File:Washington Monument Postcard.jpg

Summary

Here is an undated postcard of the Washington Monument outside Boonsboro. Judging from the attire of the people on the top of the monument, especially the ladies, the photo likely dates to the turn of the 20th Century or earlier. Built in 1827, the original tower was the first monument dedicated to George Washington to be completed. Although it was a popular meeting place for the citizenry of Boonsboro, weather and vandalism reduced the monument to rubble. In that condition, it was used by the Union Army as a signal station during the Civil War.

In 1882, the Odd Fellows Lodge of Boonsboro sponsored the tower's restoration. A canopy was added and a vehicle road built up the mountainside. A decade later, however, the tower again fell into ruin when a crack in the wall was not repaired.

The Washington County Historical Society purchased the one-acre site in 1920 and deeded it to the state for use as a state park in 1934. The tower was rebuilt in its present form by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Workers set in place the original cornerstone and a facsimile of the dedication tablet, and a third dedication ceremony was held on July 4, 1936.

(Postcard image courtesy of Sherry Bowers Stull)