By a three-to-two vote after a long and varied discussion from citizens, the Alachua County Commission voted to offer the Confederate Soldier statue, which has been at the corner of Main St. and University Avenue since 1904, to the Matheson Historical Museum for placement on their grounds.
It was felt that the message of the statue, extolling the cause of the South which most historians agree was about perpetuation of the system of slavery, was not appropriate for land on which also had the Alachua County Administration Building, and that the museum was a more appropriate place. Keeping with the fact the statue was put up with private funds, it was decreed that private funds would also fund its move to the Matheson.
