The strange story behind Georgia's first removed Confederate monument

Over 100 years ago, Elberton was the first Georgia town to tear down its Confederate monument because it wasn’t Confederate enough. Almost immediately after the statue was erected in 1900, the town gave it a nickname: “Dutchy,” for its inaccurate Civil War uniform and cartoonish appearance. Shortly after, it was removed by residents. Many decades later, Elberton built the Georgia Guidestones — another controversial monument constructed for very different reasons. It attracted conspiracy theories from around the world but was ultimately blown up in 2022. Follow the trail of the Georgia Guidestones and watch the full documentary now on the AJC’s YouTube channel. Want to dive deeper? Listen to the AJC podcast "Who Blew Up the Guidestones?" for expanded reporting, deeper context and exclusive interviews. Follow along wherever you get your podcasts. Credits: AJC | CBS | Daniel Fuller | Getty Images | PM Magazine | The Civil War Picket | WFBC-TV | Patrick Denker/creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, Cropped from the original