The Jefferson Davis Monument State Historic Site is a Kentucky state park commemorating the birthplace of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America, in Fairview, Kentucky. The site's focal point is a 351 ft concrete obelisk. In 1973, it was believed to be the fourth-tallest monument in the United States and the tallest concrete-cast one.

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 ft 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. To mark the occasion of its completion, the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross from the top of the monument. The monument's base was set on limestone bedrock and limestone was quarried on the site for use in its construction. The concrete walls are 8.5 ft thick at the base and taper to 2.5 ft thick at the top. The monument was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The obelisk was closed to the public from 1999 until May 2004 for renovations and construction of a new visitor center. At the top of the monument is an observation room with a window in each of the four walls. Originally, this room could only be reached by climbing stairs which went around the interior of the monument; an elevator, installed in 1929, now takes visitors to and from the observation room.

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 acre and includes open and covered picnic areas and a playground. At the visitors' center museum, visitors can watch a video describing Davis' 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.

Monument size

The monument is the tallest unreinforced concrete structure in the world. No steel was used to reinforce the concrete walls below its pyramidal top. As one pour was completed, large chunks of limestone were left projecting up to connect it to the next pour above. It is also the tallest concrete obelisk in the world. It is the fifth tallest monument in the United States, behind the Gateway Arch at 630 ft, the San Jacinto Monument at 567 ft, the Washington Monument at 555 ft, and the Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial at 352 ft. The Crazy Horse Memorial, not yet completed, has a planned height of 563 ft. Elsewhere in the world, the Great Pyramid of Giza, Khafre's Pyramid, Spring Temple Buddha, and Ushiku Daibutsu are taller monuments.

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