Essentials:
- Stands in Christiansburg, Virginia
- Erected 1883 by the Montgomery County Ladies’ Memorial Association
- The monument is a fifteen-foot high obelisk, dedicated to the county’s Confederate dead
- Three historical markers were installed close to the monument in 2022
Montgomery County Confederate Monument and African American History Markers
Monuments to Confederate soldiers abound in counties and cities across Virginia. Montgomery County is no exception. The Montgomery Confederate monument stands on the corner of Main Street and Franklin Street in the town square of Christiansburg, Montgomery’s county seat. It is located across the street from the site of the old courthouse and in front of the Christiansburg post office.
The monument is a modest obelisk, erected in 1883 by the Montgomery County Ladies’ Memorial Association to honor local Confederate soldiers. It is dedicated “to the memory of Montgomery’s sons who fell in the Lost Cause and to all the Confederate dead who lie beneath her soil.” Unlike the monument at Montgomery White Sulphur Springs, which was erected at the site of the Confederate hospital, Christiansburg’s monument commemorates not a specific site of significance, but the sacrifices of Montgomery County soldiers in general.
Christiansburg’s Confederate monument stands fifteen feet high and is made of granite. Its position on the town square reflects the historic importance of the old Montgomery County courthouses, which stood at the center of town. Confederate monuments were often placed near courthouses at the symbolic and often geographical center of the county. Other Confederate monuments in Montgomery County are located at Montgomery White Sulphur Springs and Westview Cemetery in Blacksburg.
In 2022, Christiansburg Institute and the Montgomery Museum of Art & History installed three historical markers close to the monument. The markers tell the story of local African American history with the themes “Community Life,” “Education,” and “Slavery in Montgomery County.”
Finding the Confederate Monument
Intersection of Main St. and Franklin St.
Christiansburg, VA 24073
From Blacksburg, take 460 Eastbound to the Downtown Christiansburg exit. Follow North Franklin Street until it intersects Main Street in the center of town. The monument is on your left hand side, in front of the Christiansburg Post Office.
For More Information
Timothy S. Sedore, An Illustrated Guide to Virginia’s Confederate Monuments (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2011).