FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – The Franklin County NAACP has formally requested moving the proposed location of a monument honoring 70 local men who served in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War.
The request comes after weeks of statements and a community meeting to discuss what the future monument will look like.
The monument is funded through a $285,000 grant from Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia. The NAACP applied for the grant after learning that 70 Franklin County men enlisted in the United States Colored Troops.
Franklin County NAACP President Eric Anspaugh said it’s important for this type of history to be told.
“These 70 men’s history, hardly anyone knows...I knew nothing about it. Most of us knew nothing about it. It’s kind of just unspoken and unwritten history. It’s a story we feel needs to be told,” Anspaugh said.
While the men enlisted all over the country, they all put Franklin County as the place they were born.
The monument is part of a larger community project funded through the grant called Raising the Shade, Franklin County 1850 – 1910.
While it’s certain the monument will be in the town of Rocky Mount, where it will be is still up for debate.
The original proposal was for the monument to be located in Rocky Mount’s Veterans Memorial Park. The Town Council and the Franklin County Veterans’ Memorial Commission voted in favor of placing the monument at the park earlier this year.
However, after Sculptors Paul DiPasquale and Rick Weaver, mentioned moving the proposed location of the monument, NAACP members hopped on board with the change.
“Our sculptor said time and again ‘placement, location, placement, location’. High visibility, high traffic areas, where a lot of people are going to see it. A lot of people are going to want to spend time with it,” Anspaugh said.
He and several other members of the NAACP packed the Rocky Mount Town Council meeting on Monday to give input on where the monument should go.
Town Manager Robert Wood said their position remains the same. The town clarified its position with a letter to the Franklin County NAACP on July 31 stating they considered the matter of the location of the monument “settled”.
“The thought was that makes perfect sense, put it in a veteran’s park. It helps tell part of the story or the history of the Franklin County veterans that haven’t been told to date,” Wood said.
Wood wanted to be clear that the council is not opposed to the idea of a monument, and is thrilled the community wants to see something like this. However, the location is where things get tough.
The Raising the Shade project is scheduled to conclude with the unveiling of the monument in December of 2025.