four miles east of the town of Boonsboro
Washington County, Maryland
Built in 1827, it was the first Washington monument completed. The Baltimore Washington Monument was completed two years later, although it had been started considerably earlier in 1815.
The stone tower was built and dedicated to the first president by the citizens of Boonsboro on July 4, 1827. but over the years, weather and vandalism reduced it to a pile of rubble. In 1882, the monument was restored, a canopy was added, and a roadway for vehicles was built up the mountainside to the site. A decade later the rugged tower was marred by the development of a crack in the wall. Because it was not repaired, the monument again fell in ruins. The tower was rebuilt in 1934 when the site was declared a State Park.
In 1920, the one acre site was purchased by the Washington County Historical Society, and in 1934 it was deeded to the State of Maryland for use as a State Park. The tower was rebuilt in its present form by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps, who set in place the original cornerstone and a facsimile of the dedication tablet.
