Court Square Park (formerly Jackson Park and Justice Park) is a public park in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Court Square Park
Court Square Park is located in Virginia
Court Square Park
LocationCharlottesville, Virginia
Coordinates38°1′54″N 78°28′31″W / 38.03167°N 78.47528°W / 38.03167; -78.47528
Area0.4 acres (0.16 ha)
Created1919 (1919)
Operated byCity of Charlottesville
StatusOpen all year

Court Square Park is 0.4 acres bounded by Jefferson Street, Fourth Street N.E., High Street and the Albemarle County Court Building.[1] Paul Goodloe McIntire established the park in 1919 by donating the land to the city of Charlottesville.[1]

The park was originally named Jackson Park after Confederate general Stonewall Jackson.[2] A statue of Jackson on horseback, Thomas Jonathan Jackson, was placed there in 1921.[2]

In November 2016 the Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Memorials and Public Spaces published a report recommending transforming the statue into a monument for remembering racial oppression and to change the name from Jackson Park.[3][4] In June 2017, the city council voted to change the name to Justice Park,[5] and in July 2018, the name was changed again to Court Square Park.[6]

The statue was removed on July 10, 2021.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Court Square Park - City of Charlottesville". www.charlottesville.org. Archived from the original on 2018-07-20. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  2. ^ a b "104-0251 Thomas Jonathan Jackson Sculpture Nomination Form" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 19 June 1996. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  3. ^ SUAREZ, CHRIS (1 November 2016). "Panel votes to recommend keeping statues in their parks". The Daily Progress.
  4. ^ Hoerauf, Daniel (11 November 2016). "Blue Ribbon Commission shares recommendations with community". The Cavalier Daily. University of Virginia.
  5. ^ "Charlottesville City Council Votes to Rename Lee, Jackson Parks". nbc29.com. WVIR-TV. 5 June 2017. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Charlottesville City Council changes the names of two renamed parks". The Daily Progress. 16 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Charlottesville's Confederate statues removed from city parks". NBC29. Charlottesville, VA: Gray Media Group. 10 July 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
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