Vance Monument

Zebulon Vance was a United States Congressman before the Civil War, Governor of North Carolina during and after the war, and a United States senator from 1880 until his death in 1894.{{Cite book |url=https://docsouth.unc.edu/browse/bios/pn0001702_bio.html |title=Dictionary of North Carolina Biography |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=1979–1996 |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=William S. |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |language=en |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Documenting the American South}} He was born in a log cabin in Buncombe County, about {{convert|12|mi|km|spell=in}} south of Asheville, and later practiced law and lived in Asheville before entering politics.

In May 1896, the Vance Monument Association was organized by George S. Powell and George Willis Pack, a New Yorker who had recently moved to Asheville from Cleveland, Ohio.{{Cite news |date=May 20, 1897 |title=A Memorial to Vance |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96034209/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=May 11, 1898 |title=Vance Monument Unveiled |pages=3 |work=The Daily Times |location=Richmond, Virginia |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96222201/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Other members of the association included W. D Gwyn Esq., J. P. Kerr, John A. Nichols, Thomas Walton Patton, J. E. Rankin, and J. P. Sawyer who was its treasurer.{{Cite news |date=February 12, 1898 |title=The Monument to Vance: The Unveiling Will Occur About May 1 |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96214718/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=March 11, 1898 |title=The Dedication Ceremony: Vance Monument is Practically Complete |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96215940/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspaper.com}}

Chaired by Powell, the association's purpose was to raise funds and collect subscriptions or pledges to create a memorial for Vance. The association held fundraising events, including a performance of Punch Robertson Company at the Grand Opera House.{{Cite news |date=June 23, 1896 |title=The Cavass Begins: Tickets Selling for Vance Memorial Fund Benefits |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96044228/vance-memorial-fundraising/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Twenty volunteers under the leadership of Mrs. John M. Campbell went door to door to raise funds and sell tickets to the charity event. There was another community-wide fundraiser on July 4, 1896, at Battery Park Hill.{{Cite news |date=July 3, 1896 |title=How to Celebrate the Fourth: Contribute to the Vance Memorial Fund |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96046816/july-4th-fundraiser-for-vance-monument/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Pack donated $2,000, or nearly two-thirds of the $3,326 raised, equivalent to ${{Inflation|index=US|value=3,326|start_year=1897|fmt=c}} in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Wykle |first=Helen |date=2006-08-02 |title=George Willis Pack |url=http://toto.lib.unca.edu/web_exhibits/WNC_pack/default_pack.htm |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=University of North Carolina at Asheville Library |language=en}} He made his pledge on the condition that Buncombe County would give land in front of the courthouse for a monument to Vance in perpetuity; the county promptly passed a resolution.{{Cite news |date=December 21, 1897 |title=Cornerstone Ceremonies |pages=1 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizens |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96140543/plans-for-groundbreaking-ceremony/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Other contributors included Jewish organizations, Senator Mathew S. Quay of Pennsylvania, Senator Blair Lee of Maryland, Philadelphia paper firm A. G. Elliott & Company, S. Hecht Jr & Son of Baltimore, and James Logan of the Logan, Swift and Brigham Envelope Company in Worcester, Massachusetts.{{Cite news |last=Ready |first=Milton |date=June 25, 2015 |title=When past is present: Zeb Vance and his monument |work=Mountain Xpress |url=https://mountainx.com/opinion/when-past-is-present-zeb-vance-and-his-monument/ |access-date=February 21, 2022}}{{Cite news |date=July 14, 1896 |title=For the Fund |pages=2 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96050431/northern-contributors-to-the-vance-memor/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=August 12, 1896 |title=Senator Quay's Check for the Fund |pages=1 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96065344/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=September 15, 1896 |title=S. Hecht Jr & Sons |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96067011/hecht-gift-to-vance-memorial/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=December 21, 1896 |title=Geo. S. Powell Has Received a Check |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96072067/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} English-born Logan wrote, "I, too, looked upon Senator Vance as one of the large men of North Carolina. I did not always agree with him, but that is not strange. Our training was wonderfully different."

In September 1897, the Asheville Daily Citizen noted, "The fact that George W. Pack gave about two-thirds of the money for the building of the memorial to Senator Vance speaks far more eloquently in Mr. Pack's favor than it does for the people of Senator Vance's old home county of Buncombe."{{Cite news |date=September 28, 1897 |title=The Fact that George W. Pack |pages=2 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96040723/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Contributions were also made by the Buncombe County communities of Black Mountain, French Broad, and Swannanoa.{{Cite news |date=August 4, 1896 |title=Grand Excursion |pages=2 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96063136/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=September 2, 1896 |title=For the Memorial Fund |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96066058/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Pack's goal for the monument was "to inspire civic pride and virtue in mountaineers".{{Cite book |last=Ready |first=Milton |title=Asheville: Land of Sky |publisher=Western North Carolina Historical Society / Windsor Publications |year=986 |isbn=0897811682 |location=Northridge, California |pages=76–77 |language=en}} Both Pack and the association agreed that the monument should not be a statue of Vance given the limited budget. The most popular idea discussed by the association was a granite shaft on a base.

The association appointed a Ladies Auxiliary to design and care for the grounds around the monument and raise funds for the dedication ceremony.{{Cite news |date=April 13, 1898 |title=Contract Awarded: Curbing for the Monument |pages=2 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96217463/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=April 27, 1898 |title=Decorate for the Tenth |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96217773/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} So that the association could wrap up its operations after the monument's dedication, there was a call on May 6, 1898, asking donors to pay the final $75 due from subscriptions.{{Cite news |date=May 6, 1898 |title=$75 Unpaid |pages=5 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96220793/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} On May 9, all but $35 had been paid.{{Cite news |date=May 9, 2022 |title=At 3 P.M. Tomorrow: Vance Monument Dedication Exercises |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96221103/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

In June 1897, the association asked for bids to design "a single shaft fashioned after the Washington Monument and placed on a substantial pedestal".{{Cite news |date=June 23, 1897 |title=The Vance Memorial: Bids Asked by Monument Association |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96077205/vance-memorial-bids/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=June 25, 1897 |title=Notice |pages=1 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96097869/notice-for-designers-of-the-vance-monume/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Designs for the monument were submitted by firms from Asheville; Atlanta, Georgia; Augusta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Greensboro, North Carolina; Mount Airy, North Carolina; Pacolet, South Carolina; and New England.{{Cite news |date=August 3, 1897 |title=The Vance Monument: Numerous Designs Submitted to the Committee Yesterday |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96099706/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} F. M. Miles, a sculptor from Asheville, submitted two models, one of which was displayed at the A. Trifield cigar store on Patton Avenue in Asheville.{{Cite news |date=August 20, 1897 |title=One of the Designs |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96103301/f-b-trifield-design/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The association indicated they preferred "a monument that is plain, in keeping with the plain, sturdy character of the man in whose memory it is to be erected."

More than three weeks after the deadline for design submissions, The Asheville Daily Citizen announced that Asheville artchitect Richard Sharp Smith was drawing plans for the association.{{Cite news |date=August 25, 1897 |title=Plans which will be submitted |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96103898/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} On September 9, the association announced their selection of Smith, a native of England who was known for his work as the supervising architect of Biltmore Estate and had just opened a private architectural practice in Asheville.{{Cite web |last=Griffith |first=Clay |title=Smith, Richard Sharp (1852–1924) |url=https://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/people/P000100.html |access-date=February 22, 2022 |website=North Carolina Architects & Builders |publisher=North Carolina State University Libraries |publication-place=Raleigh, North Carolina}}{{Cite news |date=September 9, 1897 |title=The Monument to Pack: Decision Practically Made by the Committee |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96105376/the-monument-to-vance-decision-practica/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} In addition to his solid reputation and local affiliation, Smith agreed to work free of charge. Smith submitted three designs to the association: the selected design in two heights—{{convert|100|and|58|ft|m}}—and a third design that was a fluted column {{convert|32|ft|m}} tall. The association requested a revision of the former that was {{convert|75|ft|m}} tall, along with completed drawings and work specifications.

