Much of a more than 100-year-old marker that has fallen into disrepair after spending about 79 years unattended in the woods near Yorktown will be destroyed.
The marker, a 21.5-foot obelisk meant to mark the site where the English surrendered to American and French forces at Yorktown in 1781, was originally built by John W. Shaw, a Civil War veteran and superintendent of Yorktown National Cemetery. It is now in the custody of the National Park Service.
The York County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday to accept the top segment of the obelisk — about 28 inches high — as a donation from the National Park Service. It will be loaned to the York County Historical Museum for display and interpretation. The remainder of the obelisk will be ground into a powder suitable for use on roadways, according to a memorandum from York County Administrator James McReynolds.
The Daughters of the American Revolution is interested in using that powder to create or stabilize walkways around the grounds of the Custom House in Yorktown. That property is maintained by the Comte de Grasse chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which operates a museum and gift shop on site.
The monument stood behind the cemetery until 1934, when NPS officials determined the site of its installation was not where the British surrendered. The monument was then taken to the wooded area, where it remained until 2013, when NPS officials took it to a maintenance yard off Goosley Road.
An NPS analysis of the monument’s history identified several reasons why the monument is not considered historically significant for the park service: The monument was created by a private individual who lacked local, state or federal support; it fell into disrepair after his death; it contains no important information about prehistory or history; it is a commemorative item; and it is built in a way that “does not embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction,” according to the analysis.
The monument was constructed from brick rubble believed to be from the York County Courthouse. The rubble was then covered with cement stucco. Its construction came late in the 19th century during a movement that sought to recognize the past with the support of federal, state or local governments, historical societies or genealogical societies.
The Shaw Monument, according to the analysis, does not appear to be connected to any of those groups.
Supervisor George Hrichak was not present at Tuesday’s meeting to cast a vote.
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