Gaston removes fences around monuments before Martin Luther King Day Gaston County officials have removed the chain link fences from around both the Confederate monument at the courthouse and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. memorial near the social services building on Long Avenue. "It looks pretty good right now," said Tom Keigher, chairman of the Gaston County Board of Commissioners. "I think it's a great thing, particularly with Martin Luther King Day upon us in a week." Gaston County did not recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a county holiday until January 2003. At the time, fewer than five other counties in North Carolina did not give county employees the day off in honor of the Civil Rights icon. The federal government first celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January 1986.