The Jefferson Davis Monument State Historic Site is a

Kentucky state park Maintained by the Kentucky Department of Parks, Kentucky's system of 49 state parks has been referred to as "the nation's finest" and experiences more repeat business annually than those of any other U.S. state. The state's diverse geography provid ...

commemorating the birthplace of

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

, the president of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

, in

Fairview, Kentucky Fairview is a small census-designated place on the boundary between Christian and Todd counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 286, with 186 living in Christian County and 100 livin ...

. The site's focal point is a concrete

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

. In 1973, it was believed to be the fourth-tallest monument in the United States and the tallest concrete-cast one. with

History of the monument

Simon Bolivar Buckner, Sr. Simon Bolivar Buckner ( ; April 1, 1823 – January 8, 1914) was an American soldier, Confederate combatant, and politician. He fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War. He later fought in the Confederate States Army ...

, a Confederate general, first proposed the idea of a monument for Davis during a reunion of the

Orphan Brigade The Orphan Brigade was the nickname of the First Kentucky Brigade, a group of military units recruited from Kentucky to fight for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The brigade was the largest Confederate unit to be ...

of the Confederate Army in 1907. Construction began in 1917 but stopped in 1918 at a height of due to building material rationing during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Construction resumed in January 1922 and was finished in 1924 at a cost of $200,000. The monument's base was set on limestone bedrock and limestone was quarried on the site for use in its construction. The concrete walls are thick at the base and taper to thick at the top. The monument was listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973. The obelisk was closed to the public from 1999 until May 2004 for renovations and construction of a new visitor center. At the top of the monument is an observation room with a window in each of the four walls. Originally, this room could only be reached by climbing stairs which went around the interior of the monument; an elevator, installed in 1929, now takes visitors to and from the observation room.

Park details

The Jefferson Davis State Historic Site is one of eleven historic sites in Kentucky which include small parks and are maintained by the Kentucky Department of Parks. The park covers and includes open and covered picnic areas and a playground. At the visitors' center museum, visitors can watch a video describing Davis' life and the construction of the monument. Guided elevator tours of the monument are available daily. The center sells books and memorabilia about Davis, the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and the surrounding area, as well as Kentucky handcrafts. The park is open from May 1 until October 31.

Monument size

The

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

is the tallest unreinforced concrete structure in the world.Confederate Statues and Memorialization, by Brundage, Cox, Gallagher, and Painter, 2019, p. 24
/ref> No steel was used to reinforce the concrete walls below its pyramidal top. As one pour was completed, large chunks of limestone were left projecting up to connect it to the next pour above. It is also the tallest concrete obelisk in the world. It is the fifth tallest monument in the United States, behind the

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Some sources conside ...

at , the

San Jacinto Monument The San Jacinto Monument is a column located on the Houston Ship Channel in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, about 16 miles due east of downtown Houston. The monument is topped with a 220-ton star that commemorates the site of the Battle of ...

at , the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the ...

at , and the

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie that took place near Ohio's South Bass Island, in which Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry led a fleet to victory in one of the most decisive naval battles to occur i ...

at . The

Crazy Horse Memorial The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills, in Custer County, South Dakota, United States. It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to hi ...

, not yet completed, has a planned height of . Elsewhere in the world, the

Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, ...

Khafre's Pyramid The pyramid of Khafre or of Chephren ( ar, هرم خفرع, translit=haram ḵafraʿ, ) is the second-tallest and second-largest of the 3 Ancient Egyptian Pyramids of Giza and the tomb of the Fourth-Dynasty pharaoh Khafre (Chefren), who ruled . ...

Spring Temple Buddha The Spring Temple Buddha ( and ) is a colossal statue depicting Vairocana Buddha located in the Zhaocun township of Lushan County, Henan, China, built from 1997 to 2008. It is located within the ''Fodushan Scenic Area'', close to National Freeway ...

, and

Ushiku Daibutsu is a statue located in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Completed in 1993, it stands a total of tall, including the base and 10m lotus platform. The statue held the record for the tallest statue from 1993 to 2008. , it is one of the top fiv ...

are taller monuments.

Gallery

References

External links