JACKSON WORLD WAR I MEMORIAL TO BE DEDICATED NOV. 17
MARTIN, Tenn. – A dedication of the restored World War I memorial fountain in downtown
Jackson will be held at 10:30 a.m., Nov. 17, on the northeast lawn of the Madison County
Courthouse.
The dedication will take place after Veterans Day, which this year marks the centennial of the
1918 signing of the armistice to end the war between Germany and the Allied nations. The
dedication will include the presentation and retiring of the colors by the Northside High School
Junior ROTC, as well as an official certificate presentation by Susan Mennenga, co-program
manager of 100 Cities/100 Memorials and a representative of the Pritzker Military Museum and
Library. Jimmy Harris, mayor of Madison County; Vicki Foote, vice mayor of the city of
Jackson; Harrell Carter, president of the Jackson-Madison County NAACP branch; and Ed
Jackson, Tennessee state senator, will also be in attendance.
The historical site was granted funds for restoration by the Pritzker Military Museum and Library
and United States World War I Centennial Commission in 2017 and has been designated as one
of the 100 Centennial Memorial Monuments in the United States. The restoration’s goals are to
remember “America’s forgotten war” and to give acknowledgement to Madison County
servicemen and women regardless of gender, race or religion. Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls,
professor of history at the University of Tennessee at Martin, serves as the project’s director of
restoration.
“The purpose of this restoration is to remember all parts of that story and to honor every one of
whom we are aware and who deserve to be named or mentioned,” said Carls.
The grant has been used to restore the drinking fountain to its original appearance by repainting
the structure and restoring the missing urn to the top. The restoration also includes the
installation of three new plaques: one recognizing African-American citizens of Madison County
who were not honored in the past, one listing the previously omitted names of the dead not
mentioned on the original plaque, including African-American soldiers, and the official plaque
designating the fountain as a Centennial Memorial Monument.
Members of the Jackson-McClaran chapter of the American Red Cross donated the fountain to
Madison County shortly after the end of WWI.
The Madison County Courthouse is located at 100 Main St. in Jackson. For more information on
the dedication, contact Carls at accarls@utm.edu.
