Jefferson Davis State Historic Site

Jefferson Davis Monument
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Northern View
Location:	Fairview, Kentucky
Coordinates:	36°50′31″N 87°18′2″W
Built:	1917
Architect:	Major S.F. Crecelius; G.R. Gregg
Architectural style:	Other
Governing body:	State
NRHP Reference#:	73000849
Added to NRHP:	May 9, 1973

The Jefferson Davis Monument State Historic Site is a Kentucky State Park preserving the birthplace of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America. It is located in Fairview, Kentucky, in Todd County, 9 miles (14 km) east of Hopkinsville, Kentucky along U.S. Highway 68. The focal point of the site is a 351-foot (107.0 m) tall concrete obelisk.

History of the monument

Simon Bolivar Buckner, Sr., a Confederate general, first proposed the idea of a monument for Davis during a reunion of the Orphan Brigade of the Confederate Army in 1907. Construction began in 1917 but stopped in 1918 at a height of 175 feet (53 m) due to building material rationing during World War I. Construction resumed in January 1922 and was finished in 1924 at a cost of $200,000. The base was constructed of limestone quarried from the site. The concrete walls are 8.5 feet (2.6 m) thick at the base and taper to 2.5 feet (0.76 m) thick at the top. The monument was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as structure #73000849. The obelisk was closed to the public from 1999 until May 2004 for renovations and construction of a new visitor center. An elevator takes visitors to an observation platform at the top.

Park details

The Jefferson Davis State Historic Site is one of eleven historic sites in Kentucky which include small parks and are maintained by the Kentucky Department of Parks. The park covers 19 acres (7.7 ha) and includes open and covered picnic areas, as well as a playground.

At the visitors’ center museum, visitors can watch a video describing Davis’s life and the construction of the monument. Guided elevator tours of the monument are available daily.

The center sells books and memorabilia about Davis, the American Civil War, and the surrounding area, as well as Kentucky handcrafts. The park is open from May 1 until October 31.

Relative size

• The monument is the tallest unreinforced concrete structure in the world. No steel was used to reinforce the concrete. As one pour was completed, large chunks of limestone were left projecting up to connect it to the next pour above.
• The monument is the tallest concrete obelisk in the world. (All of the taller obelisks are constructed with blocks of stone.)
• It is the third tallest obelisk in the world (behind the San Jacinto Monument and the Washington Monument). (Because its cross section is octagonal and does not have a pyramidal top, the San Jacinto Monument could be considered a column instead of an obelisk.)
• It is the fifth tallest monument in the United States (behind the Gateway Arch, San Jacinto Monument, Washington Monument, and Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial). (The Crazy Horse Memorial, with a planned height of 563 feet (172 m), will become the second tallest monument upon completion.)
• Elsewhere in the world, the Great Pyramid of Giza, Khafre's Pyramid, Spring Temple Buddha, and Ushiku Daibutsu are taller monuments.

Gallery

Steel frame used to suspend maintenance rigging from the top of the monument  Entrance to the monument  Distant view of the monument  Confederate flags displayed by monument  Jefferson Davis Memorial

See also

• List of memorials to Jefferson Davis
• List of tallest towers in the world

External links

• Official Web Site
• Roadside America review of site
• Civil War Album description and pictures