Chatham County 9/11 Memorial, Pittsboro
The memorial honors all first responders who died in the line of duty including those of September 11, 2001. The sculpture consists of a 12,000 pound, 19 feet tall steel beam that was part of a World Trade Center building. The steel beam, as the focal point of the memorial site, stands on end tilted at nine degrees and eleven minutes facing directly toward Ground Zero in New York. Small chucks of concrete are also still attached. A flag pole stands east of the steel beam. The beam itself stands in a circular brick patio with an L shaped brick walkway from the street providing access. Two half-circle elements bracket the patio. The two granite inner brackets are several feet high and lectern shaped. Each side contains an identical inscription. A few feet further out are half-circle brackets constructed of landscape blocks. Centered in the walkway is a wall approximately four feet high and twenty feet long constructed of decorative concrete block with a granite top. The top has an incised inscription pointing in the direction of the World Trade Center North Tower.
Images:
View of the Memorial |
Circle Wall Inscription
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North Tower Beam
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Direction Wall Inscription
Circle wall inscriptions: WE SHALL NEVER FORGET
Direction wall inscription: 444 MILES TO NORTH TOWER →
The Chatham County 9/11 First Responders' Memorial Foundation
September 6, 2014
35.718440 , -79.178370
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Aronson, Isaac-Davy. “Chatham County Seeks Input on 9/11 Memorial,” http://wunc.org, Dec 3, 2012, (accessed August 12, 2015) Link
Campbell, Colin, “Chatham County Dedicates New First Responders’ Memorial With World Trade Center Steel Beam,” The News And Observer (Raleigh, NC), September 6, 2011, (accessed June 10, 2015) Link
Hunter, John. “Memorial Dedicated,” The Chatham News (Siler City, NC), September 11, 2014, (accessed May 5, 2015) Link
Leah, Heather. "Remnant of the World Trade Center in NC: Steel Beam from North Tower Serves as Memorial," WRAL, September 10, 2022, (accessed January 6, 2023) Link
Quesinberry, Justin. “Chatham Co. 9/11 Memorial Finds a Home in Pittsboro,” 911families.org, October 26, 2013, (accessed February 11, 2023) Link
“Chatham to Dedicate 9/11 First Responders Memorial in Pittsboro on September 6,” Chatham Journal (Pittsboro, NC), August 26, 2014, (accessed May 25, 2015) Link
“Setting the 9/11 Beam for the First Responder Memorial in Pittsboro, NC,” YouTube.com, (accessed January 6, 2023) Link
Yes
Steel, brick, granite, decorative concrete block
The Chatham County 9/11 First Responders' Memorial Foundation
$70,000
The featured speaker was Joe Dittmar who told his story of 9/11. He was at a meeting in the south tower of the World Trade Center when the first plane hit the north tower. As he was evacuating, the second plane hit the south tower a few floors above his position. Passing firefighters as he slowly moved down, Dittmar “had a chance to witness bravery and selflessness in the most incredible way that day.”
The steel beam, acquired from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is an artifact from the World Trade Center tragedy of September 11, 2001. It was acquired in March of 2011 in hopes a memorial would be complete by the 10-year observance of the 9/11 attacks.
Difficulties with fundraising and finding an appropriate location delayed construction. When dedicated in 2014 the memorial was incomplete. An additional $50,000 was needed before the project was finished some years later. The memorial site was leased from Chatham County for one dollar for ninety-nine years.
The memorial is located next to Chatham County Justice Center on US Highway 501, in Pittsboro, NC.
The memorial site is a triangular piece of land with the point facing north along Highway 501. Trees and bushes line the east side providing a break with a higher elevation parking lot.
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