The History Behind “The Door”
November 9th, 2009 by Joe Burgess
“When the dust and the rain cleared after the rear of the building at the corner of Gaines and South Main fell, passersby noticed a door suspended over the rubble that read “Patrick Henry”.
A little research yielded several facts about Drew County’s Patrick Henry. A Mississippian by birth, Henry came to Monticello in 1900 after completing his law degree. He practiced in law firms with several local lawyers, including Walter Weatherford, H. W. Wells, and Joe Lee Harris.
Patrick Henry also had a varied political career, serving as mayor from 1903 through 1906. He ran for the office of prosecuting attorney that year and lost. In 1931 he was elected Circuit Judge for the 10th Judicial District and served when the current courthouse was built. He died suddenly in 1935.
Thinking that the door should be in the museum, Sheilla Lampkin, chair of the museum commission, approached property owner Leslie McKiever, who so graciously offered it to the museum if it could safely be removed.
Sheriff Mark Gober rescued the historic door for the museum where it is now on display.”
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Thank you, to Sheilla for your constant work toward preserving Drew County history.
And, thank you to Sheriff Gober for rescuing the door.
Keep up the good work guys!
I too, was wondering about the door. So glad it is now on display as a part of Monticello’s history..
A great piece of history preserved and not destroyed. I wonder how many more items like that are on the square tucked away in one of those old buildings. More needs to be done to preserve them for future generations.