Evening star., 1896-03-25
WASHINGTONS BIRTHPLACE
Col Wilson Inspects the Monument at
Wakefield.
Nearing CompletiOn-COnsid the
DedicatOry Exerclses-Gettfng
Material to the Site.

Col. ]. NJ. Wilson of the army has just
| returned from a visit to Wakefield, Va, an
humble, almost deserted place, about seventy
miles down the Potomac, where the immor-
tai Washington was born. He went there
for the pi rpose of inspecting the work in
progress for the erection of a granite monu-
ment to mark the birthplace of the father
of his country" and was very favorably
impressed at the condition of things. The
five huge blocks Of granite composing the
monument, including the monoith-a solid
shaft forty-one and one-half feet in length
and weighing G3,Ooo pounds-have been
taken to the site and are in readiness TO be
hoisted in position. They were quarried
at Barre, VT, and were cut at Buffalo, N
Y, in the shops of the contractors, John
Crawford & Son, whence they were slowly
transported by rail and water to the near
est landing point On the Potomac.
The site Of the monument is fully mile
and quarter from the river, with rough,
hilly country between. and the merest ex-
cuse for a road, ever which II was found
necessary to drag the stones, separately on
ordinary rollers. 1t was a slow. tedious and
difficult job, but it was finally accomplished
without accident or serious delay.
The old Washington homestead had been
built in pioneer days, and was small, but
substantial. 1t was hip-roofed with dormer
windows and had a small one-story wing,
years ago were a group Of small outbuild-
fngs. servants quarters, &C. 1t was at this
place that Washington vas born February
III. 1132. and tradition has it that that in
teresting event occurred In the one-story
annex. All the houses were burned to the
ground In the spring Of 735 by fire. which
is said to have originated from an accumu-
lation OF rubbish incident to the planting of
early crops. The foundation of the main
building was traced and uncovered several
years ago at the instance of Secretary
Evarts. then at the head of the State De-
partmenL and this spot has been selected
as the site of the monument. The base of
the shaft will cover nearly the entire area
Of the old, dsmantled building. The monu-
ment will stand square to each Of the four
points Of the compass with its face to-
ward the river. II will have a total height
of fifty-two feet, and will be plainly visible
from the decks of steamers passing up and
down the Potomac A plain but sub
nearest accessible point for the benefit of
persons who may desire to visit the place
1t will probably be added during the coming
summer to the list of stopping places OF
the river steamers, whose regular trips eN-
tend as far down Colonial Beach. a
short distance above IT on the game side OF
the river.
While the monument blocks were being
slowly rolled to the site the foundation OF
the structure was eXcavated and partly
finished by the laying of a bed of three feet
of concrete. Col. Wilson says that better
natural foundation could not have been
found. 1t is formed of sand and gravel
and is perfectly incompressible. He ex-
pressed entire satisfaction with the char
acter and progress of the work so far COM
pleted. The contractors have derricks and
all the necessary parapherralia for hoist
ing the stone on hand, and anticipate no
trouble whatever i'm getting them So fely
and securely in position. They told Col.
Wilson that they confidently expected to
complete the erection of the monument for
delivery to the government inside of three
hn he hoe
doubt on that score. The hardest part of
their work i'm getting the granite
blocks from the river to the site. 1t took
them sixteen days to do IL, but they had
done it well. In eXcavating the foundation
several mementos of the Washington fam
lily were found, including knee buckle and
set OF keys, badly rusted by their long
rest i'm the soil.
Representative Jones of Virginia takes a
deep personal interest in the monument
Wakefield is In his congressional district,
and the residents of the surrounding coun-
try are his constituents. He had an inter-
view with Col. Wilson yesterday afternoon
and was much pleased to hear that the
monument is so near completion. He thinks
that its completion should be properly
marked by public ceremonies of some kind,
and says he will consult with Secretary
Olney as to an arrangement for a suitable
program. The act of Congress making APP
preparation for the erection of the monu-
ment provided that IL should be done un-
der the direction of the Secretary of State.
Noi- w iSoH HdS DeeH dttlflB III tnlS matter
as the personal representative of the head
of the State Department, and his duties in
the premises will cease with the acceptance
of the completed structure.
Whether there shall he any public detiica-
uon, and, IL so, when il shall take place
are questions to be determined by Secretary
Olney after consultation with the proper
authorities. AT any rate, it is proposed to
convert the land Immediately surrounding
the monument into park and make it as
attractive to visitors as possible.