December 6: The Washington Monument Is Completed (1884)
Prayer Idea
Pray for Americans to live out the noble ideals of the country’s founders and not just commemorate them with monuments.
History Note
When Pierre L'Enfant designed the layout of Washington, D.C., he planned space on which to build a monument to George Washington. In 1833 the Washington National Monument Society formed to raise funds and plan the design.
Robert Mills (1781-1855) was an American architect who designed the first major Washington Monument. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, construction began in 1815. When it was completed in 1829, the column rose 178 feet and featured a statue of George Washington on top.
Mills proposed a design for the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., which the society accepted in 1845. The original plan included a 600-foot obelisk surrounded by 30 columns each 100-feet tall. This ambitious design was eventually scaled back, but it got the project started.
Construction began on July 4, 1848. Perhaps 20,000 people attended the ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone. Among those in attendance were President James K. Polk, former First Lady Dolley Madison, and Eliza Hamilton, widow of Alexander Hamilton. George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Washington, was there, along with future presidents James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson.
Using a system of pulleys, block and tackle systems, and a mounted derrick, workers raised and positioned stones. After six years of work, the monument was 156 feet tall. When new leadership took over the Washington National Monument Society, fundraising stalled, and the society went bankrupt.
Congress debated whether to devote funds to continuing the project, but the Civil War soon captured national attention. For more than 20 years, progress on the monument completely stopped.
On July 5, 1876, Congress gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers responsibility for completing the monument at public expense. Lt. Col. Thomas Lincoln Casey oversaw the work. Casey spent four years strengthening the foundation before continuing to build upward. A steam-powered elevator sped up the construction process, but it took four more years to complete the monument.
The first phase of construction used stone from a particular quarry in Maryland. Since stone from that quarry was no longer available, Casey used stone from a quarry in Massachusetts. That source proved unreliable, so Casey switched to another quarry in Maryland. On the outside of the monument, visitors can see where the builders switched to different stone supplies.
On December 6, 1884, workers raised the 3,300-pound capstone to the top of the monument and put it in place. Col. Casey attached the final piece, a 8.9-inch aluminum tip. Aluminum was difficult to produce in 1884. In addition to being valuable, the metal tip also provided some protection against lightning strikes.
At 555 feet, 5.125 inches, the Washington Monument surpassed the Cologne Cathedral to become the tallest structure in the world. It held this title until the Eiffel Tower reached 984 feet in 1889.
This illustration of the completion of the Washington Monument appeared in the December 20, 1884, issue of Harper’s Weekly. It is based on a sketch by S. H. Nealy, who was there.
Learn More
Take a special tour of the inside of the Washington Monument.
Find more resources at Homeschool History.
