Vandals strike 3 historic monuments in downtown Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Once summer comes around and school is out, there’s often an uptick in vandalism hitting neighborhoods, parks and public spaces.

This year, one target is historic monuments in Augusta.

Within the past week, three monuments downtown have seen vandalism firsthand.

From Paine College to the Masonic Lodge, historical monuments and placards are disappearing or damaged.

The Spanish American War monument’s bronze emblem is bent and falling off, as if someone is trying to pry it from the concrete. The bronze emblem could be seen shining in the summer sun, but now it’s just one tug away from facing the same damages as two other monuments in Augusta.

A peaceful walk ends with an unfortunate wake-up call.

“I was walking down here the other day, there was a dirty towel covering it up. And I stopped and looked at it and I realized that someone had tried to use a dirty towel to pry off this bronze monument of people who died for this country over 100 years ago. I mean, it just, you know, it is really heartbreaking,” said Kevin De L’Aigle, neighbor.

Less than 100 yards away is the Masonic monument. A Bible was on the top, but is gone now.

Steven Fishman, Worshipful Master of Webb Masonic Lodge, said: “Why in the world would anyone defame a Masonic Memorial? It’s kind of like grave robbing. It’s horrible. And what did they steal? They stole a Bible for goodness sake, a Bible.”

And then when you round the corner at Broad and 10th streets, the original Paine College founding marker is now on the ground.

It left a hefty price tag.

“There’s at least $2,000 worth of damage that has been done to this monument by vandals,” said Fishman.

It impacts more than just those who put them there.

Vandalism impacts everything it surrounds — businesses, economic growth, homes and more.

By one estimate, vandalism can decrease real estate value by 15%.

It also can affect the money coming into the city.

De L’Aigle said: “It affects all of us and affects property values, you know. It affects our safety. It affects our security down here, and it just creates the image that nobody cares. And that’s not something that’s good for anybody’s quality of life.”

They’re calling on the city.

“It is really heartbreaking. And it’s something that needs to stop. I mean, I really wish we would hear from our officials, like, you know, just to say, ‘Well, this has got to stop. This is not acceptable in our community,’” said De L’Aigle.

A Masonic Lodge member is beyond furious.

He said the culprits didn’t just steal an open Bible on a monument – they took something that cost years worth of saving money to place out here.

The lodge gives out tens of thousands of dollars a year in scholarships to children who need them for school, and now the lodge is going to have to cut back on some of them.

Fishman said: “We were getting ready to give out 14 $1,000 scholarships to young people going to college and professional institutions. But now the dissemble has been stolen. It’s just going to cost us a couple of scholarships for next year.”

At the end of the day, Fishman says, “This needs to be a walkway and a corridor for people all over the southeast to look and visit Augusta and see what has happened in the history of Augusta through the ages.”

The city says while they are sad to see this type of treatment to the monuments, they don’t own them. The organization that put it there is responsible for making repairs.

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