Confederate Monument in Murray
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
The Confederate Soldier of Murray stands tall in front of the Calloway County Courthouse. The water fountain can still be seen today inside the monument.
A stern faced Commander Robert Lee displays one of the military outfits worn by soldiers from the Civil War era.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
During the era of the Civil War, Calloway County found many of its residents involved in the conflict. Approximately 800 men left the county to fight with the Confederate Army, while only 200 left to join the Union Army. For this reason, Calloway County was what one could call Confederate friendly. Calloway County even housed a Confederate fort during part of the Civil War. However, the fort was eventually overtaken by the Union Army and remained occupied by the Union Army for the remainder of the war.
The Confederate Monument in Murray is a historical fountain monument of the Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee. The Confederate Monument stands over 16 feet tall and consists of three parts. The bottom of the monument is a granite slab with a porcelain drinking fountain inside. At one time when the drinking fountain was operational, it was operated using a foot pedal. Inside the monument is a light fixture containing four bulbs to keep the water fountain well lighted. On top of the foundation are four 6-foot-tall columnns rising from the slab with a canopy of stone on top. The top of the canopy holds a 5.5-foot-tall statue of Robert E. Lee along with four marble balls.
The Confederate Monument of Murray was built in 1917 to honor the 800 soldiers from the J.N. Williams chapter of United Daughters of the Confederacy for the price of 2,500 dollars. The money for the monument was raised during a three-year fundraiser by the chapter. The statue was built by the McNeel Monument Company of Marietta, Georgia although the chairman of the chapter would never see it, dying prior to its completion. Her name was etched to the monument.
In 1997 the monument was added to the National Register of Historical Places.
Sources
Parker, Franklin. Confederate Monument Murray. Murray Ledger and Times. September 02, 2017. Accessed September 20, 2017. http://murrayledger.com/news/Confederate-monument-murray/image_6de39be2-8f8f-11e7-ac38-cba7450ed277.....
Published 07/17/1997. National Register of Historic Places. ID 97000711