Controversy builds over confederate landmark
WASHINGTON – The former home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, decimated by Hurricane Katrina, should be rebuilt as quickly as possible, according to many Civil War buffs as well as officials at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
But civil rights groups and at least one congressional budget hawk decry congressional plans to provide money for rebuilding Beauvoir, the majestic house in Biloxi, Miss., built in the 1850s that served as Davis’ retirement home after the Civil War. Damage to the home amounts to an estimated $25 million.
“We adamantly oppose the restoration of Beauvoir,” said Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson. “It is one of the most divisive symbols in this state and in this state’s history.”
The federal government has no responsibility to rebuild historic sites damaged by a natural disaster.
But at the behest of the National Trust and other historic preservation organizations, Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss., has included $80 million to restore storm-battered historic property in a $27 billion emergency hurricane package the Senate plans to debate this week.
The grants would be administered through state historic preservation agencies in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.
They also would be used to repair historic sites such as Beauvoir, a complex of buildings that includes Davis’ columned home and several outbuildings. One building is a library where Davis wrote the “The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.” Another was a barracks for Confederate soldiers that served as a museum.
“Certainly, I’d think Beauvoir would be eligible and a priority,” said Cochran press secretary Jenny Manley. “Thousands of historic structures were damaged by last year’s hurricanes. These funds are important to ensure the full economic and cultural recovery of the coast.”
But the money for Beauvoir and other historic places may be challenged by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who is taking aim at several projects in the hurricane package, including $700 million to move the CSX railroad line that runs along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.
Coburn press secretary John Hart said the senator also might focus on the historic preservation money. Coburn is expected to try to introduce dozens of amendments this week to strip out the money for the CSX line and other projects in the hurricane package.
“He would be concerned about this not being a true emergency,” Hart said. “When people are homeless, that should be the first priority.”
Stephanie Jones, executive director for the National Urban League Policy Institute, also said the money to restore Beauvoir “does not seem to be an emergency.”
Officials at Beauvoir also are seeking private money for the rebuilding effort.
Emily Wadhams, vice president for public policy at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said the idea behind the grants is to bring back the history of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast.
“Whether it is a confederate general’s home or a shotgun house, they’re all historic,” Wadhams said.