DAR monument may be moved to front of courthouse

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April 13, 2010

By HEATHER PYLES, Staff Writer

Somerset — A piece of Pulaski County history may have a new home in the near future.

Representatives with the Somerset Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) asked during Tuesday’s Pulaski County Fiscal Court meeting that the court approve moving a monument from the old library, now the Carnegie Community Arts Center, to the front of the courthouse.

The monument, located to the side of Carnegie, was originally placed in the Fountain Square on June 14, 1940 and is dedicated to those Revolutionary War soldiers who settled in Pulaski County and helped settle and develop the area.

“I lived here for a long time before I knew there was such a monument,” DAR representative Pauline Jones said during her request to the court. “Nobody is aware of it unless you’re interested in such a thing.”

The monument originally featured the names of 55 pioneer settlers who, according to an article from the June 12, 1940 edition of The Commonwealth, were meticulously traced through research to the American Revolution. The memorial was moved to its current site in 1974.

According to that article, it took several years of research to confirm that those people named on the memorial did in fact serve in the Revolutionary War.

Room was left on the memorial for additional names, and several other individuals were added to the monument over the years as more connections were found.

If the monument is moved, it will join four other monuments dedicated to those involved in armed conflicts. Memorials dedicated to those soldiers lost in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam are located in front of the courthouse now.

Jones said she and other members of the DAR would send a letter of permission to the national society in Washington D.C. if the court granted permission for the move. Jones stated that the Pulaski County Public Library, which still owns the old library property, had already given permission.

Several magistrates asked whether any research had been carried out into the cost of the monument’s move. Jones answered that nothing had been looked into as of yet, but she said it will be researched should they receive approval from the national society of the DAR.

The court emphasized that the only part of the process that has been approved is their permission for the actual change in location, not the cost and labor.

“Just wanted to make this clear,” said Fourth District Magistrate Glenn Maxey about the possible transfer of the monument. “Right now, all we’re doing is getting you a spot to clear it.”