BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The historic Pickett Bridge in downtown Bellingham may not officially carry that name much longer.
The city council will consider a recommendation by the Historic Preservation Commission that the name is “inappropriate and does not reflect the values of the City of Bellingham.”
The bridge is named after U.S. Army Captain George Pickett who was stationed in Bellingham in the 1850s but enlisted with the Confederacy and fought for his home state of Virginia during the Civil War.
The bridge was named in his honor in 1918, but the city removed a plaque bearing his name following racist clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
After taking public comment the commission recommends that the bridge should no longer be referred to as the Pickett Bridge and the plaque should be placed in a suitable historical setting.