Part of a 27-foot monument to Confederate soldiers outside a courthouse in eastern North Carolina was removed Monday after local officials gave their approval last week.
WNCT-TV reported crews removed the bronze statue that tops the monument outside the Pitt County Courthouse in Greenville. The removal began at 12:01 a.m. and finished up around 5 a.m. Monday. The station reported that the removal happened during the overnight hours to minimize traffic and safety concerns.
The pedestal and base from the monument will be taken down at a later time because a contracted crane had a mechanical issue. The monument had stood at 100 W. Third Street in Greenville since it was dedicated on Nov. 13, 1914.
“Immediately upon removal, the statue (was) transported to a secure, monitored location where it will be preserved and stored until a relocation committee, appointed by the Pitt County Board of Commissioners, determines a permanent location,” Pitt County officials said in a statement.
The county's Board of Commissioners voted 7-2 on June 15 in favor of the monument's "immediate removal."
According to the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, this was the only remaining Confederate monument in Greenville and Pitt County.
The action taken by Pitt County on Monday follows the removal of three Confederate monuments in Raleigh over the weekend. Protesters toppled a pair of statues from one of the monuments Friday night, and then Governor Roy Cooper ordered the removal of the monuments on Saturday.
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