The route to the Georgia Guidestones, which are 7.2 miles north of Elberton, Georgia, on Georgia Highway 77, were long (6 hours) and involved. I am very glad that we had the GPS to route us, for I would have followed my nose in the wrong direction. We basically headed west through North and South Carolina, passing through innumerable small towns and around Columbia, SC before crossing the Georgia State Line near the the Richard B. Russell lake. Elberton is just a few miles inside Georgia.

There, we turned north on Highway 77 to Guidestone Road NW. Although if you are watching for them, you can just see the Guidestones from the road, there was a sign out by the road directing us to them. They are a couple hundred feet east of the highway; we parked in the small area for cars at the north side of the guidestones plot.

The Georgia Guidestones Area When we got out of the vehicle, we saw the guidestones just to our south, inside a marked-off area with a couple of other monuments or plaques. I made a short movie panning from east to west to show you the three main features- the history plaque, the guidestones themselves and the explanatory information carved into a large piece of granite and laid flat on the ground.

At the left, I have put an aerial view of the
Georgia Guidestones marked-off compound.
I have also marked the three main features
of the area- the history plaque, the
guidestones themselves and the explanatory
information. If you will click on any of these
three features, I'll show you a picture of it.

Location and Administration

The Georgia Guidestones are located on a hilltop in Elbert County, Georgia, approximately 90 miles east of Atlanta, 45 miles from Athens, and 9 miles north of the center of Elberton. The stones are standing on a rise a short distance to the east of Georgia Highway 77 (Hartwell Highway), and are visible from that road. Small signs beside the highway indicate the turnoff for the Guidestones, which is identified by a street sign as "Guidestones Rd." It is located on the highest point in Elbert County.

Elbert County owns the Georgia Guidestones site. Robert C. Christian deeded the five acres to the county immediately upon purchase from Wayne Mullenix. According to the Georgia Mountain Travel Association's detailed history: "The Georgia Guidestones are located on the farm of Mildred and Wayne Mullenix..." The Elbert County land registration system shows what appears to be the Guidestones as County land purchased on October 1, 1979.

Although accounts vary, the Guidestones were unveiled sometime in March 1980, in the presence of one to four hundred people. Over the years (see the "Controversy" section below), the stones have been marked by graffiti. Elbert County is funding ongoing repair and has installed two video surveillance cameras at the site.

What the Heck Are the Georgia Guidestones?

A Georgia Guidestones is a massive granite monument in Elbert County, Georgia, USA, espousing the conservation of mankind and future generations. Sources for the sizable financing of the project choose to remain anonymous. The wording of the message proclaimed on the monument is in 12 languages, including the archaic languages of Sanskrit, Babylonian Cuneiform, Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Classical Greek, as well as English, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Spanish, and Swahili.

In June 1979, an unknown person or persons under the pseudonym "R.C. Christian" hired Elberton Granite Finishing Company to build the structure. They used a stone called "Pyramid Blue Granite." One popular hypothesis is that the patron's pseudonym may be a tribute to the legendary 17th-century founder of Rosicrucianism, Christian Rosenkreuz, and at least one theorist has concluded that the actual person using the pseudonym was none other than Ted Turner (although L. Ron Hubbard comes under scrutiny as well).

Little is actually known about the purpose behind the guidestones; they are called "guide" stones because engraved on the vertical stones, in eight different languages, are ten "guides" for humanity going forward.

They read as if someone, disenchanted with the way things have turned out, set down what he or she might have thought would be good principles to follow for some "new" civilization. Moving clockwise around the structure from due north, these languages are: English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian. (Apparently, the French, Germans and Italians are going to be conspiculously absent from the New World Order.) If you would like to see what the various languages (other than English) look like, you can click on any of the thumbnail images below:

NOTE:
I apologize that many of my pictures taken here have a distinct blue cast to them. This is because I forgot to reset the lighting type on my little camera from the two pictures this morning taken inside Barbara and Joe's house. I realized the problem towards the end of our visit here, so until I get to the point where I changed my setting, I'll be using mostly Fred's pictures.