The Vance Monument Association held a groundbreaking ceremony on the winter solstice, December 22, 1897, at the western head of Court Square (now called Pack Square).{{cite news |last1=Wicker |first1=Mackenzie |last2=Burgess |first2=Joel |date=June 11, 2020 |title=Asheville, Buncombe leaders support Confederate monument's removal, but legal hurdles remain |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/06/11/asheville-buncombe-leaders-support-confederate-vance-monument-removal/5333075002/ |access-date=June 12, 2020}} The cornerstone was laid in the northeast corner of the monument in a rare public Masonic ceremony by Grand Master Walter E. Moore of the North Carolina Grand Lodge.{{Cite web |last=Rasmussen |first=Steve |date=May 7, 2003 |title=Asheville's monument to tolerance |url=https://mountainx.com/news/community-news/0507vance-php/ |access-date=February 23, 2022 |website=Mountain Xpress}}Burgess, Joel (March 12, 2022). "[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96224618/ City Accepts $115K Donation to Repair Vance Monument"]. Asheville Citizen-Times. pp. A4. Retrieved February 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. The gavel used by Moore was made for the event by George Donnan of Market Street Woodworking from locust procured at Vance's birthplace.{{Cite news |date=December 20, 1897 |title=The Cornerstone: Preparations for the Ceremonies Wednesday |pages=1 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96138751/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Moore was joined on the stage by other Masons and members of the Zebulon Vance Camp of the United Confederate Veterans.

The Masonic ceremony began with a procession of seventy Masons from the Patton Avenue Lodge to the monument site in Court Square.{{Cite news |date=December 23, 1897 |title=Cornerstone Ceremonies |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96146237/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite web |date=March 19, 2010 |title=Zebulon Vance Monument, Asheville |url=https://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/205/ |access-date=March 5, 2022 |website=Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina |publisher=DocSouth, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |language=en}} Moore placed a copper box under the cornerstone, containing a Bible, the Charter and Code for the City of Asheville, an honor roll from the city schools, a muster roll for Vance's Rough and Ready regiment, current issues of all local newspapers including The Colored Enterprise, proceedings of North Carolina's Grand Lodge, a program for the day's event, newly minted United States coins, and a yearbook for the City of Asheville. The groundbreaking included music by the Asheville Orchestra, oration by Dr. R. R. Swope D.D., and local school children singing "The Old North State" and "America".

Asheville's Zeb Vance Democratic Club was not included in the groundbreaking ceremony, although the group offered their members as speakers for the event.{{Cite news |date=October 5, 1897 |title=Zeb Vance Club |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96130268/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} In October 1897, this group had ordered 1,000 club buttons featuring a picture of Vance and the words "white supremacy" and "ZVDC".

On September 10, 1897, two days after he met with the association, Smith ran an ad in the local newspaper calling for contractors to bid on the construction of the monument.{{Cite news |date=September 10, 1897 |title=Vance Monument |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96113909/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Ten bids were submitted by firms from Asheville, Atlanta, Georgia; Augusta, Georgia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Pacolet, South Carolina; and Wilmington, North Carolina.{{Cite news |date=September 22, 1897 |title=The Monument to Vance: Contract for the Work is Awarded |pages=1 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96116747/colvin-selected-as-contractor-for-vance/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The contract was awarded to James G. Colvin of Asheville, who bid $2,758. There was also a call for bids on granite from the Mount Airy and Salisbury quarries in North Carolina, and the quarry in Pacolet, South Carolina. Southern Railway Company offered to reduce the freight rate for shipping from the North Carolina quarries. However, J. C. Johnson of the Keystone Granite Quarry in Pacolet received the contract and had quarried the stone by mid-November 1897.{{Cite news |date=November 17, 1897 |title=With Masonic Ceremony: Laying of Cornerstone of Vance Monument |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96134975/vance-monument-masonic-ceremony/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=January 8, 1898 |title=The Panels Rejected: While Lines Across Monument Stones Marred Them |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96214211/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

The association decided the best place for the monument was on Court Square (now Pack Square) where there was an existing water fountain. This location was approved by Asheville's Board of Aldermen and Buncombe County's Commissioners, with the fountain being removed on September 27, 1897.{{Cite news |date=September 27, 2022 |title=Around Town |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96129118/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Lines from the Asheville Telephone Exchange that crossed court square near the proposed location were relocated to a back street.{{Cite news |date=January 24, 1898 |title=Manager Smith of the Asheville Telephone Exchange |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Weekly Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96214475/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

R.M. Ramsay received the contract to dig the monument's foundation and began work on October 23, 1897.{{Cite news |date=October 22, 1897 |title=R. M. Ramsay |pages=6 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96132021/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The first shovelful of dirt was thrown by John Y. Jordan, with the second by John O'Donnell.{{Cite news |date=October 23, 1897 |title=Ground Broken |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96133150/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} By October 28, the foundation was excavated and contractor Colvin was installing {{convert|18|in|cm|0}} of cement for the monument's foundation.{{Cite news |date=October 28, 1897 |title=Contractor Colvin |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96133980/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

The groundbreaking ceremony of December 22, 1897, laid the monument's cornerstone. By January 6, 1898, polished granite panels for the pedestal had arrived and were being installed.{{Cite news |date=January 6, 1898 |title=The Huge Panels for the Vance Monument |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96213307/vance-monument-panels-for-pedestal/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} However, after two panels were installed, superintendent of construction and architect Smith rejected both because the stone had a naturally occurring white line running diagonally across it. This defect was not visible until the granite was polished. Replacement stones were ordered from the Keystone Granite Quarry. The next day, the first capstone was moved from the railroad station to the construction site; it weighed over six tons and took eight mules to move it.{{Cite news |date=January 9, 1898 |title=The First One of the Cap Stones |pages=8 |work=Asheville Daily Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96214384/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Each stone cost more than $100, delivered. On February 4, 1898, four railroad cars of granite arrived from South Carolina, including the replacement pedestal panels.{{Cite news |date=February 4, 1898 |title=Four Carloads of Stone |pages=4 |work=The Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96214504/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Once the pedestal was completed, work began on placing the stone for the obelisk. Each stone block was raised by attaching it to a {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} derrick boom lift, using rope and chain.{{Cite news |date=March 9, 1898 |title=Accident Delays Work: Monument Capstone Not Placed Today |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96215805/vance-monument-accident/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} A team of men then used a windlass to raise the stone, one inch at a time. While using a boom to raise a capstone over the monument on February 27, 1898, one of the ropes on the block slipped and fell to the ground.{{Cite news |date=February 24, 1898 |title=A Nervy Climber |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96215209/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=March 9, 2022 |title=Finishing the Monument |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96215705/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Instead of having to lower the block to the ground, Will Ward, a climber with the Asheville Telephone Exchange, came to the rescue.{{Cite news |date=March 10, 1898 |title=The Boom of the Derrick |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96215682/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} To get a new rope lashed to the block, he climbed a distance of {{convert|100|ft}} hand over hand to the peak on the monument. His climb took ten minutes and nearly ended in tragedy when he accidentally slid partway down the line provided for his descent. Ward got construction back on track, with plans to install the capstone the next day.

By March 8, 1898, only {{convert|15|ft}} of the monument remained to be constructed.{{Cite news |date=March 8, 1898 |title=The Vance Monument is Rapidly Nearing |pages=8 |work=Asheville Daily Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96215542/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The next day several hundred people and photographers gathered at Court Square, with others at the courthouse tower, to watch the placement of the final pyramidal top stone which weighed {{convert|1,900|lb}}. The plan was to move the stone block to the top of the obelisk, and then use the derrick to raise stonemason Hugh Crawford {{convert|75|ft}} to the top of the monument via a rope tied around his waist. However, as the workers were using the windlass to raise the stone, the boom started to lean slightly to the south. Once the stone was raised several feet off of the ground, it started to hang to the north like a giant plum bob. The boom "groaned and strained" and there was the sound of timbers cracking. As the crowd panicked and rushed to safety, one man tripped over an apple vendor's baskets, causing apples to roll everywhere. However, the windlass men gave enough rope to relieve the strain on the boom and safely brought the stone to the ground. They determined that the problem was caused by the breaking of a {{convert|2|in|cm|0|adj=on}} board that was part of the splicing of the boom; the boom had to be lowered and re-spliced and lashed before work could continue.

