Washington Monument State Park
The Washington Monument State Park is a state park with the first monument that George Washington was dedicated. The 59 hectare site is located 6 km east of Boonsboro in Washington County , Maryland, USA . The monument consists of a 10.4 m high tower made of craggy boulders with a base at 470 m.
history
At 7 a.m. on July 4, 1827, 500 residents gathered in Boonsboro to march together behind the stars and stripes to the place chosen for the construction. The large amount of buildable granite had played a role in the selection of the site . Due to the lack of water at the construction site, not enough mortar could be applied, so the stones were sorted on site and processed so that they fit together exactly. By the afternoon at 4 p.m., the base with a 16.5 m circumference had been erected and a tower height of 4.5 m had been reached. At the end of this extraordinary day, the United States' Declaration of Independence was solemnly read and a gun salute was given. The monument was completed that same year.
In 1882 the monument was renovated and an access road for vehicles was built. A decade later, cracks appeared in the walls that were not repaired, so that the decay began and the monument became a ruin. The Washington County Historical Society acquired the site in 1920 and transferred it to the State of Maryland in 1934 to establish a state park. The tower was restored by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps . On July 4, 1936, the completed work was duly celebrated.
Infrastructure
The state park has playgrounds, hiking trails, covered rest areas, picnic areas, and a small museum. The good view of the Cumberland Valley is used by ornithologists to count the migrating birds.
Individual evidence
Web links
- Washington Monument State Park at the Department of Natural Resources
- www.marylandhistoricaltrust.net
Coordinates: 39 ° 30 ′ 2 " N , 77 ° 37 ′ 25" W.