It seems as if the guidestones were, in large part, just an attention-getting way of putting these ten guidelines out there for people to see- in a way that would play into the whole Mayan, ancient, von Daniken, conspiracy, Eastern mysticism scheme of things much more effectively than would, say, a full-page ad in the New York Times.

Just what were these guidelines? Well, let me list them for you. Or, if you like, you can use the scrollable window to the right of the guidelines to see what they actually look like on the English side of one of the four vertical slabs:

Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature Guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity Unite humanity with a living new language Rule passion, faith, tradition and all things with tempered reason Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court Avoid petty laws and useless officials Balance personal rights with social duties Prize truth, beauty and love, seeking harmony with the infinite Be not a cancer on the earth; leave room for nature. Leave room for nature.

The Georgia Guidestones In this excellent movie, Fred will take you over to the monument and show you the various features of it up close, and he will also narrate the ten guidelines. (Just be aware, he was off by one in the number of columns and by two in the number of languages- a very small oversight.)

What's the Story Behind the Guidelines?

It seems obvious from reading the very first guideline that they don't seem to bear a real relationship to the world as it is today; by March of 2012, world population will reach 7 billion- 14 times as many people as the first guideline suggests is what the earth can support.

I don't have a definitive explanation; neither does anyone else, since the author of the guidelines can't be pinpointed, and no one has come forward to claim authorship. This leaves it up to the conspiracy theorists to supply their own explanations. Another clue comes from the flat explanatory stone laid on the ground to the west of the guidestones. We will get to a more detailed description of that part of the monument in a moment, but for now, take a look at the extract from it that I've cut out of a photo and placed at left.

There is supposed to be a time capsule buried under the slab, but you can see that the date the time capsule was or will be buried is left blank, as is the date on which it is to be opened. Most theorists suggest that this gives a clue to why the first guideline suggests such a drastic population reduction. They theorize that The Georgia Guide Stones are incomplete, and that new stones will be added to the site. They continue to theorize that this will happen after some climax event levels the population of the human race to the half-billion figure. You can certainly find lots of references to such a reduction all over conspiracy sites on the Internet; whether that reduction is going to occur naturally or is being engineered depends on the level of conspiratorial bent on the various sites.

These mystical theorists (at least those represented on the official web site for the Guidestones) say that this event is going to take place soon, that it will involve changes in the fixed heavens, that the new stones will mark the earth's orientation to the new heavens and that dates from the new calendar are to be carved in the explanatory stone slab at that time.

This seems to be an awful lot to swallow, but that's conspiracy for you. I am reminded, however, of the adage that says "Just because you aren't paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you." Ask me again about all this after December 21, 2012.

The Historical Record

The story of the Guidestones began in June 1979 when a neatly but casually dressed grey haired man stopped by the office of Joe Fendley, then president of the Elberton Granite Finishing Company. The man was not from the area. He said his name, Robert C. Christian, was a pseudonym, and he and a small group of dedicated Americans he represented wished to remain anonymous. He said he chose the name Robert C. Christian because he was a Christian. Christian wanted to commission Fendley to build a monument dedicated to the preservation of humanity.

When Fendley saw the plans and realized the tremendous scope and cost of the undertaking, he suspected Christian might be a phony. Fendley sent Christian to a local banker, Wyatt C. Martin. Martin insisted on legal proofs before he would do business. Christian revealed his real name and other legal proofs to Martin and put a very large sum of money in escrow - the amount remains another secret. Martin agreed not to ever divulge Christian's true identity and hasn't to this day.

The plans went forward and a sight was chosen on five acres of the Double 7 Ranch on the highest point in Elbert County and very near Ah-Yeh-Li A-Lo-Hee, the Cherokee Indian's Center of the World. Expert craftsmen were enlisted as well as interpreters to translate the 10 guidelines into the different languages. The Guidestones were unveiled on March 22, 1980 before a crowd of over 400 spectators and guests. Christian has had very little contact with Fendley since that time, and years often pass without word.Christian felt the focus of attention should be on the ten guidelines rather than on his personality or on the personalities within the group he represents.

