Georgia Guidestones
The Georgia Guidestones were a granite monument located in Elberton, Georgia, often referred to as "America's Stonehenge" due to their striking design and astronomical alignments. Commissioned in 1979 by an individual using the pseudonym R. C. Christian, the Guidestones were unveiled in March 1980 and stood for over four decades until their destruction in 2022. Designed to provide guidance for humanity, the monument featured inscriptions in eight languages, offering controversial messages about population control, social responsibilities, and governance. These inscriptions sparked a range of conspiracy theories, with some attributing the monument to secret organizations or viewing it as having sinister implications.
The structure consisted of four main granite slabs, each nearly 19 feet tall, and incorporated features that served as a sundial and highlighted celestial events. The Guidestones attracted both tourists and criticism, facing vandalism over the years. On July 6, 2022, an explosion severely damaged the monument, leading to its subsequent demolition due to safety concerns. This event coincided with renewed political attention and allegations of the Guidestones being satanic, further complicating their legacy and cultural significance. The site remains a point of fascination and debate regarding its origins and intended messages.
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Georgia Guidestones
The Georgia Guidestones was a stone monument in Elberton, Georgia, about one hundred miles outside of Atlanta. They were of mysterious origin and equally mysterious destruction. The construction of the Guidestones was commissioned in 1979 by a man who gave a fictitious name. Nicknamed America’s Stonehenge because of its resemblance to the ancient monument in Wiltshire, England, the granite Guidestones incorporated both carved messages and physical features that allowed it to serve as a sundial and highlight the position of other astronomical bodies. The Guidestones stood for more than four decades before an early morning blast on July 6, 2022, damaged them so severely that the government destroyed the ruins out of safety concerns. The bombing followed claims by far-right politicians that the monument was satanic.
Background
The Georgia Guidestones were commissioned by a man who gave his name as R. C. Christian. In the summer of 1979, Christian—who admitted that was not his real name and that he had selected the pseudonym because it reflected his own religious beliefs and those of the group funding the monument—arrived in Elberton inquiring about a company that could use local granite for a construction project. He told Joe H. Fendley Sr., President of the Elberton Granite Finishing Company, that he wanted to create a monument that would provide wisdom for future generations and instructions for how to restore humanity in the event of a doomsday scenario. Christian also revealed to Granite City Bank President Wyatt C. Martin that he hoped other groups would step up and create similar monuments in the area. It was reported that Martin knew Christian’s real name but that he had said he would never reveal it. Christian purchased five acres from a local farmer for the monument.
Later investigations surfaced some circumstantial evidence that Herbert H. Kersten, a physician from Fort Dodge, Iowa, may have been involved in commissioning the Guidestones. However, no direct connection was proven.
Overview
The Guidestones, which were constructed by Elberton Granite Finishing Company, were completed and unveiled on March 22, 1980. They stood in one of the highest areas of the state in a five-acre cow pasture about seven miles from the center of Elberton in a rural area that did not draw tourists. The land on which the monument was constructed belonged to Elbert County.
The monument included four large blue granite slabs, a center stone called the Gnomen Stone, and a capstone. These stones totaled 951 cubic feet (27 cubic meters) of granite, weighing almost one hundred twenty tons. Sandblasted into the four 19-foot-tall (5.8-meter-tall) slabs, each weighing an average of 42,000 pounds (19,050 kilograms), were inscriptions of more than 4,000 characters, each four inches high, bearing messages in eight languages: English, Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Russian, Swahili, and Spanish. In addition, the capstone bore the message, “Let these be guidestones to an age of reason,” in four languages: Babylonian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Sanskrit, and classical Greek.
The Guidestones bore some similarities to the standing monument at Stonehenge in that the slabs were positioned in relation to some celestial bodies. The massive upright slabs were set in place to reflect the outside limits of the moon’s movements during the course of a year. A hole drilled at an angle through the Gnomen stone allowed visitors to view Polaris, the North Star. A slotted hole in the Gnomen stone lined up with the winter and summer solstices. A hole in the capstone allowed a narrow beam of sunlight to hit a specific spot on the Gnomen stone each sunny day at noon indicating the day of the year.
While the markings that captured astronomical data were straightforward, the messages carved into the stones were more mysterious. They included instructions to maintain Earth’s population at 500 million (it was about 7.96 billion on the day the monument was destroyed) and to improve fitness and diversity in repopulating the planet. It urged people to balance individual rights with social duties, to avoid “useless” officials and “petty” laws, and to let countries rule themselves internally and resolve external conflicts in a world court.
These mysterious messages led to conspiracy theories about the stones and their origin. Many people thought they were the work of the Illuminati, or of a New World Order intent on taking over the world. The references to eugenics and population control as well as the multiple mentions of internationalism in the Guidestone’s messages helped fuel this speculation. Throughout their history, the stones were the subject of criticism and complaints that evil cults or satanic forces were behind them. While the stones were a tourist attraction, they were also the subject of several acts of vandalism. In 2008 and 2014, vandals damaged the Guidestones using spray paint, and in 2021, they were doused in fake blood by a group filming a music video.
Destruction
Discussion of the stones drew national attention in early 2022 during the primary election season. In May, a Republican candidate for governor of Georgia, Kandiss Taylor, announced that she saw the site as satanic in origin and would destroy it if she was elected. She did not win her primary bid. However, her comments spurred renewed interest in the stones and an increase in posts about them on social media.
At about four in the morning on July 6, 2022, the Georgia Guidestones were rocked by an explosion. Surveillance video of the blast showed a silver sedan driving quickly away from the scene just after the explosion. When officials from Elbert County Emergency Management Agency and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation examined the scene, they found the remains of explosives. They had some leads from these remains and from the videos but did not immediately identify or apprehend a suspect.
The blast caused significant damage but did not destroy the Georgia Guidestones. However, government officials decided the remaining structure was not stable enough to be safe. They destroyed what was left of the monument later the same day as the explosion. Plans to rebuild the Guidestones were discussed, but eventually, the land was returned to its previous owner, and the structure’s remains were donated to the Elberton Granite Association.
Bibliography
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“Early Morning Explosion Damages Controversial Georgia Monument.” CBS News, 7 July 2022, www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-guidestones-blown-up-explosion. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Eveleth, Rose. “Nobody Knows How to Interpret This Doomsday Stonehenge in Georgia.” Smithsonian, 10 Sept. 2013, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nobody-knows-how-to-interpret-this-doomsday-stonehenge-in-georgia-5592082. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
“Georgia Guidestones: ‘America’s Stonehenge’ Demolished after Blast.” BBC News, 7 July 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62073675. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Lake, Thomas. "Two Mysteries Surrounded the Georgia Guidestones. One May Have Finally Been Solved." CNN, 16 Feb. 2024, www.cnn.com/interactive/2024/02/us/georgia-guidestones-mystery-cec-cnnphotos. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Ouzts, Clay. “Georgia Guidestones.” New Georgia Encyclopedia, 11 July 2022, www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/georgia-guidestones. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Recker, Jane. “The Georgia Landmark Known as ‘America’s Stonehenge’ Is Destroyed in an Explosive Attack.” Smithsonian, 8 July 2022, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/georgia-guidestones-destroyed-in-an-explosive-attack-180980383. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Sullivan, Randall. “American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse.” Wired, 2009, www.wired.com/2009/04/ff-guidestones. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
“Why Might Someone Have Blown Up the Georgia Guidestones?” Economist, 14 July 2022, www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/07/13/why-might-someone-have-blown-up-the-georgia-guidestones. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.