The Signal Mountain Town Council plans to postpone making any decisions on Town Manager Boyd Veal’s request for the removal of a monument to C.E. James, the town’s founder and first mayor, and the renaming of James Park located at the town’s entrance.
Veal sent a letter to councilors requesting the monument removal and name change after discovering a deed covenant from the Mountain Land Co., owned by James and his family, that restricted transfer of property in the town to any “negro, mulatto or person of color.” He read the letter aloud during the council’s July 27 meeting, and the topic was placed as a discussion item on the agenda for the council’s Aug. 10 meeting.
Several residents spoke in opposition to the monument removal and park renaming, including James’ great-nephew George Davenport.
“What I’d like to know is, why are we doing this and what do we expect to accomplish by doing anything other than saying ‘Yes, that’s the way it was?’ Davenport asked. “I think that you all need to consider the people in this community, what they’re proud of and think about what will happen if you do something like this to all of the people who take pride in Signal Mountain and its heritage.”
James Boulevard resident Brad Case expressed his disapproval of the council taking action on Veal’s requests, since Veal’s opinion of James’ action was based on restrictive covenants that were commonplace during the time the town was founded.