Council vote to fund John Mason statue move reopens disagreement
The town council’s decision Monday to provide $15,000 in taxpayer money to help fund the removal of the John Mason statue from the Palisado Green and reinstall it a short distance away at the Windsor Historical Society rekindled some disagreement between residents and elected officials.
When the call came for the controversial monument to be taken down last summer, hundreds of residents signed petitions for and against its removal and the town council listened to hours of public comment from residents over several meetings.
In September the council voted down party lines with the Democratic majority prevailing and the process to move the statue began.
The effort to remove Mason from the green follows a national movement to remove statues of racist figures. Calls to remove the Mason statue stem from his lead role in what is known as the Pequot Massacre in 1637, when Mason and his colonial militia, along with Narragansett and Mohegan tribal allies, attacked the Pequot tribe near the Mystic River. The massacre killed hundreds of Pequot men, women and children and was a major defeat for the tribe.
Mason’s monument, which was vandalized with spray-paint last summer, has been located on the Palisado Green for about 25 years. Prior to that the 9-foot memorial overlooked Mystic Seaport for about 130 years, before Pequot descendants requested that it be removed.
On Monday the Democrats prevailed once again by a 5 to 4 vote to help the historical society cover some of the costs related to the monument’s installation, which historical society officials estimate to be $35,000 to $40,000. The money from the town will be used toward site preparation work, including resetting a brick plaza and landscape modifications.
The historical society expects to spend $20,000 to $25,000 for the installation of security cameras and the design, fabrication and installation of interpretive signs and panels for educational purposes.
Mayor Donald Trinks said Monday that providing the funding was a “fair compromise that allows for the educational aspect to be added.”
Republican councilor Kenny Wilkos disagreed saying that he did not want to see the statue moved at all and only felt better about the move when he learned the historical society would be taking it.
“I don’t support using taxpayer money,” Wilkos said.
The subject also prompted some more calls from residents on both sides of the issue.
George Slate said the council should deny the request because the historical society has close to $2 million in endowments.
“Deny the historical society of its desired gift,” Slate said.
But Donna Grossman said that “if the town can’t afford the $15,000 to move the statue, I’ll start a GoFundMe.”
The town is expecting the state, which owns the statue, to cover the cost of the statue’s move.
Steven Goode can be reached at sgoode@courant.com.
