From Staff Reports

The restored Vance Monument was rededicated during a June 6 ceremony that drew more than 100 attendees, with a sizable contingent of Masons, to Pack Square in downtown Asheville.

The 75-foot-tall granite obelisk bears the name of 19th century North Carolina Gov. Zebulon Vance on each of its four sides.

Since March, a restoration firm had been working to clean and refurbish the stone and remove stains that have built up since the monument was first dedicated in 1897.

The ceremony marked the completion of those efforts. In addition to speeches by Asheville and Buncombe County leaders, devoted fundraisers and Vance historians, the city released plans for a new time capsule to be placed in the base of the monument on Sept. 18.

Speaking about Vance’s life and legacy was Chris Roberts, president of the 26th North Carolina Regiment, which Vance commanded during the Civil War. Roberts led the fundraising efforts for the restoration, eventually amassing $150,000.

Regarding the significance of the monument, City Councilman Jan Davis told those in attendance that “I can remember my dad holding my hand as we were walking around here, and I thought that (the monument) was just the coolest, neatest thing I had ever seen. It’s just so important to this entire community.”

In addition, Davis noted that the 19th century was fraught with racial strife and that the Vance family owned slaves.

He praised efforts by groups, such as the African-American Heritage Commission, to create a monument to under-represented contributions to Asheville.

“I see no reason that there shouldn’t be a marker somewhere in this area to recognize that community that is not represented here,” Davis said.

The other main local speaker, David Gantt, chairman of the Buncombe Board of Commissioners, also discussed Asheville’s segregated past. Gantt said the Vance Monument creates constructive dialogue about the harsh realities of history.

“I do think (Vance) would welcome the opportunity to tell both sides of everything,” Gantt said. “If we don’t, we’re going to repeat the mistakes of the past.”

Meanwhile, Debbie Ivester, assistant director of the city’s parks and recreation department, distributed plans to create a time capsule for the base of Vance Monument.

In March, officials from the city and the Western Regional Archive removed a time capsule from 1897 from the base of the monument, which had been put there by the Masons.

The city will leave instructions for the new time capsule to be opened 100 years later — in 2115.