Cartersville, Georgia: Friendship Plaza - World's Only Creditor Monument
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 34° 09.921 W 084° 47.743
16S E 703184 N 3782685
Erected to give homage to those who rallied to his aid in a time of need
Waymark Code: WMNM21
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 04/01/2015
Views: 1
County of site: Bartow County
Location of monument: 1 Friendship Plaza, Cartersville
Monument erected by: Mark A. Cooper
Date monument erected: 1860
Engraving on monument by: S. A. Cox, Jr. 1859
A couple of historic markers are located nearby to help explain this monument. The text of those markers
Marker 1:
(front):
TRIBUTE ON MONUMENT
This monument is erected by Mark A. Cooper, Proprietor at Etowah, as a Grateful tribute to the Friendship and Liberality of those whose names are hereon inscribed, which prompted them to aid him in the prosecution and development of the interests at Etowah.
Engraved by S. A., Cox, Jr. 1859
(other side):
38 NAMES ON MONUMENT
West Side
Wade S. Cochran
John Banks
William L. Mitchell
J.E. Hart
Pleasant Stovall
John M. Flournoy
James R. Jones
H.S Smith
Wareham Cromwell
Hon. M.J. Wellborn
John W. Lewis
Lewis Tumlin
Joseph Banks
East Side
Dr. William C. Daniel
Thomas Stocks
Thomas R. Saffold
N.C. Foster
T.B. Baldwin
Dr. H.J. Oglesby
Wiley and Zimmerman
S.R. McCamey
Charles A. Hamilton
M.M. Anderson
Dr. Richard Banks
Thomas Stovall
North Side
Matt Whitfield Reuben
Jordan W. Maxey
Michael Dennis
Gnl. Robert Bledsoe
Samuel Pearson
D.R. Adams
Elisha Perryman
W.H. Carter
J.H. Gatewood
Andrew Reid
Alfred Shorter
Marker Two:
FRIENDSHIP MONUMENT
The nearby marble shaft has the unique distinction of having been erected by a debtor in honor of his creditors. Losses during the panic of 1857 forced Mark A. Cooper, proprietor of the Etowah Iron Works, to offer this property for sale to satisfy a $100,000 debt. thirty-eight friends signed notes totaling that amount to save the enterprise. When the debt was repaid in 1860, Cooper erected this monument on which the names of his benefactors are inscribed.
~ Eredcted by Georgia Historic Commission, 1963.