Bellingham removes signs on bridge named for Confederate general (WA)

[NavyCanDo]

[Bellingham Washington]

City officials on Friday removed signs identifying Pickett Bridge at Prospect and Dupont streets, as well as directional signs leading to The Pickett House.

Officials said the move was in light of last Saturday’s violent clash in Charlottesville, Va. between a group identified as white supremacists and counter-protesters.

The City Council requested staff on Monday to look into the possible renaming of the Pickett Bridge, in coordination with the Historical Preservation Commission and other local stakeholders, according to a news release. After the discussion, signs identifying the Pickett Bridge were covered on Thursday, but the coverings were ultimately ripped down, Mayor Kelli Linville said.

Capt. George E. Pickett was a U.S. Army officer who built Fort Bellingham in the 1850s and supervised construction of the first bridge across Whatcom Creek. He left the area in 1861 to fight for his home state of Virginia in the Civil War – Pickett later became a general in the Confederate States Army.
The Pickett House, at 910 Bancroft St., is on private property and is managed by The Daughters of the American Revolution, so the city has no control over what happens to it, Linville said.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article167992382.html

[NavyCanDo]

A little WA history

Pickett Bridge was first built in 1857 as a Military bridge by Captain George E. Pickett when he was in Washington Territory. The Daughters of the Revolution named the bridge after him. Pickett's WA home still stands today.
Also in WA Territory at the time was Grant who is credited with building Military Road which still exist.

[dfwgator]

You are pretty much going to have to remove every statue and rename everything named after someone born before 1900, because odds are, they held views that are considered to be racist today.

[TomSea]

And looks like there was a lot of Klan at one time, at least in Oregon.

Oregon Was Once Ku-Ku For The Klan
The KKK Was Once 35,000 Strong And Picked Our Governor.
http://www.wweek.com/arts/2017/08/17/oregon-was-once-ku-ku-for-the-klan/

[Cyber Liberty]

[Bellingham Washington]
Capt. George E. Pickett was a U.S. Army officer who built Fort Bellingham in the 1850s and supervised construction of the first bridge across Whatcom Creek. He left the area in 1861 to fight for his home state of Virginia in the Civil War – Pickett later became a general in the Confederate States Army.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article167992382.html

To be consistent, the city leaders should also tear down all the signs identifying the town that's named after the fort Pickett built.

[Oceander]

To be consistent, the city leaders should also tear down all the signs identifying the town that's named after the fort Pickett built.

True enough.

[Wingnut]

[Hoodat]

A little WA history

Pickett Bridge was first built in 1857 as a Military bridge by Captain George E. Pickett when he was in Washington Territory. The Daughters of the Revolution named the bridge after him. Pickett's WA home still stands today.
Also in WA Territory at the time was Grant who is credited with building Military Road which still exist.

While in Washington state, Pickett married a Native American woman.  When Virginia seceded, he chose to resign his commission in the US Army in order to serve the Commonwealth of Virginia.

[Wingnut]