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Dorothy Copus Brush Presidential monuments
Both Presidents Washington and Lincoln were
great men even though not many remember their special anniversary
dates since President's Day lumped them in one holiday. Both
men's memorials in Washington, DC, serve as daily tributes to
their lives. It took a long time and much talk, talk before
the Washington Monument took shape. After the 1799 death of the
Father of our Country, John Marshall, a fellow Virginian of Washington,
introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives
stating that "a marble monument be erected by the United
States in the city of Washington and that the family of General
Washington be requested to permit his body to be deposited under
it." Although the widow agreed to the terms, nothing
was done. The idea was not forgotten by influential citizens
of the city, and in 1833 they organized as the Washington Monument
Society to promote the project. By that time John Marshall was
chief justice of the Supreme Court, and he was elected president
of the group. They financed the construction of the shaft until
it rose to 154 feet. Then they invited American artists to submit
designs for a $1 million edifice. Nothing more happened until 1848 when Congress
passed a resolution authorizing the society to erect a 500-foot
obelisk and to work with the president to find a suitable site.
On Independence Day 1848, amid colorful ceremonies, the cornerstone
filled with historic documents was laid. Work continued slowly
over the next six years but dissension within the society and
lack of funds caused construction to cease. Finally, President Grant signed a bill in
1876 which provided that the government would take over and complete
the monument. The pyramidal capstone was placed atop the 555-foot
obelisk on Dec. 6, 1884. About 23,000 stones were used in the
shaft's construction. The memorial was opened to the public on
Oct. 9, 1888. For more than a century the Washington Monument
was a "must-visit" site for visiting tourists. Several
years ago a $9 million facelift began to restore the aging structure.
Surrounded by scaffolding which was covered with blue strips
of synthetic fabric, the obelisk became a work of art until the
nitty-gritty hard work was completed. Now it is ready for another
century of service. Another little-known monument lacks the grandeur
of the one in Washington, but it was inspired by George Washington.
To the people of Boonsboro, MD, Washington's leadership in the
Revolutionary War and as first president of the new country was
patriotism of the first order. On the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration
of Independence most of the small town's citizens met at 7 a.m.
on July 4, 1827 and marched up South Mountain to the 1,550-foot
peak. Without benefit of water for mortar they selected and cut
stones to make a circular base 54 feet in circumference. When
they stopped at 4 that afternoon, the monument had reached 15
feet in height. Someone read the Declaration of Independence,
and three Revolutionary War veterans climbed to the top of the
tower and fired three rounds of musketry. The group returned that fall and added another
15 feet. Then they placed a marble slab on the side facing toward
Boonsboro which bore the words, "Erected in memory of Washington,
July 4, 1827 by the citizens of Boonsboro." Vandals and weather reduced the monument to
only a few feet by the time of the Civil War, but in 1882 a fund
was established to rebuild the tower to its original 30 feet.
This was done, but it lasted only a decade before it was in ruins
again. Boonsboro rallied again and a state historical society
bought the monument and an acre of land surrounding it in 1922.
Later, in 1934, it was deeded to the state of Maryland for a
state park. Citizens and many civic and patriotic organizations in Boonsboro, with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps, reconstructed the monument to its original design. Today it stands as a testament to the patriotism of its builders, following generations and to the man it honors, George Washington. |