PLACERVILLE, Calif. — The Placerville City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to remove the noose from its city logo after a public comment that took lasted hours.
Placerville has the nickname "Hangtown," which is tied to three men hanged in 1849 after robbing a prospector. Currently, the logo has a gold miner panning as a noose hangs behind him from a tree. The new design omits the noose.
Patty Borrelli, a Placerville City Councilmember, said the noose did not appear on the logo in the days of the gold rush but was added much more recently.
"It was 1970, not 1870," Borrelli said.
Placerville City Councilmember Michael Saragosa even questioned if people consider the 1970's as the historical era that represents the Gold Rush, which callers argue is what the current logo symbolizes.
Those who called into the city council meeting on Zoom either believed removing the image amounts to destroying history while others saw it as a symbol for lynching.
Many commenters pointed to Placerville Mayor Dennis Thomas's campaign saying he would not destroy the city's history. Thomas asked what would be the point in keeping a symbol that was so divisive.
"Our path is much richer than a symbol of this noose," Thomas said. "Is that really what we're fighting over?"
Estimated costs for decals, business cards, and street signs were estimated at $3,557.
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