As the crowd gathered the next day to watch the second attempt at placing the top stone, they stayed farther away for safety. However, the repaired boom worked and the stone was placed on the obelisk with "absolute smoothness". Throughout the entire construction process, there were no injuries.{{Cite news |date=April 22, 1898 |title=Yesterday Afternoon |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96217550/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

On July 28, 1896, George Powell, president of the Vance Monument Association, announced that the existing iron fencing in Court Plaza would be removed as part of its redesign and beautification, along with posts and cables.{{Cite news |date=July 22, 1896 |title=Down With the Fence |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96218129/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} There was a positive reaction to this joint plan of the city and county to convert the area into a park. The Asheville Daily Citizen said this would be a shock to the "Ancient and Unhonored Order of Ever-Tireds" whose "sole occupation and chief delight" was to pose against the old fence. Apparently, the fence "drew loafers as molasses will draw flies, and caused congregations that would not assemble were otherwise".

As the monument's completion approached, the community started marking suggestions to improve the surrounding area of Court Square. One newspaper reader suggested moving the existing lighting to an artistic arrangement that focuses on the monument.{{Cite news |date=March 24, 1898 |title=Sighting the Square |pages=2 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96216563/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} In an editorial on March 15, 1898, the Asheville Daily Citizen anticipated restoration of the landscape now that construction was over:

If we are to keep the square in anything like a decent condition, the fence should be put back. One year's trial shows conclusively that the no-fence law is no good when applied to the square. The Rest Easies stand on the corners and whet off the grass, the Hurry Ups cut across the corners in order to get there a minute earlier, and the Jehus will make a cot of the greensward as they wait for patrons at the Asheville Livery Stables. Already some have picked the monument as a resting place and it has become very evident that not only will it be necessary to fence the square but that there must be a railing about the monument's base.{{Cite news |date=March 15, 1898 |title=At Last People Have an Opportunity |pages=2 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96216284/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

File:Court Square - Vance Monument, courthouse, City Hall, Palmetto Building and Sheville Library, Asheville, N.C. LCCN2003669822.tif

In February 1898, the Vance Monument Association appointed a dedication committee. Committee members included J. P. Kerr, J. A. Nichols, and J. P. Sawyer. In addition to planning the dedication ceremonies, the committee was asked to collect public suggestions. Items to be addressed included selecting the speakers and deciding whether to invite out-of-state guests. On March 11, 1898, the committee set the dedication for Memorial Day, May 10, 1898, and decided to invite Senator John W. Daniel from Virginia and Judge Robert F. Armfield from Statesville, North Carolina, to speak at the dedication. The group established a committee of related camps and organizations to collaborate for the dedication. Invitees included Judge Theodore F. Davidson, Joseph Dupuy Eggleston, Solomon Lipinsky, Colonel Virgil Stuart Lusk, Theo S. Morrison, Lieutenant J. A. Perry, Colonel James M. Ray, Major White G. Smith, R. P. Walker, and Dr. John Hey Williams. In addition, the Statesville Cornet Concert band volunteered to perform at the dedication.

On March 26, 1898, the Zebulon Vance chapter of the United Confederate Veterans voted to attend the May dedication.{{Cite news |date=March 26, 1898 |title=At the Meeting Today of The Zebulon Vance Camp |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96216649/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} However, Judge Armfeld declined the invitation to give the address because of his poor health.{{Cite news |date=March 15, 1898 |title=Judge Armfield Cannot Come |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96216185/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Former congressman and mayor of Wilmington, North Carolina, Alfred Moore Waddell accepted the committee's invitation to speak, saying, "Although I have already declined several invitations for the 10th May...I accept this from your association as a duty which I have neither the right nor the inclination to refuse."{{Cite news |date=April 2, 1898 |title=Col. Waddell Accepts: Will Deliver Address at the Monument Dedication |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96217076/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} However, on April 25, Waddell had to cancel because he had a conflicting date in the U.S. Court of Appeals.{{Cite news |date=April 25, 1898 |title=Cannot Be Here |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96217662/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Nationally known orator and Governor of Tennessee, Robert Love Taylor agreed to deliver an address.{{Cite news |date=April 11, 1898 |title=Gov. 'Bob' Taylor Wii Deliver Address Here at the Monument Dedication |pages=2 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96217336/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Taylor wrote, "I...will be with you on that date to honor one of the greatest and best men the South as ever produced."

The committee hired Leroy Mitteldorfer of M. Mittledorfer & Son of Richmond, Virginia to decorate the Court Square buildings for the dedication.{{Cite news |date=April 27, 1898 |title=Leroy Mitteldorfer |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96217847/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Buncombe County agreed to decorate the courthouse.{{Cite news |date=May 5, 1898 |title=For the Tenth: Mrs. Vance Expected to Attend Dedication Exercises |pages=2 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96220727/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} A resolution was also passed, asking the citizens of Asheville to decorate their houses for dedication day. A platform was built near the monument for the dedication, and chairs were set up between the monument and the courthouse.{{Cite news |date=May 10, 1898 |title=The Monument is Dedicated |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |publisher=Ashevile Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96221281/dedication-of-vance-monument/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=May 7, 1898 |title=City News in Brief |pages=8 |work=Asheville Daily Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96220998/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The day before the dedication, school children were asked to bring wildflowers and evergreens to the monument to cover the unfinished ground around it.{{Cite news |date=May 9, 1898 |title=For Tuesday, May 10, at 11 O'Clock |pages=1 |work=Asheville Daily Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96220948/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The committee also requested dogwood and evergreen boughs to cover the front of the platform. These offerings provided beautification and connected to nature which Vance loved.

As the dedication date approached, the newspaper announced the expected dignitaries and their arrival in Asheville. Included were Mrs. Zebulon Baird Vance from Washington, D. C. and Charles N. Vance, the widow and son of Vance. Guests from Marion, North Carolina included Sheriff Gardin, John McDonald, Mary E. McDonald, E. G. Neal, and Dr. James A. Sinclair.{{Cite news |date=May 10, 1898 |title=Dr. James A. Sinclair |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96221437/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Hickory, North Carolina was represented by C. H. Cline and E. B. Menzies, and Statesville, North Carolina by T. J. Allison.{{Cite news |date=May 11, 1898 |title=Big Time in Asheville |pages=4 |work=The Times-Mercury |location=Hickory, North Carolina |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96222132/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=May 13, 1898 |title=Personal |pages=3 |work=Statesville Record and Landmark |location=Statesville, North Carolina |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96222478/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Major Robert Bingham announced that he entire study body of the Bingham Military Academy would attend. Also scheduled to attend was the president of the Asheville chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy, along with as many members as possible. The dedication committee encouraged all teachers in the area to bring their classes, saying they would be provided seating.