The American Stonehenge

The Georgia Guidestones, often called the "American Stonehenge," are comprised of eleven major components, all hewn out of local granite. The site itself was chosen because it commands a view to the East and to the West and is within the range of the Summer and Winter sunrises and sunsets. The stones are oriented in those directions.

Beginning in the center, we have a vertical stone slab called "the gnomen stone." It is over 16 feet high, one and a half feet thick and weighs a little under 11 tons. An eye‑level, oblique hole is drilled from the South to the North side of this center stone, such that that the North Star is always visible through it. This is said to symbolize constancy and orientation with the heavens. This vertical stone sits on a granite base that is 4 feet long, 2 feet wide and eighteen inches thick. By itself, it weighs almost 3,000 pounds. A slot is cut in the middle of the Gnomen stone to form a window which aligns with the positions of the rising sun at the Summer and Winter Solstices and at the Equinox, so that the noon sun shines to indicate noon on a curved line.

Arrayed around this central column are four, large upright blocks, pointing outward from the corners of the gnomen stone, and said to be oriented to the limits of the migration of the moon during the course of the year. Each of these granite columns is just over 16 feet high, ane each of them weighs over 21 tons. It is on either side of these four stone columns that the guidelines are etched. Each of these columns sits on its own support base; each of these bases is 7 by 2 feet and 1.5 feet thick, and each weighs about 5,000 pounds.

Sitting on top of the gnomen stone, with its corners atop each of the four columns, is a capstone. This rectangular stone slab is ten feet long, seven feet wide and eighteen inches thick; it weighs 11.5 tons. If we count the bases, the overall height of the granite edifice is 19.25 feet. All the stones taken together weigh almost 119 tons, and comprise 951 cubic feet of granite- all of which was quarried from the Pyramid Quarries about 3 miles west of Elberton.

The capstone includes a calendar of sorts, where sunlight beams through the 7/8 inch hole at noon, and shines on the South face of the center stone. As the sun makes its travel cycle, the spot beamed through the hole can tell the day of the year at noon each day. Allowances are made because of variations between standard time and sun time to set the beam of sunlight at an equation of time. Around the edges of the capstone are written more words repeated in the four “dead” languages of Sanskrit, Babylonian Cuneiform, Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Classical Greek. They translate: “Let These Be Guidestones To An Age Of Reason.”

Counting all the inscriptions, there are over 4,000 sandblasted characters on the monument, each about 4 inches high.

We took quite a few pictures of the main monument, although many of mine didn't turn out well due to the light setting snafu. But I've selected the best of Fred's and a few of mine to include here. Click on as many of the thumbnails below as you like to see the Georgia Guidestones:

The Memorial Plaque

To the east of the actual Guidestones, there is a memorial plaque on a pedestal; you are facing east when you read it. It details some of the history of the Guidestones that you already read, and marks the dedication. You can probably read the inscription right here on the web page, but in any event it duplicates in large part the history I've already included.

If you are having any difficulty reading it, you can look at a full-size picture here.

The Explanatory Tablet

A few feet to the west of the Guidestones, an additional granite ledger has been set level with the ground. This tablet identifies the structure and the languages used on it, lists various facts about the size, weight, and astronomical features of the stones, the date it was installed, and the sponsors of the project. It also speaks of a time capsule buried under the tablet, but the positions on the stone reserved for filling in the dates on which the capsule was buried and is to be opened are missing, so it is not clear whether the time capsule was ever put in place. Each side of the tablet is perpendicular to one of the cardinal directions, and is inscribed so that the northern edge is the "top" of the inscription.

The complete text of the explanatory tablet is detailed below, and the image at left shows the overall layout. The tablet is somewhat inconsistent with respect to punctuation, and also misspells "pseudonym". The original spelling, punctuation, and line breaks in the text have been preserved in the transcription which follows. You can either read the following complete text, or you can watch my movie in which I narrate almost all the text (except for all the measurements) as I pan across the text and diagrams on the tablet. If you would like to read the inscription, just keep going, but if you would like to skip to the movie, just click here.

