Magoffin, Beriah, Monument
About this property
The Beriah Magoffin Monument, in Spring Hill Cemetery of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, commemorates Beriah Magoffin, who was governor of Kentucky when the Civil War started. Although sympathetic to secession, he sought to retain neutrality for Kentucky for the conflict, until pro-Union forces compelled him to resign from the governorship. The Beriah Magoffin Monument was dedicated around 1900, many years after Magoffin's 1885 death. Its cast zinc and tribute to the "Lost Cause" is typical of monuments to the War built around 1900. However, atypically of such monuments, Magoffin's portrait bust draped in a toga recalls Neoclassical conventions, as in Houdon's sculptural portrait of George Washington; this parallel with a heroic Roman was intended by the builder of the Beriah Magoffin Monument. "What attitude shall Kentucky occupy in this deplorable conflict. Looking to the Constitution of the United States, the nature of our institutions and the causes of this war, I think Kentucky has a right to assume a neutral position." "Let her be a peacemaker and when opportunity offers, as a mediator, present terms of peace and of settlement, alike honorable to both the contending parties." "While opposed to the policy of the government and the measures used to preserve the Constitution, we would not exchange the government of our fathers for any experiment on Earth." "We differ only as to the best means of preserving the Union." "May God yet preserve and bless and guide us by His wisdom in this dread hour." Spring Hill Cemetery, where the monument lies, was established in 1860. On July 17, 1997, the Beriah Magoffin Monument was one of sixty different monuments related to the Civil War in Kentucky placed on the National Register of Historic Places, as part of the Civil War Monuments of Kentucky Multiple Property Submission. It is one of nine monuments in the MPS that is a tombstone. The Confederate Monument in Harrodsburg, also part of the same MPS, is within the same cemetery.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Magoffin, Beriah, Monument
This page lists Magoffin, Beriah, Monument. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Magoffin, Beriah, Monument listed on the National Register?
Magoffin, Beriah, Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 16, 1997.
What type of historic resource is Magoffin, Beriah, Monument?
Magoffin, Beriah, Monument is classified as a object in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Magoffin, Beriah, Monument?
The period of significance for Magoffin, Beriah, Monument is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near Magoffin, Beriah, Monument?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Magoffin, Beriah, Monument will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Mercer County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Mercer County.
Explore MercerCounty ›More historic places in Kentucky
Browse all historic places in Kentucky.
View Kentuckyhistoric sites ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Magoffin, Beriah, Monument will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.