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Thursday, March 28, 2024
<p>The Old Joe Statue.</p>

The Old Joe Statue.

​While protests in Charlottesville have caused an upset nationally, a Confederate statue in Gainesville was removed Monday with little fanfare from passersby.  

​The statue, nicknamed "Old Joe," stood in front of the Alachua County Administration Building and has garnered its fair share of attention throughout its 113-year lifespan. Without pomp or ceremony, construction workers hired by the United Daughters of the Confederacy removed the statue in rainy weather at about 11 a.m. Monday morning.

Gainesville Police spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said there was a GPD officer present as a precautionary measure, but the removal was carried out peacefully. "We were all very appreciative of the way people behaved," he said.

​Julia Burgin, a UF French junior who was walking to her car when she saw the statue’s removal, said that only a few people stopped to take pictures or acknowledge the statue being brought down. ​Burgin said she felt the monument would need to be moved at some point.

​"It serves as a reminder that the country was built on hate and that people are still proud of it," the 20-year-old said.

City commissioners have tried to relocate Joe before, according to Alligator archives. Gainesville residents have pleaded both for and against its expulsion, but now it is being returned to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the same group that erected it in 1904.

​Old Joe's removal comes after a weekend of violent rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, which began with a protest that aimed to defend another Confederate memorial.

​Gainesville City Commissioner David Arreola said the removal of Old Joe was likely not linked to the rallies in Charlottesville, since the decision to remove it was made more than a month ago.

​Now, it is up to the United Daughters of the Confederacy to decide where Old Joe will stand. Alachua County Commissioner Ken Cornell said he heard the statue was placed in a private cemetery near Rochelle.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy could not be reached for comment.

​The statue's former location won't stay empty forever. Arreola said Alachua County has asked the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency — creators of the Helyx Bridge, Depot Part and other construction projects around Gainesville — to brainstorm something to place in the vacant space.

​Regardless of what will replace it, Arreola was pleased to see it go.

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​"I have never been so happy to drive by University and Main and not see that statue," he said. "I'm not going to miss it one bit."

Contact Jessica Giles at jgiles@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @jessica_giles_.

The Old Joe Statue.

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