The Know-Nothing Party’s Papal Stone Heist of 1854
In 1854, a simple gift turned into a national scandal.
Pope Pius IX had sent a marble block from Rome’s Temple of Concord for the half-built Washington Monument. The anti-Catholic Know-Nothing Party couldn’t stand it.
Under cover of night, nine men broke in, tied up the watchman, and stole the Pope’s stone. They smashed it to bits and dumped it in the Potomac River.
Not content with vandalism, the Know-Nothings then took over the Monument Society itself, stuffing ballot boxes with 755 new members. Construction stopped for over twenty years.
The different colored marble you see on the monument today tells this forgotten story of bigotry and sabotage.
Pope Pius IX Sent a Cool Rock to Honor Washington
In 1852, Pope Pius IX gave America a three-foot marble block from Rome’s ancient Temple of Concord. The stone simply said: “Rome to America.”
The Washington National Monument Society had asked countries to donate stones for the half-built Washington Monument.
The Pope’s marble arrived in October 1853, and workers stored it in a wooden shed at the construction site. The society showed off these stones to raise money for the monument to America’s first president.
Anti-Catholic Anger Spread Across America
News of the Pope’s gift quickly sparked protests. Angry people in Philadelphia wanted the stone rejected or paired with a “protest stone” placed above it.
New Jersey folks signed petitions calling it “a gift of a despot” that would disgust true Americans. The Know-Nothing Party gained thousands of new members during this time.
These people feared Catholic immigrants would let the Pope control America from Rome. Their worries grew as more Irish and German Catholics arrived in America looking for jobs.
Masked Men Stole the Pope’s Stone at Gunpoint
On March 5-6, 1854, nine Know-Nothing members took action.
The group broke into the monument grounds between 1-2 AM after planning the theft at a secret meeting days earlier. They tied rope around night watchman George Hilton’s guard box and covered its windows with newspapers.
They pointed guns at Hilton and told him to stay quiet while they loaded the heavy marble onto a handcart. The watchman could only watch as they wheeled the Pope’s gift away.
Thieves Dumped the Broken Stone in the Potomac
The thieves pushed the heavy marble several blocks to the Potomac River where a boat waited. They broke the stone into smaller pieces they could carry easier.
Some kept small chunks as souvenirs of their “patriotic” deed. Their friends waited on Long Bridge with a red lantern to signal when it was safe.
When they got the signal, they dumped what was left of the Pope’s gift into the water. Back then, the Potomac flowed much closer to the monument, making their escape route shorter.
Nobody Talked Despite a Big Cash Reward
The Monument Society quickly offered $500 for information about who stole the Pope’s stone. That was big money in 1854, worth several months’ wages for most workers.
Locals searched the Potomac shores looking for pieces, with some offering “five dollars an inch” for real fragments. Despite the big reward and public interest, the thieves got away with it.
The Know-Nothing Party’s strict code of secrecy kept everyone quiet.
The crime stayed unsolved until 1883 when a saloonkeeper finally admitted his role, almost 30 years later.
Money Problems Stopped Construction Cold
Catholic donors closed their wallets right after hearing about the theft. Public money for the monument dried up as news spread nationwide.
By December 1854, the society had to stop building at just 152 feet, less than one-third of the planned height. They had already spent $230,000 (about $7.5 million today) with nothing left in the bank.
A growing economic downturn made things worse, and rising tensions between North and South over slavery pushed monument fundraising aside for most Americans.
The Know-Nothings Pulled Off a Sneaky Takeover
About 755 Know-Nothing Party members bought $1 memberships in the Monument Society in early 1855. At the February 22 annual meeting, they showed up in force and stuffed ballot boxes to elect their own leaders.
Vespasian Ellis, who ran the Know-Nothing newspaper The Daily American Organ, became First Vice-President with 754 votes. The other new officers each got exactly 755 votes, showing how planned their takeover was.
The original society members complained the election was “null and void,” but the Know-Nothings had the numbers.
Congress Pulled the Plug on Monument Funding
Lawmakers had planned to give $200,000 to finish the monument in 1855. When they heard about the Know-Nothing takeover, they quickly shelved the money.
Nobody in Congress wanted to work with a group run by anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant extremists. The original monument society members tried to fight back, arguing that the February election broke their rules.
Their complaints went nowhere.
The federal money that could have completed the monument vanished, leaving the half-built tower standing unfinished for decades.
The New Leaders Messed Up Everything They Touched
The Know-Nothings proved awful at running the monument project. Between September and December 1855, they added just three feet of new marble to the structure.
They bought cheap, low-quality stone that engineers later had to remove because it couldn’t hold the weight above it. They even sold the construction crane needed to lift marble blocks into place.
This made future work nearly impossible.
The Know-Nothings kept control until October 1858, but did almost nothing during their three years in charge.
America’s Unfinished Monument Became a National Joke
For over twenty years, the unfinished 153-foot stump sat abandoned in the nation’s capital. Mark Twain mocked it as “an ungainly old chimney” in his writings.
The monument grounds turned into pasture where cattle grazed freely.
A slaughterhouse operated nearby, adding smells and unsightly views to the already embarrassing scene. Rain and snow damaged the exposed top of the structure year after year.
Engineers had to conduct multiple studies to check if the foundation could still support additional construction after sitting untouched for so long.
The half-built monument symbolized a broken promise to honor Washington.
America’s 100th Birthday Saved the Monument
Congress finally passed legislation on July 5, 1876, giving $200,000 to complete the Washington Monument during America’s centennial year.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under Lt. Col. Thomas Lincoln Casey took charge of construction in August 1876.
Workers finished the monument on December 6, 1884, reaching its full 555-foot height.
The different colored marble sections visible today show exactly where construction stopped and resumed after the 22-year gap.
A replacement Pope’s stone inscribed “A Roma Americae” found its way inside the monument in 1982, finally fulfilling Pope Pius IX’s original intention 128 years after the theft.
Visiting Washington Monument, Washington
You can visit the Washington Monument for free at 15th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, but you need timed tickets. Get advance reservations at recreation.
gov for $1 per ticket, or grab same-day tickets at Washington Monument Lodge starting 8:45 AM. Tours run every 30 minutes from 9 AM to 4 PM.
You’ll go through airport-style security, so leave nail clippers and weapons behind. The elevator takes you up 500 feet with a video about the monument’s troubled construction history.
This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.
Read more from this brand:
The post How anti-Catholic zealots hijacked Washington’s most famous obelisk in 1855 appeared first on When In Your State.