To enable people from across the region to attend the dedication, the Associated Railways of Virginia and the Carolinas announced that they would offer half-rate round trips to Asheville for civilians and one cent per mile traveled for military companies. This meant the round trip from Raleigh to Asheville would only cost $8.80 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|index=US|value=8.80|start_year=1898}} in 2023).{{Cite news |date=May 10, 1898 |title=Unveiling the Vance Monument, Asheville, N.C. |pages=7 |work=The Morning Post |location=Raleigh, North Carolina |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96221881/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

The unveiling and dedication of the Vance Monument were on May 10, 1898. Although scheduled to start at 10 a.m., the day before the event, the association announced a delay until 3 p.m. because the guest speaker, Governor Taylor, could not catch a train to make the earlier time. As requested, many businesses were decorated for the event, and flags were everywhere. Across from the monument, W. F. Snyder's Grocery featured a large picture of Vance, surrounded by evergreens intertwined with red, white, and blue fabric. There was also a large oil portrait of Vance, painted by John A. Williams of Asheville, at the Asheville Street Railway Company's office.{{Cite news |date=May 10, 1898 |title=A Large Oil Painting |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96221367/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

The event also had media coverage. In addition to local newspapers, S. A. Cunningham and Mrs. L. B. Eperson came from Nashville, Tennessee, for Confederate Veteran magazine.{{Cite news |date=May 9, 1898 |title=S. A. Cunningham |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96221140/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite journal |date=May 1898 |title=Zeb Baird Vance |url=https://archive.org/details/confederateveter06conf/page/194/mode/2up?view=theater |journal=Confederate Veteran |location=Nashville, Tennessee |volume=VI |issue=5 |pages=196–199 |via=Internet Archive}} Photographer C. F. Ray took pictures of the decorated storefronts and also of the monument itself.{{Cite news |date=May 10, 1898 |title=C. F. Ray |pages=8 |work=Asheville Daily Gazette |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96221176/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The Asheville Daily Citizen noted, "Never in Asheville has there been compressed into the square so large a number of people as gathered before 3 o'clock. Hundreds of handsomely dressed ladies, many of them students of the schools of the vicinity, added to the beauty of the assemblage." Crowds filled not only the square but the adjacent streets and sidewalks.{{Cite news |date=May 11, 1898 |title=Yesterday's Exercises |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96221437/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} People also watched from the windows of nearby buildings. Before the ceremony began, members of the United Confederate Veterans marched to the square from their hall on Main Street. Speakers and association representatives were seated on the platform, along with Mrs. Zebulon Vance and the mother-in-law and sister-in-law of Governor Taylor.File:Pack Square Asheville NC.jpg

File:Looking east over Pack Square, Asheville, N.C. - H.W. Pelton. LCCN89707142.jpgThe celebration began with music by the Asheville Concert Band, followed by a performance of the "Watch Hill" by Two-Step Kenneth. Then, the assembled crowd sang "America". Next, Rev. R. F. Campbell D.D. of First Presbyterian Church of Asheville gave the invocation, followed by the band performing "Grand America Fantasia" by Theodore Bendix, with tone pictures of the North and South. The band then played "Yankee Doodle", "Tenting on the Old Camp Ground", and "Dixie". There was a huge cheer from the crowd at the end of "Dixie". Finally, there was an address given by Governor Taylor. In his address, Taylor praised Vance's contributions to both state and nation, saying, "Through his long and brilliant career, his love of humanity never waned and his devotion for this country never cooled." He continued, "Senator Vance was a splendid thinker and statesman of rare ability, but he always looked on the bright side of things..." Taylor focused his speech on Vance's service to the United States, making only two brief references to Vance's service to the Confederacy. When Taylor stopped at 3:35 p.m., it was generally agreed that he had given "a brilliant and beautiful speech".

At some point in the ceremony, the United Daughters of the Confederacy laid a wreath of galax leaves at the base of the monument. During the dedication, the police kept carriages out of Court Plaza.{{Cite news |date=May 7, 2022 |title=Acting on the Suggestion |pages=3 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96221040/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} In the evening after the dedication, YMCA members had a bicycle parade with decorative Japanese lanterns.{{Cite news |date=May 7, 2022 |title=The Y.M.C.A. Wheelmen |pages=6 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96220856/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

George Pack was "thoroughly satisfied" with the monument, saying, "It is simple and ragged like the man whose memory it perpetuates and the people from whom he came."{{Cite news |date=April 23, 1898 |title=Mr. George W. Pack |pages=8 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96217588/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The Baltimore Sun wrote, "In honoring the memory of Zebulon B. Vance the people of North Carolina have honored themselves. He was one of the greatest and most popular citizens of the old North State, and she never had a more loyal or devoted son."{{Cite news |date=May 11, 1898 |title=A Great Man Honored |pages=4 |work=The Baltimore Sun |location=Baltimore, Maryland |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96222228/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

File:17 Asheville, NC.jpg

File:Vance Monument, Asheville, NC (46019896154).jpg

In 2008, the City of Asheville reviewed the monument's condition, determining that it had failing mortar and corroded stone and needed to be cleaned.{{Cite news |last=Burgess |first=Joel |date=March 12, 2022 |title=City Accepts $115K Donation to Repair Vance Monument |pages=A1 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96224590/ |access-date=February 28, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} In 2012, the 26th North Carolina, a nonprofit Civil War re-enactment and preservation group, raised $115,000 towards the restoration.{{Cite news |last=Patrick |first=Emily |date=April 1, 2020 |title=City Recovers Time Capsule from 1897 |pages=A7 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96225360/ |access-date=February 28, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The Vetust Study Club was a major donor. In April 2015, the monument underwent its $126,000 restoration (equivalent to ${{Inflation|index=US|value=125000|start_year=2015|fmt=c}} in 2023), with the city contributing the difference of $11,000. Repairs took four weeks and involved scaffolding around the monument and temporary construction fence. Restoration was undertaken by a professional conservator.

As part of the restoration, plans were made to remove the copper box placed under the cornerstone by the Masons in the 1897 groundbreaking ceremony. On March 30, 2015, workers attempted to remove the Masons' time capsule in preparation for their work but had to break the side of the box because the cornerstone had shifted over time. The crew used this extreme tactic because the restoration work included cleaning the stone and mortar with water, which would have damaged the box and its contents. The contents were removed and restored by staff from the Western Office of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.{{Cite web |title=Finding Aid of the Zebulon Vance Monument Time Capsule Collection, PC.7014 |url=https://axaem.archives.ncdcr.gov/findingaids/PC_7014_Zebulon_Vance_Monument__.html |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=Western Regional Archives, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources}} Heather South, archivist with Cultural Resources, indicated that the contents would probably require a significant amount of conservation work given that it was buried for more than 100 years. One important discovery was the enclosed issue of the Colored Enterprise newspaper, because no other known copy of this African American newspaper from Asheville survives.

On June 6, 2015, there was a rededication ceremony where another bronze plaque was placed on a small sloped granite block in front of the west face of the monument. The plaque was dated May 15, 2015, and listed the names of the donors to the restoration project. On September 18, 2015, a new time capsule was placed at the monument, to be opened in 2115. The new copper time capsule included some items from the 1897 time capsule, along with new additions, including a document signed by 1,000 residents of Asheville.

Richard Sharp Smith's design for the Vance Monument was based on the Washington Monument. It was a {{convert|66|ft|m|adj=mid|tall}} graduated obelisk built from brick and covered with granite blocks. The granite blocks were {{convert|1|ft|cm|0|spell=in}} thick and from {{convert|2|to|3|ft|cm|-1|spell=in}} deep, and were set with LaForge mortar. The stone was pitch-faced or rough-cast except for a {{convert|2.5|in|cm|0|adj=mid|wide}} vertical margin line that ran the length of the four corners of the obelisk. The interior brick was of an extra hard-burnt variety. Smith suggested the brick core because it reduced construction costs and allowed the association to build a taller monument. The granite was anchored to the brick with galvanized iron clamps.

The obelisk was constructed on top of a {{convert|14|foot|adj=on}} square pedestal base. The pedestal was {{convert|9|ft}} tall and had chamfered corners. On each of the pedestal's four sides, there was a polished panel that was {{convert|1.32|by|2.74|m|ftin|disp=flip}}, weighing nearly {{Convert|8000|lb|kg}}. The pedestal also had an additional {{convert|5|ft|m}} of foundation that was sunk into the ground and anchored with Portland cement. On the south corner block it read: "DEC. 22 A.L. 5897 / WALTER E. MOORE / GRAND MASTER."

