Quakenbush Monument, Laurinburg
The Quakenbush Monument honors William Graham Quakenbush. The granite monument stands 22 feet tall. The upper portion is an obelisk resting on a three step base and a two block plinth with inscriptions on all four sides. The word "Quakenbush" in large bold letters adorns the front of one of the base blocks. The base at it largest dimension is 6 feet by 6 feet square.
Images (courtesy of Rusty Long): Modern view of the memorial |
Three monuments in front of the Scotland County Courthouse
Front: WILLIAM GRAHAM QUAKENBUSH, / ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA. / DECEMBER 12, 1949, / MARCH 9 1903, / LAURINBURG, NORTH CAROLINA.
Front, base: QUAKENBUSH
Left side: “HIS LIFE WAS GENTLE / AND THE ELEMENTS SO MIXED / IN HIM THAT NATURE MIGHT / STAND UP AND SAY TO ALL THE / WORLD THIS WAS A MAN.”
Rear: CHRISTIAN, / SCHOLAR, / PHILANTHROPIST, / TWENTY ONE YEARS / PRINCIPLE LAURINBURG SCHOOL, / 1870 – 1900.
Right side: IN RECOGNITION OF HIS / EXALTED CHARACTER, / IN APPRECIATION OF HIS / ENNABLING INFLUENCE UPON YOUTH. / ERECTED BY A PEOPLE / GRATEFUL FOR HIS LOVE AND SERVICE.
Scotland County
July 27, 1905
34.775890 , -79.460500 View in Geobrowse
"Quackenbush," The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.com, (accessed August 16, 2015) Link
"Quakenbush Memorial - Laurinburg, NC," Waymarking.com, (accessed August 16, 2015) Link
"Scotland County Courthouse, Laurinburg, NC,” in Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (PO77), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Link
Folder 1329: Laurinburg: Scotland County Courthouse, circa 1930s-1940s: Scan 3, in the North Carolina County Photographic Collection #P0001, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Link
Gray, R.L. “To the Memory of Pro. Quakenbush,” News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), July 28, 1905
North Carolina Department of Conservation and Development. "North Carolina: A Guide to the Old North State," (US History Publishers: 1939) 359, (accessed August 16, 2015) Link
“In Memoriam. William Graham Quakenbush,” The Morning Post (Raleigh, NC), April 2, 1903
Yes
Vermont granite
Quakenbush Memorial Association
$8,000
Dedication day was marked by two solemn gatherings at the courthouse. In the morning was a memorial sermon given by the Rev. M.L. Kesler of Morganton a close friend of Professor Quakenbush. The afternoon gathering was highlighted by ex-Governor Charles B. Aycock as keynote speaker. Aycock said that he thought raising the Quakenbush monument “the most important and significant event of a generation,” because “men made money so that they may buy monument, other men strove for political success so that their high place might demand that they be remembered… yet…they were forgotten.” Aycock explained that Quakenbush was simply a man that lived for others. At the conclusion of Aycock’s speech at half past three the monument was unveiled by Miss Marnie Bizzell.
William Graham Quakenbush was principal of Laurinburg High School from 1879 to 1900, locally known as "The Quakenbush School." In addition to being a beloved educator Quakenbush was also one of the leaders in the movement to form Scotland County.
The monument stands at the corner of Roper and Biggs Streets, to the left of the Scotland County Courthouse that is located at 212 Biggs Street, Laurinburg, NC. When facing the courthouse the Veterans Memorial is to the right of the Confederate Soldiers Monument with the Quakenbush Monument to the left of the Confederate Monument.
The monument sits in a grassy triangular median between the street and the courthouse parking lot.
When dedicated the Quakenbush Monument stood directly in front of the 1901 Courthouse located on Main Street and was surrounded by a wrought iron fence. It apparently became a traffic hazard and was moved onto the courthouse grounds. The Quakenbush and Confederate Monuments were relocated to the contemporary county courthouse after its completion in 1964.