July 20
Stone Mountain, Georgia
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Every Saturday, I share my weekly Artist Date.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been sharing some of the stops we made during the road trip I took with my mom and one of my sisters. This was our final stop…Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Stone Mountain is a a quartz monzonite dome monadnock. I had to look up those terms…quartz monzonite is the predominant type of rock Stone Mountain is composed of, and a monadnock is an “isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain.” Not only is Stone Mountain known for its geology, it’s also known for the enormous bas-relief (a projecting image with a shallow overall depth) on its north face. In fact, it’s the largest bas-relief in the world. The carving depicts three figures of the Confederate States of America: President Jefferson Davis on Blackjack, General Robert E. Lee on Traveller and General Stonewall Jackson on Little Sorrel. The entire carved surface measures 3 acres.
During the 1800’s, Stone Mountain, Georgia supported a quarrying industry. Its granite was shipped all over the world and was used in the federal gold depository at Fort Knox, the Panama Canal, the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, and in the foundation of the Lincoln Memorial. Virtually every state has a building that uses Stone Mountain granite.
In 1915, Gutzon Borglum, a famous sculptor, drew up the first sketches of the memorial, for Mrs. Helen Plane, a charter member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Borglum envisioned a carving with seven central figures accompanied by “an army of thousands.”
Lack of funding and World War I delayed the start of the carving until 1923.
In 1924, Borglum finished the head of Robert E. Lee and unveiled it on the general’s birthday in January. Later that year, the committee overseeing the construction of the Stone Mountain memorial voted to cancel Gutzon Borglum’s contract after a dispute. Borglum went on to carve the figures on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
In 1925, Augustus Lukeman took over the project. He suggested that Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis be enshrined on the face of the mountain. Â Gutzon Borglum’s work was blasted off the face of the mountain, and in 1928, Augustus Lukeman unveiled his work. Lukeman was only able to partially complete the figures of Lee and Davis before the owners of Stone Mountain reclaimed their property, ending any attempt to complete the sculpture.
The State of Georgia purchased Stone Mountain and the surrounding land in 1958 to create a 3,200 acre park.
During the early 1960’s, attractions opened up and in 1964, carving resumed on the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial under the direction of Walter Hancock.
The Stone Mountain carving was completed in 1972.
Wow, what a cool place. And I will use monadnock in a sentence and surprise everyone. Love the rock carving.
I love Stone Mountain! We were there many years ago.
I was there in 1999 on a cross country drive with my then boyfriend. We took the little ride to the top and walked around. I almost peed in my pants thinking I might fall off the edge. It was a really nice place though, and reading this post brought back some funny memories.
looks like a beautiful place
urban hounds
That is so cool to see. Love the carving. Have a super Saturday.
Best wishes Molly
What a fab place. I love places that are steeped in history.
EXCELLENT POST. I’M JUST A FEW STATES AWAY FROM GA BUT I’VE NEVER BEEN TO STONE MOUNTAIN. I HAVE HEARD ABOUT IT FOR YEARS. YOUR POST IS MOST INFORMATIVE AND INTERESTING…KEEP ON TRAVELING
HUGS C
Tom and I went to Stone Mountain on our way to NC on our honymoon. But we only saw it at night and we saw the light show they put on and missed the carvings some how? We were so full of eachother we probably missed a lot!! LOL
Wow, I love the carving, it is amazing!
What a beautiful place with the waterwheel and gardens. I would have loved to go for a ride on that little train, I love stuff like that.
Lynne x
I’ve been there! Took Nola, Boston, and Auggie with me. Dogs aren’t allowed on the actual mountain, but we had fun hiking the trails!
Nola’s Mom
Very interesting. SHE grew up with a father who was a Civil War buff, so SHE’s familiar with all of them. Never been to Stone Mountain (or Georgia), though.
XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy
Looks very cool!
I’ve never heard of Stone Mountain. How very cool!
beautiful place, the massif really makes impression and so does the carving. really lovely spot to stop and look around x
Somehow, when I transitioned from Reader to Feedly, I lost your feed! I just found you again, and I’m so glad that I did!
I’ve never heard of Stone Mountain but it sure looks gorgeous and fascinating. What a cool story about the sculptures…
It is wonderful, we would love to visit somewhere like that 🙂 xx00xx
Mollie and Alfie