With the obelisk and its pedestal combined, the Vance Monument was {{convert|75|ft|m}} tall. At the time, the monument was "towering", the tallest structure in Asheville, and was meant to be seen from a distance.{{Cite news |last=Walton |first=Beth |date=March 13, 2015 |title=For some, Vance legacy as slaveowner clouds monument |pages=A1 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99613577/ |access-date=April 12, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The only indication that the monument was for Vance was the single word "VANCE" engraved into the polished panel on each side of the pedestal.{{cite news |last=Wicker |first=Mackenzie |date=June 9, 2020 |title=Debate over the removal of the Confederate Vance Monument intensified amid protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/confederate-vance-monument-debate-reignited-amid-george-floyd-protests/ar-BB15ez1c |access-date=June 11, 2020 |publisher=MSN}} Local history columnist and librarian Rob Neufeld noted that it is one of few Civil War monuments in the South with abstract form, arguing, "The fact that it is not of a person, a soldier, a horse, or some kind of object that symbolized the war is significant. It is not, therefore, a symbol of slavery in the South; it's a monument to honor Vance."{{Cite news |last=Walton |first=Beth |date=March 13, 2015 |title=For some, Vance legacy as slaveowner clouds monument |pages=A4 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99613844/ |access-date=February 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

The pedestal had a railing at its bottom step and was surrounded by a low, {{convert|2.5|ft|cm|round=5|adj=mid|tall}} simple iron fence with supporting stone posts spaced at {{convert|4|ft|m|adj=on}} intervals. Shortly after World War I, a taller fence iron fence was installed.

Forty years later, the Asheville Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy added a plaque to the monument, along with the support of the American Legion and B'nai B'rith. The plaque read:

{{blockquote|ZEBULON BAIRD VANCE

CONFEDERATE SOLDIER, WAR GOVERNOR

U.S. SENATOR, ORATOR, STATESMAN

MAY 13, 1830 – APRIL 14, 1894

THIS TABLET IS PLACED BY ASHEVILLE CHAPTER U.D.C.

1938

}}

Two months before the dedication of the Vance Monument, it was already making its way into jokes in the local newspaper. On March 7, 1898, the Asheville Daily Citizen wrote, "It is easily apparent that an army of Rest-Easies has its eyes on the steps at the base of the Vance monument as a place of reclining during the summer months. It is feared that a number of them will be suffering from crick on the neck if the monument is not completed soon."{{Cite news |date=March 7, 2022 |title=It is Easily Apparent |pages=2 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96215440/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} On March 22, the newspaper reported, "A reader of the Citizen suggests that in order to make the steps of the Vance monument as comfortable as possible for the Sons of Rest they ought to be cushioned."{{Cite news |date=March 22, 1898 |title=A Reader of the Citizen |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96216465/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

On March 9, 1898, the newspaper made a political joke that referenced the monument: "If the President wishes to retire Secretary Sherman and wants a man for his place that has a backbone as rigid as the Vance monument, there is Richmond Olney."{{Cite news |date=March 8, 1898 |title=If the President Wishes |pages=2 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96215629/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

The Colored Enterprise told a humorous story about the crowds watching the construction of the Vance Monument.{{Cite news |date=March 14, 1898 |title=Drop in Corn Liquor |pages=2 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96216077/asheville-citizen-times/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} As the capstone was being raised, Rev. Rice of Rock Hill Baptist Church was talking to one of his Baptist brethren when a pint of corn liquor dropped to the pavement. Apparently, the smell caused quite a stir in the crowd and a great deal of embarrassment for the man. Rev. Rice said "he never felt so bad for a man in his life", especially as the man in question "always sits high in the 'amen corner' of the church." The paper noted that the corn liquor "was doubtless intended for sprains and bruises".

W. B. Williamson & Co. Furniture and Carpet House ran several advertisements in the Asheville Daily Citizen newspaper saying, "The unveiling of the Vance Monument can scarcely attract more people than the unpacking of the many new patterns of furniture, carpets, mattings, etc."{{Cite news |date=March 22, 1898 |title=W. B. Williams & Co. [Advertisement] |pages=4 |work=Asheville Daily Citizen |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96216516/ |access-date=February 24, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

In November 1898, the Asheville Daily Citizen joked about the association's low fence around the monument, saying, "The fence can easily be straddled, and the folks who loaf about the square will think it delightful to step over it and make their way to the base of the monument, there to bask in the sun and save coal. About the only way to keep the crowd out is to put up a 10' fence, cover the top with spikes, and keep a half dozen policemen on the inside."

Annually on or about May 13, Vance's birthday, members of the local chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy and the local chapter of B'nai B'rith, a Jewish service group, came together to lay a wreath at the monument. According to tradition, a member of B'nai B'rith was present for the monument's dedication when the United Daughters of the Confederacy laid the first wreath at its base. The wreath always includes leaves of the native plant galax which is supposed to have healing powers. Henry Meyers, former B'nai B'rith state chairman, spoke at the event almost every year until his death.

Steve Rasmussen dubbed the monument "Asheville Monument to Tolerance", in 2003, citing Vance's extensive oration on behalf of Jews. Rasmussen wrote, "The Vance Monument is more than just a shrine to a Civil War-era governor; more, even, than a forum for Asheville's remarkably diverse political views. Ever since the winter solstice day in 1897 when its cornerstone was laid...to honor the Confederate Christian who stood up for the Jews, the monument has symbolized the most controversial of First Amendment rights: freedom of religion."

In 2017, author and historian Keith Essig suggested renaming it the Advance Monument.{{Cite news |last=Boyle |first=John |date=August 2, 2022 |title=What to do with the Vance Obelisk |pages=A2 |work=The Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96226358/ |access-date=March 5, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} He said this name would recall The Advance, an African American newspaper published by Edward Stephens in the 1890s. Stephens was a founder of the Young Man's Institute in Asheville, as well as an administrator for Asheville's black schools during segregation.

In August 2020, Sean Devereaux made a suggestion to turn the Vance Monument into a giant tennis racket. His rationale was that Vance owned slaves; Asheville was named for Samuel Ashe who owned an entire plantation of slaves; and professional tennis player Arthur Ashe's family traces back to enslavement with Samuel Ashe. Devereaux suggested changing Asheville's namesake to Arthur Ashe, and at the same time, turning the monument into a tennis racket shaft to honor Ashe.

{{Main|Zebulon Vance}}

The main controversy with the Vance Monument stemmed from Zebulon Vance's connection to slavery and his racist attitudes toward African Americans. Kerby Price, a historic interpreter at the Vance Birthplace State Historic Site says, "Vance, born in 1830, remains one of North Carolina's most noteworthy politicians. He also owned [six] slaves. During his nearly 40 years of leadership, the statesman never publicly denounced the practice."{{cite web |title=Zebulon Vance |url=https://historicsites.nc.gov/all-sites/zebulon-b-vance-birthplace/history/zebulon-vance |access-date=February 21, 2022 |publisher=North Carolina Historic Sites}} As a member of the U.S. Congress in March 1860, Vance said, "Plainly and unequivocally, common sense says keep the slave where he is now—in servitude. The interest of the slave himself imperatively demands it. The interest of the master, of the United States, of the world, nay of humanity itself, says, keep the slave in his bondage; treat him humanely, teach him Christianity, care for him in sickness and old age, and make his bondage light as may be; but above all, keep him a slave and in strict subordination; for that is his normal condition; the one in which alone he can promote the interest of himself or of his fellows."{{Cite news |last=Calder |first=Thomas |date=June 16, 2020 |title=Asheville Archives: Zebulon Vance argues in favor of slavery, 1860 |work=Mountain Xparess |url=https://mountainx.com/news/asheville-archives-zebulon-vance-denounces-abolitionists-1860/ |access-date=February 21, 2022}}

The North Carolina General Assembly created the African American Heritage Commission (AAHC) in 2008. In 2014, the commission began considering the creation of a monument for African Americans in Asheville to provide balance for the Vance Monument. One idea from the AAHC was to contextualize the Vance Monument. Sasha Mitchell, AAHC chair, said they wanted to add a series of small markers in the monument square to tell the story of Asheville's African Americans. Mitchel said, "To be perfectly honest, I wish it [the Vance Monument] wasn't there. But it is there and moving it would be very expensive. As far as putting money into moving it rather than for contextualizing it, I don't know that that would be the wisest use of money."{{Cite news |last=Boyle |first=John |date=August 19, 2017 |title=What Could 'Contextualizing' the Vance Monument Look Like |pages=A1 |work=The Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96226786/ |access-date=February 28, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

