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Controversial Statues Will Be Moved To Cemetery

Karyn Czar
Credit Karyn Czar

Confederate statues that were removed from Cheapside Park in downtown Lexington last month will have a new home. The Urban County Council finalized an agreement between the city and the Lexington Cemetery to move two confederate statues there.

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The statues of John C. Breckenridge and John Hunt Morgan have been held in a private storage facility since they were removed last October from their previous home in Cheapside Park, which was once a slave auction block. The agreement gives the city ownership of the statues. Mayor Jim Gray said there are still details to be ironed out but he’s grateful an agreement has been reached.

This past August, council voted unanimously to move the statues. It was first thought the city needed approval from the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission before anything could be relocated, but Attorney General Andy Beshear issued an opinion giving the city the authority over the states. They were swiftly moved from their downtown Lexington location.

Copyright 2017 WUKY

Karyn Czar