Washington Monument.—About the middle of the last century the Washington National Monument Association was formed for the purpose of erecting a monument at the national capital to commemorate the valiant deeds of George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental army in the Revolutionary war and first president of the United States. The corner-stone was laid in 1848, and the work was continued under the supervision of Robert Mills, who was employed for that purpose by the association until 1877, when, for want of funds, the work was suspended. A little later the unfinished structure was turned over to the Federal government, which placed Lieut.-Col. T. L. Casey in charge, and in 1884 the monument was completed. It is one of the tallest monuments in the world, having a total height of 555 feet, 5 inches. The foundation covers an area of about 16,000 square feet, and the shaft, which is 70 feet square at the base, is built of Maryland marble. Inside this shaft is an elevator for conveying passengers to the top of the monument, whence one can obtain a splendid view of Washington and its environs. The total cost was about $1,500,000, of which the original association expended about $300,000, the rest of the cost being defrayed by the general government.

In the fall of 1848 the monument association conceived the idea of having each state in the Union contribute a stone, bearing a suitable inscription, and to have these stones placed in the monument where the inscriptions could be read by visitors. Kansas was not then even an organized territory. The first attention paid to the subject in the state was by Gov. Harvey in his message of 1872, wherein he recommended an appropriation to provide a stone and transport it to Washington. Nothing was done at that session and the matter rested until 1881, when Gov. St. John again urged the legislature to make an appropriation. Accordingly, the session of that year appropriated $200 "for the Kansas State Historical Society to use in procuring a suitable stone," etc. The matter was placed in the hands of a committee of the society; the stone was contributed by John Stewart of Saffordville, Chase county; the inscription was designed by Henry Worrall, according to the idea furnished by the committee, and the stone was prepared and inscribed by W. H. Fernald of Topeka.