City of Charleston donates to Anson Memorial

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg made an announcement Tuesday about a memorial that will be built in remembrance of 36 people of African and Native American descent whose remains were found at the Gaillard Center nearly a decade ago.

The City of Charleston is donating $250,000 for the Anson Memorial and organizations like Wells Fargo and the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor Commission will also be contributing.

“We actually had DNA sampling done of all the remains which identified where the individuals had come from— it’s an amazing process,” Tecklenburg says.

The Anson Memorial will be built near the corners of George and Anson Streets. The artist of the memorial, Steven Hayes, says the design will feature a fountain and individual hands representing each of the 36 whose remains were found.

The fountain will be 3 feet tall and the 36 hands will be holding an object, in reference to the objects the people were buried with. Each hand will be castes in bronze and will have its own water sprouting from it.

“We can use this as an opportunity to tell the story of those who we uncovered and the powerful message of honoring our ancestors and those who came before us,” Tecklenburg says.

Organizers are looking for living individuals whose age, gender and ethnicity match those of the deceased to help make this happen. Tecklenburg says it’s been a joint and collaborative effort to get to this point but they still need volunteers. If you meet the criteria and would like to contribute to the memorial, click here.