BLOUNTSVILLE, Ala. – On Monday evening, a proposal that could have brought the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument that was recently removed from Birmingham’s Linn Park nearer to Cullman County was declined. The Blountsville Historical Society voted almost unanimously to pass on the proposed relocation to Blountsville Historical Park of the monument that was taken down in Birmingham after it was vandalized and damaged by rioters attempting to tear it down. The city government of Birmingham opted to take the monument down and face a state lawsuit after Mayor Randall Woodfin promised to remove it. Blountsville Town Councilman Dennis Beavers, who is also a member of the historical society and who was spearheading the effort to bring the monument to Blountsville, offered the only vote in favor of accepting the monument.
Historical society president O.K. Alexander reported that, in a poll taken of the membership by phone, the majority opposed acceptance of the monument. Safety and security of the historical park was cited as the primary concern.
Beavers told the meeting that the City of Birmingham agreed to pay for the re-erection and restoration of the monument, and that he had asked the city government for security cameras and increased insurance for the park.
Discussion among members placed significance on the educational value of the Linn Park monument and others, and indicated a desire to see them standing somewhere, but returned to the issue of safety and security for Blountsville Historical Park before the vote was taken.
Beavers said before the vote that he would try to find another home for the monument if Blountsville did not take it.
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