Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome and the site of Stone Mountain Park. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet (514 m), 825 feet (251 m) above the surrounding area, and is 5 miles (8.0 km) in circumference at its base. Stone Mountain was formed during the formation of the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains. It formed as a result of the upwelling of magma from within the Earth’s crust. This magma solidified to form granite within the crust five to ten miles below the surface. Stone Mountain is well-known not only for its geology, but also for the enormous bas-relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief in the world. The carving depicts three figures of the Confederate States of America: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis.
1838 – Aaron Cloud built the first tourist attraction on the top of the mountain. The wooden tower was 165 feet tall with a 40 foot square base. There was a $0.50 charge to climb the tower.
1849 – The tower blew down during a storm and was never rebuilt
1865-1877 – Reconstruction rebuilds the railways and in turn restores tourism and Stone Mountain’s quarrying industry. Granite is shipped all over the world. It was used at the federal gold depository at Fort Knox, the Panama Canal, the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, and in the foundation of the Lincoln Memorial, just to name a few. Virtually every state has a building that uses Stone Mountain granite.
1887 – The Venable Brothers bought all of Stone Mountain for $48,000 and ran the quarrying operations.
1958 – The State of Georgia purchased Stone Mountain and the surrounding land to create a 3,200 acre park. Focus was placed on development for recreation and entertainment and the completion of the carving