The Washington Memorial in Washington, D.C. was built between 1848 – 1995 . American Indian tribes, professional organizations, societies, businesses and foreign nations donated 193 stones that were 4 feet by 2 feet by 12–18 inches. There is a memorial donated to “one” marble block in Newton County. Russ Johnson has also documented this memorial here: Washington Monument Marble Quarry.
Robert Mills designed the winning entry for the Washington Memorial in 1836 so I guess Arkansas was “Johnny on the spot” and immediately donated the following stone from Newton County. The original quarried size was 6 x 4 x 2 feet.
“The beautiful stone presented to the Monument by the Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of the State of Arkansas, has arrived at the grounds, and is safely housed in the new building prepared for the reception of these spontaneous and patriotic tributes to the memory of the great American Washington. It is of white marble…The work on this stone was done at the marble yard of Alexander Rutherford, of this city, by a young man, as we are informed an apprentice to this gentleman.” [The American Organ, September 5, 1856.]
On June 6, 1851, the Arkansas Democrat notes that citizens of Little Rock (Grand Lodge of Arkansas) sent this stone in 1851:
“The block of granite which the citizens of Little Rock contributed to the National Washington Monument was “put in shipment to Washington City by way of New Orleans,” and the public informed through the press of a statement by the officers of the Washington National Monument society to the effect that “the whole estimated cost of the monument is $1,250,000, of which only about $150,000 has as yet been collected. However, work upon the monument is rapidly progressing. The structure is now 80 feet in height, and will reach 150 feet by the coming autumn. If adequate funds are promptly supplied, the shaft will be carried to its destined altitude of 516 feet in eight years from the present time.”
The stone given by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas is the most fanciful of all. The lettering is an accentuated script with ornate characters. The inscription reads “Ad glorium fratis nostris et patris patriae.” The various Masonic items are given exaggerated shapes. A coffin adorns the lower portion. An exaggerated eye with a bushy eyebrow peeks from within an ornate letter G. According to the American Organ, September 5, 1856, the stone was done in the marble yard of Alexander Rutherford, by a young man and apprentice. The stone arrived on the Monument grounds September 5, 1856. - The Voice of Freemasonry.
The National Park Service catalog also listed another stone sent but not used in construction around the 1850′s. It was sent by the Masons of Newton, Arkansas and quarried near Marble Falls, Arkansas. The stone is described as “rough-dressed red sandstone and about 36 by 30 in size.”
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