened by Council staff on July 27 and Aug. 11 to discuss options related to the statue and potential locations are available. The summary of the July 27 meeting can be found out at http://tinyurl.com/nc3ow4f . The summary of the Aug. 11 can be found at http://tinyurl.com/qjuxh9c .