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Confederate Memorial of the Wind

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The Confederate Memorial of the Wind is a planned memorial to the Confederate States of America and the Texas regiments of the Confederate Army. It began construction on private land in 2013 in Orange, Texas, near the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area

The memorial is on private land adjacent to Interstate 10, on Martin Luther King Jr Drive. It has 13 columns, one for each Confederate State, arranged in a circle. It will display 32 flags representing U.S. Civil War units from Texas, along with eight large Confederate flags visible from the highway. The project is sponsored by the Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Proponents, led by Granvel Block, say the project will honor Civil War veterans and educate visitors on history, and say that the location was chosen for low cost. Opponents have condemned the memorial because of slavery, and because they say its location is provocative. The city approved the plan on free-speech grounds.

Donations are solicited in exchange for memorial plaques and paving bricks. No date is set for its completion, which depends on funding. The original budget was $50,000. By 2015, it already received enough visitors to cause parking congestion in the neighborhood. As of June 2016, the main structure is in place and only some flagpoles and a walkway were not in place.

References

Confederate Memorial of the Wind Wikipedia