A coalition of community activists—including the Center for Diversity Education, Carolina Jews for Justice, Masonic Lodge Venus No. 62, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, and the Mountain's People Assembly—backed the AAHC and called upon Asheville's Public Art Board to create a new work near the Vance Monument to recognize African American history.{{Cite news |date=March 22, 2015 |title=Honor Our History – All of It |pages=E4 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96225058/ |access-date=February 28, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The group started a Change.org petition that read, "It was at this site where enslaved people were sold and had bills of sale recorded. In addition, enslaved people were punished and imprisoned at this same site, yet no marker of any kind acknowledges this or the many contributions African-Americans made to this region."{{Cite news |last=Blake |first=Cassey |date=March 8, 2015 |title=Petition for African American Monument |pages=A2 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96224556/ |access-date=March 5, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The petition referenced the site of a prior courthouse that was close to the Vance Monument, as well as the former jail which was on top of the monument's site.

The AAHC made its recommendations to the city and also submitted the petition with 2,000 signatures.{{Cite news |last=Neufeld |first=Rob |date=March 30, 2015 |title=The Complex History of the Vance Monument |pages=D1 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96225255/asheville-citizen-times/ |access-date=March 5, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} However, no action was taken by the city. When no progress was made, Mitchell stated his belief that regulations and staff support got in the way.{{cite news |last=Wicker |first=Mackenzie |date=July 14, 2020 |title=Vance Monument group's mission failed in 2017. Why will this time be different? |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/07/14/confederate-monument-removal-asheville-buncombe-address-vance-again/5383253002/ |access-date=July 14, 2020}} On June 23, 2015, the Vance Monument was marked with spray paint, with "Black Lives Matter" being painted on the monument's nameplate.{{Cite news |last=Benton |first=Hayley |date=June 23, 2020 |title=Vance Monument vandalized, spray-paint reads 'black lives matter' |work=Mountain Xpress |url=https://mountainx.com/blogwire/vance-monument-vandalized-spray-paint-reads-black-lives-matter/ |access-date=March 5, 2020}} The paint was removed and no arrests were made. After the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Asheville created a subcommittee to study what to do with its Confederate markers and monuments, including the Vance Monument. However, those efforts went nowhere.

File:The_shrouded_Vance_Monument,_Black_Lives_Matter,_Asheville,_NC_(50159287598).jpg

Over several nights in late May and early June 2020, Asheville residents gathered by the Vance Monument in Pack Square to protest the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.{{Cite news |last=Horak |first=Molly |date=June 1, 2020 |title=Asheville protests escalate as demonstrators respond to George Floyd killing |work=Mountain Xpress |url=https://mountainx.com/news/asheville-protests-escalate-as-demonstrators-respond-to-george-floyd-killing/ |access-date=March 5, 2022}} Protesters marked the monument's pedestal with spray paint.Boyle, John; Wicker, Mackenzie (June 10, 2020). "[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96985954/ City, County Take Steps to Remove Monumen] t". Asheville Citizen-Times. pp. A4. Retrieved March 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. The nationwide and worldwide George Floyd protests called for social justice, including the removal of monuments to the Civil War and racists.{{Cite news |last1=Wicker |first1=Mackenzie |last2=Burgess |first2=Joel |date=July 12, 2020 |title=Legal Hurdles Remain in Asheville Confederate Monument Removal |pages=A3 |work=The Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96226869/ |access-date=March 5, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} Local newspaper reporter John Boyle wrote, "The killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd under the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin...changed everything in America, though, including our quaint mountain city's assessment of its most visible monument." One June 5, peaceful protestors used a wall in the monument square to create an altar, covered with photographs of victims of police brutality.{{Cite news |last1=Boyle |first1=John |last2=Wicker |first2=Mackenzie |date=June 10, 2020 |title=City, County Take Steps to Remove Monument |pages=A1 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96985377/ |access-date=March 5, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

On July 8, 2020, city workers began the process of covering the monument "in order to reduce its impact on the community and to reduce the risk of harm it presents in its current state".{{cite news |last=Wicker |first=Mackenzie |date=July 8, 2020 |title=Asheville begins shrouding Vance Monument ahead of its alteration or removal |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/07/08/asheville-begins-shrouding-vance-monument/5397725002/ |access-date=July 8, 2020}}{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2020 |title=Vance Monument Fully Shrouded, Lee Marker Removed |url=https://www.wfae.org/2020-07-10/vance-monument-fully-shrouded-lee-marker-removed |access-date=February 23, 2022 |website=WFAE 90.7 – Charlotte's NPR News Source |language=en}} This action resulted from a joint resolution passed by the Asheville and Buncombe County. The cost was $18,500, plus $2,600 a month to rent scaffolding. Boyle noted, "It really looks like someone draped a giant plastic leaf bag over the obelisk and cinched it up real tight. It simultaneously piques your curiosity and makes you recoil at its ugliness."

On July 29, Change.org and the George Floyd Foundation temporarily replaced Vance Monument with a projected image of George Floyd.{{Cite web |last=Barnett |first=Andrew |date=July 30, 2020 |title=George Floyd hologram projected at Confederate monument in Asheville, N.C. |url=https://www.wmbfnews.com/2020/07/29/george-floyd-hologram-be-projected-confederate-monument-asheville-nc/ |access-date=March 5, 2022 |website=WMBF News |language=en}} This was part of a national tour, following the Freedom Riders' route, in Floyd's memory. The goal of the week-long hologram installation was to transform spaces with racist Confederation symbols into places of solidarity, hope, and forward-thinking change.

On July 4, 2022, a woman attending the city's Independence Day fireworks show reported overhearing a man talk about blowing up the remains of the Vance Monument.{{Cite web |last=Mackenzie |first=Hannah |date=2022-07-05 |title=FBI investigating after explosives detonated in Asheville, threatening email |url=https://wlos.com/news/local/asheville-explosives-bomb-homemade-vance-monument-protests-arrests-charges-antifa-email-north-carolina-police-department-weapons-weapon-mass-destruction-terror |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=WLOS |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-07-05 |title=Demonstrators arrested for explosion at park, police say |url=https://www.wyff4.com/article/authorities-investigate-possible-explosive-device/40505702 |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=WYFF |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Carroll |first=Scott |date=2022-07-28 |title=July 4th Explosives Suspect to Remain in Jail |url=http://avlwatchdog.org/july-4-explosives-suspect-in-court/ |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=Asheville Watchdog |language=en-US}} Just after 11 p.m., a loud explosion was heard throughout downtown Asheville.{{Cite web |last=Gilliam |first=Ben |date=2022-07-05 |title=Two charged after bombs thrown at Asheville monument site |url=https://www.wjhl.com/news/crime/two-charged-after-bombs-thrown-at-asheville-monument-site/ |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=WJHL {{!}} Tri-Cities News & Weather |language=en-US |publication-place=Johnson City, Tennessee}} At the site, the city's bomb squad found chemical residue and an unexploded improvised explosive device (IED) that was similar to a pipe bomb. Two men were arrested and charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction in relationship to this incident; police also issued photographs of other alleged suspects.{{Cite news |last=Oehrli |first=Ryan |date=2022-07-07 |title=Possession of 'Homemade Explosives' Leads to 2 Arrests |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-possession-of-h/165238669/ |access-date=2025-02-11 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-possession-of-h/165238669/ A3], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-arrests/165238933/ A5] |via=Newspapers.com}} A police surveillance drone at the event captured video footage showing a person spray painting the base of the former monument, in addition to an explosion with a plume of smoke.

