Preparations for the installation of the Warren County Bicentennial Monument are well under way, with the most recent work being the transfer of the foundation stones for the project from storage to the courthouse lawn. According to local historian and alderman, Jimmy Haley, the stones chosen to complete the foundation have some major historic significance in the community and are a fitting addition to the project. ‘These are rocks that were salvaged from the street-scape project,’ Haley said. ‘When we were doing the downtown revitalization and Broom Construction was digging up rocks and curbstones and foundation stones, I tried to get the city to save as many rocks as possible. So these are a combination of curbstones, foundation stones from the old courthouse, Cook’s department store and a variety of locations up and down the street. Some of them were actually storm drains. ‘We salvaged as many of these as we could, and the city had them in storage,’ Haley said. ‘So when we were looking for rock for the base of the Bicentennial Monument, I suggested that we recycle some of these, because these are the roots of our heritage to start with.’ Haley said it’s hard to tell just how far these stones go back, but estimates that some are well over a century. ‘We have pictures from before the Civil War that shows curbstones and sidewalks,’ Haley said. ‘So some of these are at least 150 years old. I think one was salvaged from the Civil War courthouse, almost from this very site, and that was from the 1850s.’ Haley says the stones are more than likely of local origin as well. ‘The rocks themselves were probably hewn from down here on the side of the river from the quarry there behind the old city cemetery. They’re supposed to match up with the stones on the courthouse here, so it is a piece of history.’ Haley says the monument is very much a community project with a lot of cooperation between the city and county and local residents and craftsmen. ‘Everybody has been pitching in,’ Haley said. ‘We’ve got the Gillespies that helped do some of the foundation with the pouring of the base of the monument. We’ve got Bouldin and Lawson, just a whole group of folks that have just pitched in. Even Jeff McCormick, our industrial recruiter, was out here unloading rocks. Master stonemason George Christian will be doing the stone work for the base of the monument. That’s all volunteer as well, so that’s another piece of history.’ Bicentennial Monument Committee chairman Larry Flatt says the installation is beginning to come together and excitement is building. ‘This is the culmination of about six or seven months of hard work,’ Flatt said. ‘And everything so far is of Tennessee origin. The rocks came out of local quarries. The marble is coming out of Knoxville out of the quarry up there. And everything that we’re doing here, as far as services and labor, has been donated. There’s whole list of people who have donated their time. ‘So we’re excited that we’re going to get the rock laid,’ Flatt continued. ‘The foundation is done, the stones are ready to be added. The time capsule has been shipped and scheduled to be here today, so we’re right where we need to be on schedule to set the monument on Saturday, June 21.’
