Confederate Officer's Name To Be Removed From Culpeper Reservoir

CULPEPER, VA — A Culpeper Town Council committee voted Wednesday to recommend that the name of the town reservoir be changed from Lake Pelham, named after a Confederate officer, to Lake Culpeper.

The recommendation by the council’s Light & Power and Environmental Services Committee came after the Culpeper Town Council voted in February to change the reservoir’s name, the Culpeper Star-Exponent reported Thursday. The reservoir is currently named after Maj. John Pelham, a Confederate artillery officer during the Civil War.

The town’s decision shows that the trend in Virginia toward removing Confederate statues and names is spreading to more conservative areas of the state. In the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump received 59 percent of the vote in Culpeper County compared to 39 percent for Joe Biden.

“Personally, I think we ought to call it Lake Culpeper,” Vice Mayor Billy Yowell, a town native, said during Wednesday’s meeting. Yowell said naming sites or places after people does not work, the Star-Exponent reported.

“There are too many skeletons in the closet,” the vice mayor said. “Social norms change.”

SEE ALSO: VA Governor Calls For Removal of Confederate Names From Schools

Pelham, from Alabama, died in 1863 during the Battle of Kelly’s Ford in Culpeper County.

Lake Pelham, which serves as the water supply for the town, was named after the Confederate officer in 1975. The 255-acre body of water is also used for recreation, including fishing and boating.

The Town Council will vote on the proposed name at its May 11 regular meeting, according to the Star-Exponent.

The town and county of Culpeper is also named after a person, the Star-Exponent noted. Established in 1749, Culpeper County was named for Thomas Culpeper, who was appointed the colonial governor of Virginia by England’s King Charles II in 1679.

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