‘Confederate Rock’ could see a new home

The “Confederate Rock” could soon find itself in a new home.

The Boone County Commission will consider a proposal to transfer the rock, which currently stands on the Boone County Courthouse lawn.

A University of Missouri student initiated an online petition in early June to move the rock, and the petition sparked the Friends of Centralia Battlefield group to offer to move it to its battlefield.

The battlefield hosts a number of re-enactments and Civil War events, and it has monuments to both Union and Confederate soldiers.

This is not the first time that the rock has been the center of controversy in Boone County. It originally called the MU campus home, but it was moved off campus 40 years ago after protests from students.

The president of the Friends of Centralia Battlefield group, Jack Chance, said his first choice would be to keep the stone where it is. He said if it has to move, though, he would prefer to move it to the battlefield.

“To move the monument to somewhere else is not preserving history, but if it has to be moved, a battlefield is a place to put a monument that honors Confederate soldiers,” he said. “We had many Union soldiers die on that battlefield and we have a monument to them.”

The commission will vote Thursday on whether to approve the proposal.