Artifacts Found in Jefferson Davis Statue Being Removed in Kentucky Capitol

Artifacts were found inside of the base of the Jefferson Davis statue during its removal Saturday. (Reuters)

Officials uncovered artifacts inside the base of a statue of Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederate States of America, in Frankfort, Kentucky.

They found a bottle of Glenmore Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey as well as a copy of the State Journal newspaper on the day the statue was erected on Oct. 20, 1936. The bottle was empty.

Photographer Matt Stone of the Kentucky Courier-Journal also confirmed the bottle was found with a note.

According to WDRB, the items were handed over to Gov. Andy Beshear after they were found.

On June 12, a Kentucky panel voted to remove the statue of Davis, who led the Confederacy during the Civil War between 1861 and 1865, from the state Capitol Rotunda.

“After calling for its removal and urging the Historic Properties Advisory Commission to act, today I pressed the button to bring it down,” Beshear wrote on Twitter. “Now, every child who walks into their Capitol feels welcome. Today we took a step forward for the betterment of every single Kentuckian.”

A statue of Jefferson Davis, second from left, president of the Confederate States from 1861–1865, is on display in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 24, 2015. (Susan Walsh/AP Photo)

The statue will be placed in storage before being relocated at a state park that commemorates Davis in Fairview, Kentucky, where he was born.