Stone Mountain is a huge, rounded mass of light-gray granite, about 16 miles (26 kilometers) east of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the largest stone mountain, or smooth-sided rock dome, in North America. At its highest point it rises over 700 feet (210 meters) above the surrounding terrain. It measures about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) long and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide. A kind of cactus grows on thin pockets of soil which lie on top of the granite.
In 1923, an ambitious sculpturing project was undertaken on Stone Mountain. It was designed as a memorial to the struggle of the South during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Also in 1923, Congress authorized the minting of a Stone Mountain half dollar in connection with the project. Gutzon Borglum was the first sculptor to work on the monument, but he left Stone Mountain and later began working on the famous Mount Rushmore carvings (see Borglum, Gutzon ). Henry A. Lukeman also worked on the project. The work was discontinued in 1929 because of lack of funds.
In 1958, Georgia purchased 1,613 acres (653 hectares), including Stone Mountain, to establish a state park there. DeKalb County donated another 400 acres (160 hectares). Since then, the state has bought more land, and the area of the park now totals 3,200 acres (1,290 hectares). The park features a lake at the base of Stone Mountain and a skylift that can carry 50 people to the top. Other attractions include a beach, a golf course, museums, trails, and a restored plantation.
In 1964, work on the sculpturing project was resumed under the direction of a new sculptor, Walker Kirtland Hancock. The sculpturing of the figures was completed in 1969. The sculpture includes Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson, on horseback. The sculpture is about 90 feet (27 meters) high and 190 feet (58 meters) wide.