In June 2020, the Asheville City Council explored the possibility of removing the Vance Monument. One obstacle was the 2015 North Carolina Statute 100–2.1 that allows privately owned monuments to be moved but stated that monuments on public land could not be moved unless they were relocated to a "site of similar prominence". State Senator Jim Davis, primary sponsor of the 2015 law prohibiting removal of Civil War–era monuments, said he believed history needed to be preserved and that trying to rewrite history and remove monuments would not change the fact that slavery existed. However, Davis acknowledged that there were some exceptions to the statute and that the only recourse when violated was through the courts.

City attorney Brad Branham said it was not clear who owned the Vance Monument and additional research was needed. He said, "Records from the time of its erection are often unclear or unavailable." Part of the state law also required a review by the North Carolina Historical Commission. However, Branham said that only applied to state-owned monuments.

At first, some thought that the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) owned the Vance Monument, but not the land it was on. Then, it was determined that the UDC had just placed a plaque and a free-standing stone by the monument. However, Sara N. Powell, president of the North Carolina Division of the UDC, said the additions to Vance Monument—a plaque and free-standing stone—were "gifts and protected by state law". However, the city continued its efforts to determine if the monument was private property. Attorney Kirk Lyons of the Southern Legal Resource Center said, "They will probably have a very hard time proving that because, you know, things were done on a handshake a hundred years ago."

By March 2021, the city claimed it could remove the monument despite the state statute as the monument was a "public safety hazard because of numerous incidents of vandalism and threats to destroy it".{{Cite web |last=Bush |first=Matt |date=March 23, 2021 |title=Asheville City Council Approves Removal Of Vance Monument |url=https://www.bpr.org/news/2021-03-23/asheville-city-council-approves-removal-of-vance-monument |access-date=March 5, 2022 |website=Blue Ridge Public Radio |language=en}} The Charlotte Observer reported that the monument would be destroyed, rather than being stored or relocated.{{Cite news |last=Jasper |first=Simone |date=March 25, 2021 |title=Confederate statue in Asheville, NC, to be demolished |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article250165860.html |access-date=July 21, 2023}}

In June 2020, Asheville's city council voted unanimously adopted a joint resolution giving the United Daughters of the Confederacy ninety days to remove their additions, and appointing a twelve-member task force to determine if the monument should be removed, re-purposed, or retained with another name on it.{{Cite news |last=Walter |first=Rebecca |date=June 18, 2020 |title=In Monumental Vote, Statues Will Be Removed |pages=A1 |work=The Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96224290/ |access-date=March 5, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} The Buncombe County board of commissioners also approved the joint-resolution, with a vote of 4 to 3. The board received 549 messages in favor of removing the Vance Monument and nineteen calls in favor of retaining it. Buncombe County chairman Brownie Newman said he did not believe "that monument which romanticizes the Confederacy belongs on city or county-owned land." City Council member Keith Young, who is African American, said he believed that those who erected the monument were saying to black people, "We still have power. We still have control. And this is your place in our society."

The city council appointed its six members and two alternates to the task force on July 28. 2020.{{cite news |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/07/29/asheville-confederate-vance-monument-replaced-george-floyd-hologram-change-org/5537575002/ |title=Asheville Confederate Vance Monument to be 'replaced' by George Floyd hologram; Task force appointed |last=Burgess |first=Joel |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |date=July 29, 2020 |access-date=July 29, 2020}} The county did the same. The task force voted to recommend the removal of the Vance Monument on November 19, 2020.{{cite news |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/11/19/asheville-confederate-era-vance-monument-should-removed-task-force/6347131002/ |title=Vance Monument, honoring Confederate-era governor, should be removed, task force votes |last=Burgess |first=Joel |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |date=November 19, 2020 |access-date=November 20, 2020}} On December 8, 2020, the city council voted six to one to accept the recommendation, with a final decision on the removal pending future information on costs.{{cite news |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/12/08/city-vote-advances-removal-asheville-confederate-governor-monument-vance/6502512002/ |title=City vote advances removal of Asheville Confederate governor's monument |last=Burgess |first=Joel |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |date=December 8, 2020 |access-date=December 9, 2020}} The dissenting vote was cast by Sandra Kilgore, an African American, who said removing it would destroy an artistic monument and strain race relations. On March 23, 2021, the city council voted six to one to remove the monument for $114,150 (equivlane to ${{Inflation|index=US|value=114,150|start_year=2021|fmt=c}} in 2023) awarded to an Asheville contractor. Additional funds were offered to conduct visioning for the site.{{Cite news |last=Burgess |first=Joel |date=March 24, 2021 |title=Asheville monument to racist Confederate-era Gov. Vance to come down |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/03/23/asheville-monument-racist-confederate-era-gov-vance-come-down/6974707002/ |access-date=March 24, 2021}}{{cite news |title=Confederate Governor's monument coming down in Asheville, N.C. |first=Andrea |last=Cooper |pages=8–9 |newspaper=Jewish Journal (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) |date=April 7, 2021}}

A Civil War re-enactment group based in Rutherfordton, North Carolina called the Historical Preservation of the 26th North Carolina Troops Inc., also known as the 26th North Carolina Regiment, filed a lawsuit in April 2021 claiming the city was in breach of contract by voting to remove the monument despite the group's restoration efforts since 2015, including the raising of nearly $140,000. Buncombe County Superior Court Judge Alan Thornburg dismissed the suit on April 30, 2021.{{cite news |url=https://wlos.com/news/local/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-seeking-to-block-removal-of-vance-monument |title=Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to block removal of Vance Monument |publisher=WLOS |date=April 30, 2021 |access-date=May 22, 2021}}

The 26th North Carolina Regiment filed an emergency request with the North Carolina Court of Appeals to halt the demolition of the monument until after they could file an appeal. The Court of Appeals acted on June 4, 2021, stopping demolition work and requiring the city to retain all parts of the monument. In a June 28, 2021 filing with the Court of Appeals, the 26th North Carolina Regiment claimed the city violated the order to stop work on the monument by removing the granite obelisk. The city said it moved the blocks for safety reasons and so that the area could be reopened. An attorney for the 26th North Carolina Regiment said it was not known where the blocks were as the city would not reveal this information because of security concerns. The group hoped the case would result in rebuilding the obelisk.{{cite news |last=Burgess |first=Joel |date=July 1, 2021 |title=Monument plaintiff: Asheville violated the order by removing blocks |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/06/30/vance-monument-plaintiff-asheville-nc-violated-order-removing-blocks-removal-confederate-statue/7796294002/}} However, its outcome depended on the resolution of a North Carolina Supreme Court case involving the Confederate Soldiers Monument in Winston-Salem, expected to take as long as eight months.

The Court of Appeals ruled in the City's favor on April 5, 2022.{{cite news |last=Honosky |first=Sarah |date=April 5, 2022 |title=Vance Monument: N.C. Court of Appeals rules in favor of Asheville; city 'moving forward' |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2022/04/05/asheville-nc-court-appeals-rules-favor-city-vance-monument-case/9467940002/}}{{Cite web |last=Byrd |first=Zyneria |date=April 6, 2022 |title=N.C. Court Upholds Asheville's Removal of Vance Obelisk |url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2022/04/06/nc-court-upholds-asheville-s-removal-of-vance-obelisk |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=Spectrum Local News |language=en}} This ruling allowed Asheville to continue with its removal of the monument. However, there were fifteen days for an appeal to be filed. On April 10, the 26th North Carolina Regiment's board voted to appeal the ruling to the North Carolina Supreme Court.{{Cite web |last=North |first=John |title=Vance Monument case to be appealed to N.C. Supreme Court |url=http://ashevilledailyplanet.com/news/5616-vance-monument-case-to-be-appealed-to-nc-supreme-court- |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=Asheville Daily Planet |language=en-gb}} Their attorney, H. Edward Phillips III, said, "I still believe the City of Asheville does not have the authority to destroy the Vance Monument. What I do believe is that under the Monument Protection Act, the city has the authority to move the monument to a place of similar prominence and equal access to the public within the city." Phillips also added that the 26th North Carolina Regiment has standing in this case because of the money they raised to restore the monument.

