Located in Elbert County, Georgia you could find this mysterious structure jutting out from the top of a hill. Since 1980 it's been one of the great mysteries of its time...that is until someone blew it up on July 6th 2022.
We were lucky enough to visit the Guidestones on our trip from Arkansas to Myrtle Beach. It was one of our first cross country trips.
The Guidestones were located in the middle of nowhere and no real signage directing you to them. The story behind them is one of mystery and conspiracy. Here is the short version from Wikipedia.
In June 1979, a man using the pseudonym Robert C. Christian approached the Elberton Granite Finishing Company on behalf of "a small group of loyal Americans", and commissioned the structure. Christian explained that the stones would function as a compass, calendar, and clock, and should be capable of "withstanding catastrophic events". The man reportedly used the pseudonym as a reference to the Christian religion. Christian said that he wanted to build a granite monument that would rival the British Neolithic monument Stonehenge, he drew inspiration from the structure after he paid a visit to it. However, he said that while it was impressive, Stonehenge had no message to communicate.
Joe Fendley of Elberton Granite believed that Christian was "a nut" and he attempted to discourage him by providing a price quote for the commission which was several times higher than any project which the company had previously undertaken, explaining that the construction of the guidestones would require additional tools and consultants. To Fendley's surprise, Christian accepted the quote. When arranging payment, Christian claimed that he represented a group which had been planning to construct the guidestones for 20 years and wanted to remain anonymous. Christian said he had chosen Elbert County because of its abundance of local granite, the rural nature of its landscape, its mild climate, and family ties to the region. The total cost of the project was not revealed, but it was over US$100,000 (equivalent to $373,361 in 2021).
Christian delivered a scale model of the guidestones and ten pages of specifications. The 5-acre (2-hectare) site was purchased by Christian from a local farm owner. The owner and his children were given lifetime cattle grazing rights on the guidestones site. The monument was located off of Georgia State Route 77 around 7 miles (11 km) north of the city of Elberton.
On March 22, 1980, the monument was unveiled by congressman Doug Barnard before an audience of between 200 and 300 people. At the unveiling, the Master of Ceremonies read a message to the gathered audience:
"In order to avoid debate, we the sponsors of the Georgia Guidestones have a simple message for human beings, now and for the future. We believe our precepts are sound, and they must stand on their own merits."
Christian later transferred ownership of the land and the guidestones to Elbert County. By 1981, barbed wire fencing had to be erected around the monument to keep cattle out, as they had been using it for a scratching post. A man who identified himself as Robert Christian published a book titled Common Sense Renewed (1986), which described the ideology of the guidestones. The author wrote:
"I am the originator of the Georgia Guidestones and the sole author of its inscriptions. I have had the assistance of a number of other American citizens in bringing the monument into being. We have no mysterious purposes or ulterior motives. We seek common sense pathways to a peaceful world, without bias for particular creeds or philosophies." — "Robert Christian" (1986)
Guidestone Facts
Written on the 4 granite slabs are the "guidelines or principles" they hoped to instill on the populace. They were written in 8 languages including English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, and Russian.
The rules on the stones were as follows:
- Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
- Guide reproduction wisely – improving fitness and diversity.
- Unite humanity with a living new language.
- Rule passion – faith – tradition – and all things with tempered reason.
- Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
- Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
- Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
- Balance personal rights with social duties.
- Prize truth – beauty – love – seeking harmony with the infinite.
- Be not a cancer on the Earth – Leave room for nature – Leave room for nature.
Guidestone Photos
Here is a dump of the photos I got before the destruction of the Guidestones.
Other Markers Around the Guidestones
These were very hard to get pictures of without them getting blown out with white. I tried to edit them to make them more readable. Really odd things that it shows on these.
Destruction of the Guidestones
On July 6th 2022 the Guidestones were blown up by and reported around the globe. We were lucky enough to visit them and get the above pictures. Here is a video from The Guardian showing the explosion and aftermath.
We hope you enjoyed the story and pictures of the Guidestones. They were really cool to see in real life...even if I don't agree with their message.
Let us know what you thought about them in the comments. Have you ever even heard of The Guidestones? Have you been there too?
