Hidden along the scenic Highway 7 in the community of Marble Falls (formerly called Dogpatch) in Boone County, Arkansas is a small abandoned limestone quarry of monumental proportions (pun intended). Within the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. are three stone blocks that represent Arkansas. These are among 190 other commemorative blocks that were set into the monument during and after its construction. Each state, as well as several organizations and persons, are represented in these blocks. For Arkansas, the State itself is represented, as well as the City of Little Rock, and the Grand Lodge of the Masons. The Masons of Newton and surrounding counties intended to be represented as well, however, their stone’s whereabouts are unknown.
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| The Arkansas commemorative stone. Photo from NPS. |
The first of the three stones was quarried in Marble Falls in either 1834 or 1836 (two sources have competing years). The year 1836 would have been particularly significant since this was the year that the state of Arkansas was admitted into the Union. The stone is from the St. Joe Limestone Member of the Boone Formation of Mississippian age. A short history of this stone was described in a 1969 newspaper article:
In 1834 [sic] [Peter Beller], with the three Harp brothers, was commissioned to quarry a block of marble, six feet long, four feet wide and two feet thick for inclusion in the famed monument to the father of our country then being erected in the nation’s capitol. It was a difficult, tedious and time-consuming task in those days when quarrying had to be done with hand drills and wedges. . . . The huge block of marble was eventually broken loose from Marble Mountain [near the town of Marble Falls]. Weighing about a ton, it was loaded onto a heavy sledge or stone-boat and skidded and hauled by a team of twenty oxen over the rough country of the Ozark and Boston mountains, a distance of about 50 miles, to the Arkansas River where it was shipped by barge to New Orleans and thence by sailing vessel to the Potomac basin where the Washington Monument was being erected. [Victor A. Croley, “Marble Falls Has Had Many Names,” Arkansas Gazette, March 23, 1969.]
An 1850 newspaper article further illustrates the preparation of the stone:
The Arkansas Block of Marble for the Washington monument was shipped at Van Buren Dec 1. It weighs 2200 lbs, was contributed by citizens of several western counties, and when it reaches Washington Senator Borland will have it prepared, and the Arkansas arms cut in it at his own expense. [The Sun (Baltimore), January 8, 1850.]
After arrival in Washington, D.C., the stone was carved by an unknown mason with “ARKANSAS” in raised lettering. The face of the finished stone measures 2 feet by 4 feet and can been found along the stairwell 30 feet above ground level.
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| Historical marker for the Washington Monument Quarry on Hwy 7 in Marble Falls. Photo from Newton County Times. |
A second stone was cut from the same quarry at an unknown date “as a donation from the Masons of Newton and neighboring counties.” [Victor A. Croley, “Marble Falls Has Had Many Names,” Arkansas Gazette, March 23, 1969.]. Although it was sent to Washington, D.C., it was never placed in the monument. It remains a mystery as to the fate of this stone. The quarry that this and the Arkansas stone originated is marked with a small stone monument that was placed in 1954 by the Newton County Historical Society. The monument has a stone reading “ARKANSAS” engraved into it, unlike the raised lettering stone used in the Washington Monument, above a stone plaque that reads:
THIS MARKER COMMEMORATES THE ARKANSAS MARBLE IN WASHINGTON’S MONUMENT TAKEN BY BELLER AND HARP BROS. FROM THIS HILL IN 1836. THIS MARKER ERECTED 1954 BY NEWTON CO. HISTORY SOCIETY__ W.F. LACKEY PRES. MANDA HICKMAN SEC.
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| Little Rock commemorative stone. Photo from NPS. |
A third stone, this time granite (which is not found in Arkansas), was produced in 1851 to represent the city of Little Rock. Unlike the Arkansas stone, this one has letters carved into the block that plainly announce the name of the city. It is unknown who carved this 2 foot by 4 foot block or where the granite originated, but it can be found in the stairwell 90 feet above ground level.
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| Grand Lodge of the Masons commemorative stone. The text reads: The Grand Lodge of Ancient Free Masons of the State of Arkansas, Ad gloriam Fratris nostri et Patris Patriæ (which I think roughly translates: ‘To honor our brother and the father of our country’. Washington was a Master Mason, the highest rank in the Freemasons). Photo from NPS Facebook page. |
A fourth stone was completed in 1856 to represent the “Grand Lodge of the Ancient Free Masons of the State of Arkansas”. This stone, the same dimensions as the others, is the most intricately carved of the three known surviving stones representing Arkansas. The sculptor remains unknown, however, it was carved “at the marble yard of Alexander Rutherford, of [Washington, D.C.]” according to an article in The American Organ (Sept. 5, 1856). The stone is said to be “white marble”, although the term ‘marble’ is sometimes loosely used to describe a limestone that can be smoothed to a polish for decorative use, rather than the geological definition of a metamorphosed limestone. This stone is visible at 210 feet above ground level. I have not seen this stone personally, but I am inclined to believe that it is likely to be limestone rather than true marble.
For more information on the commemorative stones in the Washington Monument, the National Parks Service published a detailed catalog of them as part of a restoration project. The cited newspaper articles are from this NPS publication.