Intersection of Senate and Sumter Streets
Gonzales Monument
This monument commemorates the life of Narciso Gener Gonzales, a founder and editor of The State newspaper in Columbia, who was murdered by James H. Tillman on January 15, 1903. Tillman, the Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and the nephew of South Carolina's United States Senator 'Pitchfork' Benjamin Tillman, shot and killed Gonzales at the corner of Main and Gervais streets. According to reports, Gonzales walked unarmed down the street when Tillman confronted him and opened fire. Gonzales died a few days later in the hospital. The newspaper speculated that the confrontation stemmed from Gonzales' severe opposition to Tillman's policies in many of his editorials in The State, as according to a January 16, 1903 edition of The State, Gonzales had previously called Tillman a 'criminal candidate' and a 'proven liar' during the previous primary election.
-
Gonzales Monument, circa 1910s. Historic Columbia collection
