Friendship Monument
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.
GHM 008-51 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1963
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Byron Hooks of Lat34North.com.