The land on which the monument is built, on the same site as that occupied by the first monument, was given by Mr. George Shepherd, a prominent and wealthy merchant, to the Fredericksburg Mary Washington Monument Association, and was transferred at the dedication of the monument by a conditional deed to the National Association.
Story of Older Monument
The first monument to the memory of Mary Washington was partly erected by Silas Burrows of New York, who as rumor has it, fell in love with one of the Gregory girls—great nieces of George Washington. It was of handsome design, but never finished, and the marble shaft lay prostrate for many years, cracked and discolored, while the base, with its beautiful four carved columns was a target for both armies during the Civil war.
The corner stone of this first monument was laid in 1833, with much pomp, the President of the United States—Gen. Andrew Jackson—taking part with Cabinet Officers and escorts. The people of Fredericksburg previous to Mr. Burrows’ offer, had made efforts to raise money for a memorial to Mary Washington. Hearing of this he wrote to the Mayor, offering to give and erect the monument himself. The monument had reached completion with the exception of placing the shaft, when Mr. Burrows went abroad and never reappeared, the same Madam Rumor attributing it to the disappointment he experienced at the failure to win the hand of Miss Gregory, the daughter of Mildred Washington, the niece of the immortal George.
The present monument is splendidly cared for by the National Association with the Secretary of the Association, a Fredericksburg lady in charge and living on the grounds in a beautiful cottage built by the National Mary Washington Monument Association.
At the Rising Sun
Where Famous Men Met; and Mine Host Brewed Punch and Sedition.
Standing back a few feet from the Main Street of Fredericksburg, the Rising Sun Tavern looks out on the automobiles and trucks that hurry by over the concrete streets. Silk and woolen mills and “pants” factories spin and weave and rumble, while the old tavern, with the dignity of its century and a half calmly flaunts the sign of the rising sun with its radii of red light. The knocker that felt the hand of almost every famous American of early days still hangs kindly out.