The North Carolina Supreme Court blocked the April judgment from the Court of Appeals in December 2022, announcing that it would take the case.{{Cite web |last=Honosky |first=Sarah |date=December 29, 2022 |title=NC Supreme Court will take up lawsuit over removal of downtown Asheville's Vance Monument |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2022/12/29/nc-supreme-court-takes-up-suit-on-asheville-removal-of-vance-monument/69761539007/ |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=The Asheville Citizen-Times |language=en-US}} The plaintiff filed an appellant brief on February 16, 2023, to which the city indicated it would respond.{{cite news |last=Honosky |first=Sarah |date=March 1, 2023 |title='A direct and significant connection' to the monument: Plaintiff files brief with N.C. Supreme Court in Vance Monument case |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2023/02/28/plaintiff-files-brief-with-n-c-supreme-court-in-vance-monument-case/69948549007/}} The Supreme Court ruled in March 2024 that no breach of contract by the city took place, clearing the way for the removal of the monument's base.{{cite news |last=Hackett |first=Laura |date=March 22, 2024 |title=NC Supreme Court affirms Asheville's authority to remove Vance Monument |work=WCQS |url=https://www.bpr.org/bpr-news/2024-03-22/nc-supreme-court-affirms-ashevilles-authority-to-remove-vance-monument}}{{Cite news |last=Burgess |first=Joel |date=March 22, 2024 |title=Asheville wins NC Supreme Court case on Confederate governor Vance monument |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2024/03/22/asheville-wins-nc-supreme-court-case-on-confederate-governor-monument/73069869007/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |work=The Asheville Citizen Times |language=en-US}}

However, the 26th North Carolina regiment filed a new lawsuit May 6, 2024 asking for a restraining order and injunction followed by a requirement that the monument be rebuilt.{{cite news|url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2024/05/06/plaintiffs-try-again-to-save-asheville-civil-war-gov-monument/73591878007/|title=Despite top court ruling, plaintiffs try again to save Asheville Civil War gov. monument|last=Burgess|first=Joel|work=Asheville Citizen-Times|date=May 7, 2024}}

File:Weed_Filled_Scraps_in_Time.jpg

Demolition began on May 17, 2021, with the stone obelisk completely removed by the next day.{{cite news |date=May 18, 2021 |title=Group files appeal after lawsuit to block Vance Monument's removal dismissed by judge |publisher=WMYA-TV |url=https://my40.tv/news/local/group-files-appeal-after-lawsuit-to-block-vance-monuments-removal-dismissed-by-judge |url-status=dead |access-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522160334/https://my40.tv/news/local/group-files-appeal-after-lawsuit-to-block-vance-monuments-removal-dismissed-by-judge |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |via=Internet Archive}} The demolition team had to remove the stone blocks one at a time, without the use of a crane, because of the risk of damage to a nearby underground parking garage.{{Cite web |last=Bush |first=Matt |date=2021-05-17 |title=Demolition of Vance Monument Begins In Asheville, Will Take Roughly Two Weeks |url=https://www.bpr.org/news/2021-05-17/demolition-of-vance-monument-begins-in-asheville-will-take-roughly-two-weeks |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=Blue Ridge Public Radio |language=en}} Work was stopped occasionally because of wind.{{Cite web |last1=Santostasi |first1=Stephanie |last2=Kepley-Steward |first2=Kristy |date=2021-05-20 |title=Block by block, removal of Vance Monument continues steadily |url=https://foxchattanooga.com/news/local/block-by-block-removal-of-vance-monument-continues-steadily-asheville |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=WTVC FOX |language=en |publication-place=Chattanooga, Tennessee}} The cost of demolition was about $115,000.{{Cite web |last=Kepley-Steward |first=Kristy |date=2021-05-19 |title=Demolition of the Vance Monument in downtown Asheville begins |url=https://abcnews4.com/news/nation-world/demolition-of-the-vance-monument-in-downtown-asheville-begins |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=WCIV |language=en |publication-place=Charleston, South Carolina}} An additional $25,000 was budgeted for temporary landscaping after demolition, as well as $70,000 for visioning a site redesign.

Removal proceeded despite an emergency request filed in the North Carolina Court of Appeals by the 26th North Carolina Regiment.{{cite news |last=Kepley-Steward |first=Kristy |date=May 24, 2021 |title=Emergency stay request to stop work at Vance Monument, denied |publisher=WLOS |url=https://wlos.com/news/local/emergency-stay-request-to-stop-work-at-vance-monument-denied |access-date=May 24, 2021}}{{cite news |date=May 21, 2021 |title=Demolition of Vance Monument continues |publisher=WLOS |url=https://www.wlos.com/news/local/demolition-of-vance-monument-continues |access-date=May 22, 2021}} As of May 30, 2021, only the pedestal remained, with plans to remove it in two stages—one between June 7 and 9, and the other between June 14 and 21.{{cite news |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/06/02/asheville-vance-monument-demolition-completion-date-confederate-statue/7495292002/ |title=Vance Monument won't be gone from Asheville until June 21 at the earliest, city says |last=Donnelly-DeRoven |first=Clarissa |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |date=June 2, 2021 |access-date=June 3, 2021}}{{cite news |last=Hodge |first=Rex |date=May 30, 2021 |title=Vance Monument removed in full from Asheville after standing for more than 120 years |publisher=WLOS |url=https://wlos.com/news/local/vance-monument-removed-from-asheville |access-date=June 1, 2021}} However, demolition work stopped because of a June 4, 2021, ruling from the Court of Appeals.{{cite news |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/06/08/nc-asheville-vance-monument-removal-work-stopped-could-stall-months/7584023002/ |title=Vance Monument: With work halted removal could stall for months |last=Lacey |first=Derek |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |date=June 10, 2021 |access-date=June 10, 2021}}

In April 2022, city attorney Brad Branham indicated that Asheville is holding onto the stone blocks. However, he said, "It's our goal that those be disposed of in a way that the Vance Monument cannot be recreated somewhere in the future."{{Cite web |last=Patel |first=Anjali |date=April 5, 2022 |title=Legal battle over Vance Monument may not be over, despite latest court ruling |url=https://wlos.com/news/local/legal-battle-over-vance-monument-still-removal-may-not-be-over-despite-latest-court-ruling-asheville-historical-preservation-of-the-26th-north-carolina-troops |access-date=April 14, 2022 |publisher=WLOS |language=en}} Branham confirmed in June 2024, after someone reported finding them, that the demolition company was storing the blocks, but that their sale or use was restricted by the contract.{{cite news| url=https://avlwatchdog.org/answer-man-remains-of-vance-monument-located-fire-station-closed-during-the-day/ |title=Answer Man: Remains of Vance Monument located? Fire station “closed” during the day? |last=Boyle |first=John |work=Asheville Watchdog |date=June 7, 2024 |access-date=June 26, 2024 }} The city plans to make an inclusive square on the site of the former monument.

{{Portal|Visual arts}}

• List of Confederate monuments and memorials in North Carolina
• List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests

{{clear}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://mountainx.com/arts/local-historians-reflect-on-the-vance-monument-one-year-after-its-removal/ Local historians Reflect on the Vance Monument, One Year After its Removal] (Mountain Xpress, Asheville, North Carolina)
• [https://www.hollandsentinel.com/embed/video/5416441002/ Vance Monument in Downtown Asheville Shrouded] (The Holland Sentinel, Holland, Michigan)

{{Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests}}

{{bots|deny=Citation bot}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vance Monument}}

Category:1898 establishments in North Carolina

Category:2021 disestablishments in North Carolina

Category:Buildings and structures in Asheville, North Carolina

Category:Jews and Judaism in North Carolina

Category:Monuments and memorials in North Carolina

Category:Monuments and memorials in the United States removed during the George Floyd protests

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Buncombe County, North Carolina

Category:Obelisks in the United States

Category:Outdoor sculptures in North Carolina

Category:Race-related controversies in the United States

Category:Removed Confederate States of America monuments and memorials

Category:Vandalized works of art in North Carolina