Buchanan's Birthplace State Park - Monument

Monument

Harriet Lane Johnston was President Buchanan's niece and since he never married she served as his First Lady. She led the effort to create a memorial to her uncle. She made several efforts to purchase his birthplace, Stony Batter, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Upon her death, in 1895, the responsibility for building the monument was transferred to a lawyer from Baltimore, Lawrason Riggs and a banker from Washington, D.C., E. Francis Riggs. After years of trying to purchase Stony Batter, the Riggs' were finally successful in 1907. The monument in the shape of a pyramid was built of native stone. Wyatt and Nolting, an architectural firm from Baltimore, designed the memorial. The pyramid is 38 feet (12 m) square and 31 feet (9.4 m) high. It is made of 50 short tons (45 t) of American Gray Granite and 250 tons of mortar and native stones. Construction of the pyramid began in October 1907 with a work force of 20 men. They built a small railroad to haul the heavy materials from the mountainside to the construction site. The work force grew to 35 men and the monument was completed by late winter with a surrounding iron railing. The Pennsylvania General Assembly of 1911 accepted the monument from the trust of Harriet Lane Johnston and Buchanan's Birthplace State Park was formally established.