The Texas Historical Commission on Thursday unanimously approved plans to relocate the Denton County Confederate soldier monument to inside the Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum.
The installation of the permanent exhibit will happen within the next six months.
Denton County made the decision to remove the statue a year ago, and have kept it in climate controlled storage ever since.
The monument, is 18 feet, 54 inches in height. The ceiling height for the Courthouse-on-the-Square is 12 feet, 8 inches. So, the permanent exhibit inside the museum will feature the statue of the soldier and just two engraved tablets from the original monument.
The exhibit will also include a narrative that will explain the history of the monument as well as the history of slavery.
“We are very fortunate that we have a professional staff that has an eye for the long-term preservation of our artifacts, this and many others,” said Denton County Judge Andy Eads. “This is just a great partnership between the local elected officials, our community advocates, the THC and our staff. We wanted to do the right thing, the right way.
“I do not believe we’d have this artifact today if we did not take the action we did collectively last year,” Judge Eads said. “We are in the business of historic preservation. Part of that is preserving our artifacts. And, I think the appropriate and timely actions taken by the THC in conjunction with the Commissioners Court preserved this artifact for future generations. That is what we are all about. I think this new home and new location just still on the Denton County Square but indoors is a great new location.”