Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to unveil statues around Florida in counties named after the nation's founders as a way to celebrate the upcoming 250th birthday of the United States.
In Jefferson County, a bronze statue of President Thomas Jefferson sitting on a bench was unveiled July 2 in front of the courthouse in Monticello. Also, a statue of President George Washington, on loan from the first president's Mount Vernon residence, is already on display at the state Capitol in Tallahassee.
Statues will also go up in Washington, Franklin, Hamilton, Madison and Monroe couunties.
"It's a chance for young people to understand what it means to be an American, how our country came into existence, what are some of the principles that the country was based upon," DeSantis said during the Jefferson unveiling.
DeSantis discussed the U.S. Constitution and the lives of the nation's founders. He had previously underscored Jefferson’s legacy as the “father of the Declaration of Independence.”
He also responded to criticism about the fact that Jefferson continued to enslave people despite writing in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal."
"I think it's totally fair to criticize any of the founders for the decisions and actions they made," DeSantis said. "But I do think it's wrong to demonize them and act like somehow 250 years later, 'they did this.' Take them for all the pluses and minuses."
The statue was created by artist George Lundeen, who has worked from his sculpting studio in Loveland, Colorado, since the mid-1970s, according to the State Department's Division of Historical Resources.
On Facebook, Byrd wrote that Historical Resources "played an important role" in bringing the statue to Monticello, and the Museum of Florida History Design and Fabrication Shop transported and installed it.
The governor also unveiled a state logo that will be used during the American celebration in 2026, and a website, America250FL.com, has been launched as Florida’s official hub for the nation's semiquincentennial.
DeSantis is placing the statues around the state amid ongoing controversy over how American history is recognized through statues, names and other historical markers.
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