In the context of this artwork, explore the Vance Monument Association of the History.
In May 1896, the Vance Monument Association was organized by George S. Powell and George Willis Pack, a New Yorker who had recently moved to Asheville from Cleveland, Ohio. Other members of the association included W. D Gwyn Esq., J. P. Kerr, John A. Nichols, Thomas Walton Patton, J. E. Rankin, and J. P. Sawyer who was its treasurer.Chaired by Powell, the association's purpose was to raise funds and collect subscriptions or pledges to create a memorial for Vance. The association held fundraising events, including a performance of Punch Robertson Company at the Grand Opera House. Twenty volunteers under the leadership of Mrs. John M. Campbell went door to door to raise funds and sell tickets to the charity event. There was another community-wide fundraiser on July 4, 1896, at Battery Park Hill.Pack donated $2,000, or nearly two-thirds of the $3,326 raised, equivalent to $116,995 in 2023. He made his pledge on the condition that Buncombe County would give land in front of the courthouse for a monument to Vance in perpetuity; the county promptly passed a resolution. Other contributors included Jewish organizations, Senator Mathew S. Quay of Pennsylvania, Senator Blair Lee of Maryland, Philadelphia paper firm A. G. Elliott & Company, S. Hecht Jr & Son of Baltimore, and James Logan of the Logan, Swift and Brigham Envelope Company in Worcester, Massachusetts. English-born Logan wrote, "I, too, looked upon Senator Vance as one of the large men of North Carolina. I did not always agree with him, but that is not strange. Our training was wonderfully different."In September 1897, the Asheville Daily Citizen noted, "The fact that George W. Pack gave about two-thirds of the money for the building of the memorial to Senator Vance speaks far more eloquently in Mr. Pack's favor than it does for the people of Senator Vance's old home county of Buncombe." Contributions were also made by the Buncombe County communities of Black Mountain, French Broad, and Swannanoa.Pack's goal for the monument was "to inspire civic pride and virtue in mountaineers". Both Pack and the association agreed that the monument should not be a statue of Vance given the limited budget. The most popular idea discussed by the association was a granite shaft on a base.The association appointed a Ladies Auxiliary to design and care for the grounds around the monument and raise funds for the dedication ceremony. So that the association could wrap up its operations after the monument's dedication, there was a call on May 6, 1898, asking donors to pay the final $75 due from subscriptions. On May 9, all but $35 had been paid.
Maryland Cleveland Baltimore George Willis Pack Mathew S. Quay J. E. Rankin S. Hecht Jr & Son Cleveland, Ohio Swannanoa Black Mountain Asheville Blair Lee Pennsylvania Worcester, Massachusetts George S. Powell Buncombe County Philadelphia