El Dorado Confederate Monument

El Dorado Confederate Monument
Location Courthouse Lawn, near jct. of N. Main St. and S. Washington, El Dorado, Arkansas
Coordinates 33°12′43″N 92°39′48″W / 33.21194°N 92.66333°WCoordinates: 33°12′43″N 92°39′48″W / 33.21194°N 92.66333°W
Area less than one acre
Built 1910
Architectural style Classical Revival
Governing body Local
Part of El Dorado Commercial Historic District (#03000773)
MPS Civil War Commemorative Sculpture MPS
NRHP Reference # 96000463[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP April 26, 1996
Designated CP August 21, 2003

The El Dorado Confederate Monument is located on the grounds of the Union County Courthouse in El Dorado, Arkansas, near the corner of North Main and South Washington Streets. It consists of a statue of a Confederate Army soldier in mid-stride, mounted on top of a temple-like structure supported by four cannon-shaped Ionic columns. The columns support a lintel structure bearing inscriptions on three sides, above which is a tiered roof with cannonballs at the corners. The temple structure is 15 feet (4.6 m) high, and 10 feet (3.0 m) square; the statue measures 76 inches (1.9 m) by 28 inches (0.71 m) by 28 inches (0.71 m). Both the statue and the temple are constructed of gray/blue striated marble. Inside the temple structure is a water fountain that no longer works.[2]

The monument was built in 1910 at a cost of over $2,800, and was paid for by the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It is believed to be the first fountain-style Confederate monument in the South. The front (south) side of the monument is inscribed "CSA 1861 - 1865 / ERECTED BY THE HENRY G. BUNN CHAPTER / UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY / 1909". The north side is inscribed "'TRUTH CRUSHED TO EARTH SHALL RISE AGAIN.' / 'EVEN DEATH CANNOT SEVER THE CORDS OF MEMORY.'" The western lintel reads "'IN HONOR OF THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS / OF UNION COUNTY, ARK.'". The eastern lintel has a pair of crossed swords on it.[2]

The monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.[1] It was included in the El Dorado Commercial Historic District in 2003.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "NHRP nomination for El Dorado Confederate Monument". Arkansas Preservation. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
  3. "NRHP nomination for El Dorado Commercial Historic District". Arkansas Preservation. Retrieved 2014-04-27.