Franklin County officials investigate new statues for courthouse clocktower

Five well-known relics have disappeared from Hampton’s skyline recently due to old age and relentless punishment from Mother Nature.
     Copper statues perched atop the Franklin County Courthouse were removed last month and placed inside the rotunda. Rain and other adverse weather conditions had started to take a toll on the statues, which were rusting at the base and bleeding down the courthouse’s cream-colored exterior.
     Rust had affected the base of the northwest statue so much that it was swaying slightly during strong wind gusts, according to county Auditor Michelle Giddings.
     “It just wasn’t stable, so we knew it had to come down,” she said. “But when the crew was up there inspecting [the statues], they advised we take all of them down.”
     Read the full article in the January 27 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.