Gone, not forgotten

Statue’s historic designation serves a purpose

One could argue the National Register of Historic Places is an important tool for recognizing the value buildings, symbols and properties hold in the development and events of the United States and its communities.

One could just as strongly argue the designation means very little, since under federal law, a listing on the register places no real protections on the property “up to and including destruction,” unless the project receives federal funding.

Created by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register today recognizes more than 90,000 properties for their significance in American history, culture, archaeology, art, architecture or engineering.

The designation, although made somewhat meaningful as a result of the evaluative process each property goes through, is, however, a little like Time magazine’s Person of the Year, in that the designation doesn’t necessarily come with a stamp of approval as to what a property stands for. A historic place can also be a little like People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, which is by necessity a rather subjective evaluation.

The Confederate soldier statue now removed from Bentonville’s public square has been listed on the registry since 1996. Last week, word came from the United Daughters of the Confederacy that the designation for the group’s 112-year-old statue would be preserved even with its relocation to private property known as James H. Berry Park.

Private property is exactly where the statue should be these days, but nothing about the move changes its place in Bentonville and Benton County history. Historic prominence can certainly be recognized without embracing the ideas the statue might represent to either those who had it erected or those who view it through more modern lenses. Its presence at the heart of the downtown Bentonville square for 112 years is of historic significance.

The campaign to remove it from the square recognized that history and declared it inconsistent with modern-day Bentonville’s values.

History it is, however. It is vital to recognize the difference between recognizing history and celebrating it. When it comes to the former, recognizing the past is a fundamental component of appreciating both its blessings and its dramatic shortcomings. There are lessons in all of that history.