Strange Facts About The Washington Monument

WEIRD FACT ONE: Construction on the Washington Monument began in 1848. The Fourth of July cornerstone-laying ceremony was hosted by Freemasons. Washington was a member of this controversial secret society, adding further fuel to various one-world-government conspiracy theories both then and now.

WEIRD FACT TWO: The Washington National Monument was not completed until 1884; 30 years after the death of its architect, Robert Mills. The reasons for the long delay: funding money ran out several times; the Civil War broke out, disrupting all Washington DC construction; and the Know-Nothings took over the construction project.

WEIRD FACT THREE: Who are the Know-Nothings? Also known as the American Party, the Know-Nothings were a nativist political party established in the 1850's. They spouted an anti-immigrant and, in particular, anti-Catholic platform, believing yet one more conspiracy theory, this one accusing the Roman Pope and the rapidly growing Irish Catholic immigrant population of attempting to take over the United States.

The supposed origin of their nickname "Know-nothing" was that a member of this semi-secret organization, when asked about it, replied "I know nothing."

And what did the Know-Nothings have to do with the Washington Monument? When the Monument Committee ran out of funding, as they had before, they solicited money for inscribed stone blocks from donors that included American states, Indian tribes, foreign countries, and Pope Pius IX. The Vatican's marble block contribution, also known as "The Pope Stone", enraged the Know-Nothings to the point where they stole and then destroyed it. Some believe that the marble block was either smashed into pieces or dumped into the Potomac River.

Shortly thereafter, the Know-Nothings formed their own 17-member Washington National Monument Construction Society, in the process confiscating all official records from the existing Monument Society. The confusion from the existence of two conflicting construction committees caused Congress to rescind all financial support for the project. The Know-Nothing's reign ended after four years due to lack of public support.

Twenty-one years passed before Congress once again appropriated funds toward construction of the Washington National Monument.

A replacement "Pope Stone" was finally installed on the Monument in 1983, over a hundred years after the crime.

WEIRD FACT FOUR: Five suicides have taken place at the Washington Monument, two occurring within days of each other in 1926, before safety bars were erected on the structure's windows. Three more jumped into the elevator shaft before a safety screen was installed.

WEIRD FACT FIVE: In 1982, 66-year-old nuclear protester Norman Mayer was killed by U.S. Park Police after parking his van in front of the Washington Monument and threatening to blow the Monument up with the 1000 pounds of dynamite that he claimed to have inside the vehicle. After a six hour stand-off, the six hostages trapped inside the Monument were eventually released by Mayer. When he sped away in the van, the police opened fire and killed him. No explosives were found in his van or anywhere near the Washington National Monument.

Despite protests from the military, U.S. Navy veteran Mayer's ashes were allowed to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know-Nothings
National Park Service's Washington Monument site, URL: (http://www.nps.gov/archive/wamo/memorial/setbacks.htm)
http://www.nps.gov/archive/wamo/history/chap7.htm
"One Man's Tragic Protest", Richard Stengel, Time Magazine, URL:
(http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923176-1,00.html)