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Marietta company made 140 of the South’s Confederate statues

The figure standing atop the Confederate monument in the Screven County Memorial Cemetery at Sylvania resembles another Confederate statue in McDonough. Both were mass-produced by McNeel Marble Company in Marietta. This McNeel monument was dedicated in 1909.
The figure standing atop the Confederate monument in the Screven County Memorial Cemetery at Sylvania resembles another Confederate statue in McDonough. Both were mass-produced by McNeel Marble Company in Marietta. This McNeel monument was dedicated in 1909.
By Ben Brasch
Aug 21, 2017

Over the past week, the country-wide clash regarding Confederate monuments has reached new heights.

But amid all the back-and-forth is a nugget of history connecting Cobb County to the national argument.

Decades ago the McNeel Marble Co. in Marietta grew into one of the nation's most prolific Confederate monument makers. They built more than 140 Confederate monuments, including dozens in Georgia.

PHOTOS: The legacy of Marietta's McNeel Marble Company

That 140 includes the statue that was pulled down by protesters in Durham, North Carolina last week; eight individuals have been arrested in connection with that incident.

Experts agree that demand for Confederate monuments spiked twice: at the turn of the 20th century and about the time of the civil rights movement.

Read more about the history of the McNeel company and the reaction to the national uproar from a descendent of the company's founders on myAJC.com.

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Rep. Nancy Pelosi Calls For Confederate Statues Removal From Capitol

About the Author

Ben Brasch is the reporter tasked with keeping Fulton County government accountable. The Florida native moved to Atlanta for a job with The AJC. If there's something important to you going on in Fulton, he wants to know about it. Help him better metro Atlanta by dropping a line, anonymously or otherwise.

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