Washington Monument in Boonsboro, MD – Pic of the Week

Back in December, I posted a Pic of the Week featuring the lighting of the Washington Monument in Baltimore. In that post, I mentioned that the monument in Baltimore was the first public monument to honor George Washington, though the monument in Boonsboro, Maryland, was the first completed monument dedicated to the memory of Washington. Today, we bring you pictures of that first monument, completed in Boonsboro in 1827.

Although this monument may seem less sophisticated, as there are no blueprints with an elaborate concept to reflect back on, the history of this monument is quite impressive. From the Maryland Department of Natural Resources website:

On July 4, 1827, nearly the entire village of Boonsboro trekked up South Mountain to build and dedicate the Washington Monument—the first completed monument in the United States to memorialize General and President George Washington. The town’s citizens erected half the monument that day using granite found onsite. Then, at 4 p.m., they held a brief dedication ceremony where they read the Declaration of Independence aloud, and four Revolutionary War veterans fired a ceremonial volley. The Boonsboro residents returned on a second day in September to finish it. Upon completion, the monument stood 30 feet high, and had a 54 foot circumference at the base.

Located at the top of South Mountain, the rugged stone tower went on to serve as a signal station in the Civil War, as South Mountain State Battlefield was the first major Civil War battle to take place in Maryland.

As the weather warms up and the days become longer, consider exploring this monument, which you can enter, or the battlefield, which boasts great views for bird watching and is also the only place the Appalachian National Scenic Trail intersects a major Civil War battlefield.

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