Explore the Groundbreaking ceremony about the History of this artwork, Vance Monument.
The Vance Monument Association held a groundbreaking ceremony on the winter solstice, December 22, 1897, at the western head of Court Square (now called Pack Square). The cornerstone was laid in the northeast corner of the monument in a rare public Masonic ceremony by Grand Master Walter E. Moore of the North Carolina Grand Lodge. The gavel used by Moore was made for the event by George Donnan of Market Street Woodworking from locust procured at Vance's birthplace. Moore was joined on the stage by other Masons and members of the Zebulon Vance Camp of the United Confederate Veterans.The Masonic ceremony began with a procession of seventy Masons from the Patton Avenue Lodge to the monument site in Court Square. Moore placed a copper box under the cornerstone, containing a Bible, the Charter and Code for the City of Asheville, an honor roll from the city schools, a muster roll for Vance's Rough and Ready regiment, current issues of all local newspapers including The Colored Enterprise, proceedings of North Carolina's Grand Lodge, a program for the day's event, newly minted United States coins, and a yearbook for the City of Asheville. The groundbreaking included music by the Asheville Orchestra, oration by Dr. R. R. Swope D.D., and local school children singing "The Old North State" and "America".Asheville's Zeb Vance Democratic Club was not included in the groundbreaking ceremony, although the group offered their members as speakers for the event. In October 1897, this group had ordered 1,000 club buttons featuring a picture of Vance and the words "white supremacy" and "ZVDC".
United Confederate Veterans The Old North State Masonic Confederate Veteran Asheville Zebulon Vance Masons