MONTICELLO, FL — Florida is honoring the nation’s founders in bronze—starting with a new statue of Thomas Jefferson unveiled in Monticello.
- Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled a bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson in Monticello, Florida.
- The Jefferson statue is the first in a series planned for various Florida counties
- Watch the video below to find out where other statues will be unveiled across the state.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A new statue of Thomas Jefferson now stands at the heart of Monticello.
"I think here in Jefferson County I think it's appropriate to have a statue that's been provided by the state of Florida," Governor Ron DeSantis said.
I’m Lentheus Chaney, your Monticello neighborhood reporter. On Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis tied Florida’s future to the legacy of its namesake founders.
At the courthouse roundabout in downtown Monticello, Governor DeSantis unveiled a bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson, honoring the Founding Father for whom the county is named.
“John Adams said that in the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson’s words gave voice to a revolution that will echo through the ages,” DeSantis said.
The city of Monticello—Italian for “little hill” or “mound”—shares its name with Jefferson’s Virginia estate, a symbol of both liberty and contradiction. Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence, declaring that “all men are created equal,” while also remaining a lifelong slaveholder.
“I think it’s fair to criticize any of the founders for the decisions and actions they made—but I do think it’s wrong to demonize them,” DeSantis said.
The statue is the first in a statewide series commissioned by Governor DeSantis to mark the 250th anniversary of America’s founding.
In a February news conference at the capitol—during the unveiling of a statue of George Washington on loan from the Mount Vernon estate—DeSantis announced his plan to place statues of the founding fathers in Florida counties that bear their names.
Among the counties next in line:
- Franklin County for Benjamin Franklin
- Hamilton County for Alexander Hamilton
- Madison County for James Madison
- Monroe County for James Monroe
Earlier this year, the Trump administration began reversing a Biden-era effort renaming U.S. military bases that had been named after Confederate generals.
The effort comes amid national debate over how America remembers its past.
In Monticello, Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
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