Confederate plaque in Franklin removed overnight

A local Confederate monument came down overnight after all. City of Franklin officials said Wednesday that a rock with a plaque affixed honoring Robert E. Lee is in a public right of way for Dixie Highway, and therefore is a hazard which must be removed. Earlier, Franklin Township officials had said they would not remove the Confederate monument after violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia. However, they later learned that the monument is actually in Franklin, the city, so it would not be theirs to remove. However, the land did not become part of Franklin until it was annexed for Dixie Highway in the 1990s, which means that the land and monument were located in Franklin Township when it was erected in 1927, according to Franklin city officials. Because of that, they plan to return the monument to Franklin Township. Where it will go remains unclear for now. Franklin city officials said they had been unaware of the monument until Wednesday. City officials around the country have worked to remove several Confederate monuments after a counter protester, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was killed Saturday after white supremacists marched to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue.