Everyone knows about the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. These are giant monuments honoring great people who have changed the world. However, how many people have ever heard of the Garfield Memorial? On June 28, I decided that I would look for this memorial and other obscure monuments scattered around the city.
I chose to find the Garfield Memorial because I give tours at the Capitol Building almost every day at my internship. In the Rotunda, one of the statues honoring the state of Ohio is of President Garfield. For those who may not know, he served as the 20th U.S. President from March-September of 1881. He was shot by an insane office seeker and died of an infection from his gunshot wound after several weeks. Because he was in office for such a short time, few people really remember him. When I give tours, most people ask me who he is and why he is in the same room as other famous Americans like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Anyway, on the 28th, I decided to find his memorial. It is located near the Capitol Reflecting Pool. It features the President on a pedestal above other men who are sitting at the base of the pedestal. On the pedestal there is a plaque explaining that Garfield was a member of Congress, Major General in the Civil War, and President of the U.S. The memorial was erected in 1887 by members of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, of which Garfield had been a member.
The second obscure memorial I decided to find that day was one of the D.C. boundary stones. The District is surrounded by 40 stones which mark the borders of the city. Some of these are no longer located in D.C. though, because the portion of the land donated by Virginia was returned to the state. The stone I went to was the North Corner Boundary Stone on the border between Maryland and D.C.. It is a very long Metro ride away. I had to get off at the Silver Spring Metro station and walk about half a mile down a road. The stone is a few feet off of the road and hidden by trees near the backyard of what looks like an apartment complex. It took me a while to find it. Unfortunately, it is only an old stone surrounded by a small fence to prevent people from stealing it. The Maryland Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution "protects" it, although it is hard to believe anyone would want to steal it. Even though I expected something larger, it was still interesting to see something that most people probably don't know about.
I chose to find the Garfield Memorial because I give tours at the Capitol Building almost every day at my internship. In the Rotunda, one of the statues honoring the state of Ohio is of President Garfield. For those who may not know, he served as the 20th U.S. President from March-September of 1881. He was shot by an insane office seeker and died of an infection from his gunshot wound after several weeks. Because he was in office for such a short time, few people really remember him. When I give tours, most people ask me who he is and why he is in the same room as other famous Americans like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ronald Reagan, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Anyway, on the 28th, I decided to find his memorial. It is located near the Capitol Reflecting Pool. It features the President on a pedestal above other men who are sitting at the base of the pedestal. On the pedestal there is a plaque explaining that Garfield was a member of Congress, Major General in the Civil War, and President of the U.S. The memorial was erected in 1887 by members of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, of which Garfield had been a member.
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| James A. Garfield Memorial |
The second obscure memorial I decided to find that day was one of the D.C. boundary stones. The District is surrounded by 40 stones which mark the borders of the city. Some of these are no longer located in D.C. though, because the portion of the land donated by Virginia was returned to the state. The stone I went to was the North Corner Boundary Stone on the border between Maryland and D.C.. It is a very long Metro ride away. I had to get off at the Silver Spring Metro station and walk about half a mile down a road. The stone is a few feet off of the road and hidden by trees near the backyard of what looks like an apartment complex. It took me a while to find it. Unfortunately, it is only an old stone surrounded by a small fence to prevent people from stealing it. The Maryland Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution "protects" it, although it is hard to believe anyone would want to steal it. Even though I expected something larger, it was still interesting to see something that most people probably don't know about.
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| North Corner D.C. Boundary Stone |
Finding the Garfield Memorial and one of the D.C. boundary stones was interesting because they are both pieces of D.C. history that people tend to forget about when they are surrounded by all of the other monuments and museums on the National Mall. Although the Metro ride was long and there was a lot of walking involved, it is still cool to be able to say that I visited these memorials.
Chris Doarn
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