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Stone Mountain is a large granite mountain located in Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. It is the world's largest exposed piece of granite and the third-largest monolith, behind Mount Augustus and Uluru ( Ayers Rock) in Australia. At its summit, the elevation is 1683 feet or 513 meters AMSL, about double that of the surrounding area.
It is well-known not only for its geologicalGeology (from Greek γ&eta ge "the earth") and λογος logos "word", "reason")) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. Geolog status, but also for the enormous bas-relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief in the world. Three figures of the Confederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America CSA also known as the Confederacy was the confederacy formed by the southern states that seceded from the United States during the period of the American Civil War. The 11 states of the Confederacy were Alabama, Arkansas, are carved there: Stonewall JacksonThomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson ( January 21, 1824 May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was born at Clarksburg, Virginia (now in West Virginia) in 1824, and was orphaned at an early age. He attended West Point, class o, Robert E. LeeFor the author of Inherit the Wind and other works, see Robert Edwin Lee. Robert Edward Lee ( January 19, 1807 October 12, 1870) was a commanding general of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. Like Hannibal and Rommel, his victories agai and Jefferson DavisJefferson Davis ( June 3, 1808— December 6, 1889) was an American soldier and politician, most famous for serving as the first and only President of the Confederate States of America throughout the American Civil War. Early life and military career Jeffer. In the summerSummer is one of the four temperate seasons. Astronomically, it begins with the summer solstice (around 21 June in the Northern hemisphere, and 21 December in the Southern hemisphere) and ends with the autumn equinox (around 21 September in the Northern h, a laser show has been projected on the carving nightly for 20 years.
The carving on Stone Mountain
The idea for a Confederate memorial carved at Stone Mountain began in 1909, when many Americans were celebrating the centennial of Lincoln's birth. Mrs. C. Helen Plane of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was the prime mover. She approached sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who had some preliminary models finished by 1917, but World War I distracted potential patrons. In 1923, with $250,000 largely raised by the Ku Klux Klan, but an unrealistic three year time limit imposed on the project, Borglum set to work, and by General Lee's birthday the following year, a formal unveiling of Lee's finished head was attended by a large and appreciative audience. Relations soured with Borglum and his contract was cancelled in February 1925. Before he left Georgia, Borglum smashed his preliminary models in rage. He went on to carve Mount Rushmore.
In April 1925 Augustus Lukeman was hired to complete the work, and three years later Borglum's finished work was dynamited from.the face of the mountain. Funds ran dry, however, and when Lukeman died in 1935, the uncompleted project had not been worked on for several years.
In 1963, the Stone Mountain project was revived and Walker Hancock was selected to complete the carving. The carving was finally completed in 1970 by Roy Faulkner , who later operated a museum (now closed) on nearby Memorial Drive commemmorating the carving's history.
No description of Stone Mountain is complete that does not mention the central role in the creation of the Memorial that has been played by the Ku Klux Klan. Ku Klux Klan activities at Stone Mountain are deep-rooted. They began with the dramatic revival of the Klan, emboldened by D. W. Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation, which romanticized the original Klan's clandestine exploits in the post-Civil War era. On November 25, 1915, a group of robed and hooded men met at Stone Mountain, where they burned a cross, and "Colonel" William J. Simmons , a Methodist preacher, took an oath as "Grand Wizard" of the reborn Klan. The oath was administered by Nathan Bedford Forrest, II, the grandson of the original Imperial Grand Wizard, ex-Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, and was witnessed by the owner of Stone Mountain, Samuel Venable. In October, 1923, Venable granted the KKK easement with perpetual right to hold celebrations at they desired.
From the start at Stone Mountain, the reborn Klan started to solicit memberships. Among them was Gutzon Borglum.
Because of their deep involvement with the early fund-raising and their increasing political clout in Georgia, Klansmen, along with the United Daughters of the Confederacy, were able to influence the ideology of the carving, and they strongly supported an explicit Confederate memorial. Ironically, the population of the city of Stone Mountain is now almost 70% African American.