A controversial Civil War marker that was recently removed from city property will be returned to the organization that originally donated it.
After months of discussion, the Jefferson City Council voted in mid-October to remove the Sterling Price marker from the city right-of-way on Moreau Drive and place it in city storage.
The marker was originally dedicated to the city in 1933 by the Winnie Davis Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
While the Winnie Davis Chapter no longer exists, the Missouri division of the UDC reached out to the city after the marker was removed to reclaim it, Mayor Carrie Tergin said.
On Monday, the council approved a resolution giving ownership of the marker to the Missouri UDC.
City Attorney Ryan Moehlman said the Missouri UDC is the successor in interest to the assets of the Winnie Davis Chapter, giving them the rights to claim the property.
The resolution states the UDC will have until Dec. 31 to transport the marker out of the city storage facility, and it releases the city from any damages to the marker during transit or while the marker was on display.
Moehlman said the UDC has told the city they plan to place the marker at the Missouri Civil War Museum at Jefferson Barracks Cemetery in St. Louis.
Ward 2 Councilman Mike Lester requested an amendment to the resolution to include a statement about the future plans for the marker.
"I'd just like to make it formal that our understanding is that is what the UDC has committed, at least verbally, to the council," Lester said.
Moehlman said the amendment does not force the UDC to give the marker to the museum, but simply includes information about where the UDC told the city the marker would go.
The amendment passed 7-3.
Ward 4 Councilman Ron Fitzwater opposed the amendment and the resolution because he felt some members of the community would like to see the marker remain in the city, even if it is not on public property.
Fitzwater said he had conversations with resident Edith Vogel, who owns the property that served as Camp Lillie during the Civil War, and she had offered to re-home the marker if it was removed.
Ward 4 Councilman Carlos Graham and Ward 5 Councilman Mark Schreiber also voted against the amendment. Graham said he was only opposing the amendment because he did not want the city to tell the UDC where to place the marker.
Schreiber said he would like to see the city keep the marker for a while longer due to the potential creation of historic trails in the city, one of which could include the marker if it focused on the Civil War.
Earlier in Monday's meeting, Donna Deetz updated the council on a new and ongoing effort to establish these trails, including creation of a committee made up of a variety of stakeholders including the Jefferson City NAACP, Lincoln University and Historic City of Jefferson.
The council passed the resolution 8-2, with Fitzwater and Schreiber voting against. Fitzwater and Schreiber also voted against removal of the marker.