When this story was told to the late President Cleveland, he replied, "I do not know about that, but I am well assured he threw a sovereign across the Atlantic."
In 1927 another stone was found which scientists think proved George Washington surveyed that territory. This stone is a large one and also bears his initials which are engraved in a surveyor's cross. Evidently he measured the height of the Bridge by dropping a line from the edge of the bridge to the cross below.
Thomas Jefferson called his purchase the "most Sublime of Nature's works." He visited it many times and during his presidency, in 1802, he surveyed the place with his own hands. He later built a log cabin which contained two rooms and one of them was always kept ready for a visitor. Many famous people visited there and the list includes such men as John Marshall, James Monroe, Henry Clay, Sam Houston and Martin Van Buren. While in France, Jefferson collected many plants and shrubs which he sent to America; many of these were planted at the Bridge, and some are still in existence.
Cedar Creek, the parent of the Bridge, has been busy for thousands of years cutting a bit deeper each year.
The answer to the second question, "How high is it?," is found on a Government bench which carries a brass plate, "1,150 feet above the sea." It is 245 feet high and is 90 feet wide.
Boys and men are especially interested in the exciting story of how Dr. Chester Reeds actually measured the wonderful Bridge. He had a special basket built which was strong enough to hold him. Two hundred and fifty feet of rope was fastened to it and run through a pulley and one end of it was tied to a fence post. He was very dizzy at first and could not take pictures of the side walls of the bridge. Gradually he became accustomed to turning around and was able to get many fine ones at various angles and of the massive supporting walls, the huge slabs of limestone and some of the foliage.
Natural Bridge is a monument to the patience of Old Mother Nature and her skill as an artist. Today, one wonders at the deep gorge—by night, with modern electrification, one is spellbound by its beauty—and when sweet music fills the glen with its symphonies one's soul is lifted to the Greatest Artist of all—to God in reverence and gratitude.
Rockbridge
Rockbridge County takes its name from the celebrated Natural Bridge and was formed from Augusta and Botetourt counties. A branch of the James River is called North River and this stream waters the county, flowing diagonally across it. Some of the richest soil in all the Valley is found in Rockbridge. Lexington, which is the county-seat, takes its name from the town of Lexington in Massachusetts and was founded in 1778. The first buildings of the old town were mostly destroyed by fire in 1794 and were replaced with substantial brick buildings. An Englishman who was visiting America long ago described the little town in these words: