Placerville, California voted to formally remove a noose from its town’s logo. The city is also known as Hangtown.
The logo of Placerville depicts a miner kneeling near a river with a tree and noose in the background. Placerville’s city manager told CNN the logo has only been around for about 40 years, and represents the Gold Rush in California and its associated crime.
“Murders and robberies became frequent in isolated camps along the American River, and before long, several merchants and miners had lost their poke of gold at knife point,” the town’s website says.
The city got its nickname of Hangtown after a citizens’ jury decided to hang a man accused of a crime. In 1854, the name Placerville was taken on by the town.
The Placerville City Council voted unanimously to remove the noose from the logo after hours-long testimony from residents during a Zoom meeting, many arguing the symbol is racist.
“A noose is a symbol of death,” one of the resident’s said, according to the outlet. “A noose is a symbol of lynching. A noose is a symbol of racism. I think we’re better than that.”
Some residents argued that removing the noose would take away from the town’s history.
“This world right now is taking inch by inch little pieces of our history and throwing it away,” one resident said and asked for the Council to have people vote on whether to remove the logo. “If we remove this, and the next thing you’re going to do is remove ‘Hangtown’ name itself, in 10-15 years, our kids aren’t going to know anything about it.”
Residents of Placerville tried to have the logo removed and replaced last year, but the motion failed after an alternative design was rejected, according to a report by KCRA.
Mayor Dennis Thomas praised the city’s diversity after moving to change the logo.
“Tonight shows you what a diverse and unique town we live in,” he said.
Costs to have the logo removed and changed are estimated to be around $3,500 and will be paid for by the city.
Photo: Getty Images