Stone Mountain: The World's Largest Confederate Monument

     After the 1821 Treaty of Indian Springs, the first European Americans began to settle at the base of the mountain, officially naming the town Stone Mountain in 1847. The construction of railroad lines connecting Atlanta and other cities such as Augusta through Stone Mountain made the town a prominent visitor attraction in the 1850s. [3] During the Civil War, the Battle of Atlanta (1864) took place near Stone Mountain along the railroad heading west towards Atlanta, a critical campaign in the taking of Georgia by Union troops. [4] The mountain did not gain national attention; however, until the 1910s, when it became the chosen location of what would become the largest Confederate monument in the world.
     Carved on Stone Mountain is 90 feet high by 190 feet wide, 360 feet square-framed Confederate Memorial carving. [5] The memorial an ode to white southern origins, features the 'three heroes of the American Confederacy,' Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The memorial took 56 years to complete, from its initial planning in 1915 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to its completion in 1972. [6] In the years of its construction, the memorial became a site of contention due to the Ku Klux Klan's involvement in the project, developers struggle to fund and complete the carving, and for its cultural meaning. As Grace Hale argues in her book, Making Whiteness, the memorial significance took shape within the peak of its construction. The completion of the monument amidst the civil rights era came to signify a national representation of the lost cause narrative, a symbol of white supremacy. [7]
     Today, Stone Mountain Park is the most visited attraction in the state of Georgia. The park contains a large, wooded area, two lakes, and various visitor amenities, including a hotel, campground, golf course, and seasonal programming. The park's advertisements illustrate the place as a family-friendly attraction, featuring a Confederate monument and not as a park built around a Confederate monument. [8] In recent years, the park has come into the national spotlight again, as local and national campaign seek the removal of the memorial carving and changes to park’s attractions. [9]
     The items a part of this collection recounts the idea behind the Stone Mountain monument, the process of carving the mountain, the opening and reception of the memorial carving, and its transformation to the present day.