Controversial monument with confederate ties to be 'decommissioned' by Kincardine council

A historical monument that stood outside Kincardine's library for more than 100 years, will not be returning to it's prominent spot on main street.

"We choose to honour history, but also to represent our community in a non-racist, inclusive manner," said Kincardine Mayor Ken Craig.

The monument in question is an ode to Dr. Solomon Secord, who served Kincardine as a beloved physician for more than 50 years - but he also spent time as a surgeon for the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.

A year's long public debate over Secord's statue, and its connection to a cause promoting slavery, split the community.

In the end, while suggesting they appreciate Dr. Secord's service to Kincardine, council decided the statue not return to main street, instead it will be respectfully dismantled.

Dr. Solomon Secord. (Source: Bruce County Museum/Ross Merritt)

"It is a challenging, polarizing issue in any community. The historical value of Doctor Secord's humanitarian work is invaluable, and we will continue to maintain that with a display at the local museum. But we choose to honour the parts of history that are valuable, and we choose to minimize the parts of history that in this culture, in this day and age, are not appropriate," said Craig.

The decision made at Wednesday's council meeting has already sparked some community reaction.

"I disagree with that. We can't forget history. We can't change history. It's part of who we are, and I disagree with their decision to remove the monument," said David from Kincardine.

"I think it's time for the council to stop being so woke. Obviously, he was a man that deserved to have a statue put up for him, and it should be left there. That's it," said Karen from Kincardine.

Council offered the monument to the local museum, legion, and hospital, who politely declined. Council considered removing the monument's wording around the Confederate Army, but that idea was rebuffed as not effective or feasible. Decommissioning became the best option, said Craig.

Kincardine Mayor, Ken Craig explaining council's decision to decommission Dr. Solomon Secord statue (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

During the public consultation process on the Secord monument, some blatantly racist comments came forward shocking both council and the community. Mayor Craig hopes that this decision puts an end to that animosity.

"Difficult conversations do not have a lot of middle ground. They're very polarizing. Our council chose to represent our community to the best of our ability, to the best of the information that we had and the best that we can moving forward," said Craig.

Dr. Solomon Secord monument outside of Kincardine's library, June 2018 (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

Another monument to Dr. Secord remains up in Kincardine's cemetery, and historical information about his time in Kincardine can be found at the local museum, Walker House.