This week’s piece is different in the aspect it is not a piece I have in my collection but is about something I was told by various older folks throughout my life that involved Summers County. It is about the Washington Monument and that I had always heard the Sandstone was quarried in Sandstone, WV to build it. I researched it today and discovered that is not exactly the case.
Let me elaborate on the subject. It turns out the stone used for its construction was not quarried in Sandstone, WV. But there is a piece of sandstone from Summers County in the monument. Construction began in 1845 but was halted due to the Civil War. It was finally completed on February 21, 1885.
West Virginia sent a commemorative stone to the Washington Monument to honor the first president and show state pride. Placed at the 200-foot level, this sandstone block features the Latin inscription “Tuum Nos Sumus Monumentum West Virginia”, translating to “We Are Your Monument, West Virginia.”
Sandstone from Sandstone, WV was selected from the area that is now known as “Sandstone, WV.” It wasn’t incorporated until 1915; It was originally established as “New Richmond.” New Richmond became a town due to the influence of the Richmond Family having a trading post and later a post office at this location.
The commemorative stone is located in an interior wall of the monument at the 200-foot level. It measures 2 ft by 4 ft. It features “a relief carving of the West Virginia coat of arms, depicting two men flanking a chopping block with tools, rifles, and an anvil. It was installed in 1885 shortly before the monument’s completion.”
The photo you see here was during the pause in the construction.
The quarry site sits alongside what is now the National River Gorge National Park Preserve Visitors Center. It is neat knowing a piece of national history came from Summers County. And this just goes to show you; you should take almost everything you hear in a historical context at face value until you can verify it.
In this case it was only a misunderstanding of the context of the facts involved in it.
