The Confederate monument on the court green in Mathews is the hottest topic slated for discussion during the upcoming Mathews County Board of Supervisors meeting, to be held at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2, in the Mathews High School auditorium.

A number of residents requested removal of the monument during the board’s July meeting, submitting written comments that spoke of the structure as a reminder of the days of enslavement, oppression and exclusion. It was suggested that the monument be moved elsewhere, possibly Fort Nonsense Historical Park. One speaker at that meeting said the monument needed to remain, and that the county needed to clarify who owns the land it sits on.

A report that County Administrator Mindy Conner will present to the board for consideration at next week’s meeting includes the results of historical research conducted on the monument by Becky Barnhardt, the head of Genealogy and Family Research Services at Mathews Memorial Library.

According to the re...