Washington Monument - Boonsboro, MD - Official Local Tourism Attractions on Waymarking.com

Welcome to Boonsboro, a Civil War town like its neighboring boroughs. Here was fought the first battle of the Civil War on northern land. Here, their proud heritage also includes being the absolutely first folks to make a memorial to George Washington, an important distinction of which they are quite proud. Located atop South Mountain, Washington Monument State Park, the park is obviously named after the 34-foot stone tower built by the citizens of Boonsboro, Maryland, in honor of George Washington. The tower was dedicated on July 4, 1827.

The town's website can be found HERE. On the left of the page is a link, second one town titled History. Click it and you will be brought HERE. There is a write-up about the attraction but off to the right side is a column of historical sites to visit in this town. The Washington Monument is the second link down. There is an excerpt about the attraction enticing visitors to go see it. At the end of the article is an external link for the attraction, which will take you HERE, the attraction's own state sponsored webpage.

Parking is located in front of the visitor center, located at N 39° 29.928 W 077° 37.403. There is a trail which leads to the monument. That trail is part of the Appalachian Trail so when you are finished you can say you actually hiked the Appalachian. There are water fountains at the beginning of the trail. From trailhead to attraction, it is under a quarter mile of dirt trail and amazing scenery. When you arrive the view is amazing. It is also an observation tower so you can climb up and get a panoramic view of the entire valley including Antietam. There is also a neat boulder field directly beneath the monument which is ripe for an earth cache.

According a period newspaper account, on July 4, 1827 at 7am, most of Boonsboro’s 500 inhabitants assembled at the public square. Behind the Stars and Stripes and stepping spiritedly to the music of a fife and drum corps, they marched two miles up the mountain to the monument site. The citizens worked until noon and then held a dedication ceremony and lunch. They resumed work and by 4pm the monument stood fifteen feet high on a 54-foot circular base. The day ended with the reading of the Declaration of Independence and a three round salute fired by three Revolutionary War veterans. The workers returned that September to finish. Upon its completion, the monument stood 30 feet high.

The monument often fell into disrepair, and was rebuilt at least twice during its history - mostly recently by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936. The monument is currently maintained by the Maryland Park Service.

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