SALISBURY, N.C. — It's possible a Confederate monument in downtown Salisbury that has been at the center of controversy for years could be moved to a new location.
There are tentative discussions between Salisbury City Council and the United Daughters of the Confederacy local chapter to permanently relocate the Fame statue.
The Fame statue, which displays an angel holding a Confederate soldier, sits in a median off the intersection of West Innes Street and Church Street. It pays tribute to Confederate soldiers from Rowan County.
In June 2019, there was a meeting to possibly move the monument. The monument has been vandalized twice. During the meeting it was determined the city would need permission from the owner to move the statue.
The statue is owned by Robert F. Hoke, Chapter #78 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The land it sits on was also granted to them by the city in 1908, according to J. Graham Corriher, the city attorney for Salisbury.
There are now discussions between Salisbury City Council and the United Daughters of the Confederacy to possibly moving the statue, but on Friday the City of Salisbury stated, "At this time, no formal agreement has been signed or notarized."