At the center of each tablet edge is a small circle, each containing a letter representing the appropriate compass direction (N, S, E, W).

At the top center of the tablet is written:
"The Georgia Guidestones Center cluster erected March 22, 1980"

Immediately below this is the outline of a square, inside which is written:
"Let these be guidestones to an Age of Reason"

Around the edges of the square are written the names of four ancient languages, one per edge. Starting from the top and proceeding clockwise, they are:Babylonian (in cuneiform script), Classical Greek, Sanskrit and Ancient Egyptian (in hieroglyphics).

Next, there are two columns of text- left and right. (The words appear as shown under the time capsule heading in the left column; no dates are engraved.) The two columns look like this:

Astronomic Features 1. channel through stone indicates celestial pole. 2. horizontal slot indicates annual travel of sun. 3. sunbeam through capstone marks noontime throughout the year Author: R.C. Christian (a pseudonyn) Sponsors: A small group of Americans who seek the Age of Reason Time Capsule Placed six feet below this spot On To Be Opened on

PHYSICAL DATA 1. OVERALL HEIGHT - 19 FEET 3 INCHES [5.87 m]. 2. TOTAL WEIGHT - 237,746 POUNDS [107,840 kg]. 3. FOUR MAJOR STONES ARE 16 FEET, FOUR INCHES [4.98 m] HIGH, EACH WEIGHING AN AVERAGE OF 42,437 POUNDS [19,249 kg]. 4. CENTER STONE IS 16 FEET, FOUR- INCHES [4.98 m] HIGH, WEIGHS 20,957 POUNDS [9,506 kg]. 5. CAPSTONE IS 9-FEET, 8-INCHES [2.95 m] LONG, 6-FEET, 6-INCHES [1.98 m] WIDE; 1-FOOT, 7-INCHES [0.48 m] THICK. WEIGHS 24,832 POUNDS [11,264 kg]. 6. SUPPORT STONES (BASES) 7-FEET, 4 INCHES [2.24 m] LONG 2-FEET [0.61 m] WIDE. 1 FOOT, 4-INCHES [0.41 m] THICK, EACH WEIGHING AN AVERAGE OF 4,875 POUNDS [2,211 kg]. 7. SUPPORT STONE (BASE) 4-FEET, 2½ INCHES [1.28 m] LONG, 2-FEET, 2-INCHES [0.66 m] WIDE, 1-FOOT, 7-INCHES [0.48 m] THICK. WEIGHT 2,707 POUNDS [1,228 kg]. 8. 951 CUBIC FEET [26.9 m³] GRANITE. 9. GRANITE QUARRIED FROM PYRAMID QUARRIES LOCATED 3 MILES [5 km] WEST OF ELBERTON, GEORGIA."

Below the two columns of text is written the caption "GUIDESTONE LANGUAGES". The names of eight modern languages are inscribed along the long edges of the projecting rectangles, one per edge. Starting from due north and moving clockwise around so that the upper edge of the northeast rectangle is listed first, they are English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese and Russian. At the bottom center of the tablet is the following text:

Controversy and Folklore

In his article, "Decoding the Georgia Guidestones," Van Smith identifies three potential candidates as the true identity of R.C. Christian (Joe H. Fendley Sr., Dr. Francis Merchant, and Ted Turner). In the end, Smith concludes that Ted Turner is the most likely candidate for being R.C. Christian, stating, "Our investigation into the identity of Robert C. Christian has uncovered highly persuasive yet circumstantial evidence linking Robert Edward “Ted” Turner to the very center of the Georgia Guidestones originators. This evidence is so strong that we believe Ted Turner probably was R.C. Christian. At the very least, Turner probably knows who R.C. Christian is."

Yoko Ono and others have praised the inscribed messages as "a stirring call to rational thinking," while opponents have labeled them as the "Ten Commandments of the Antichrist."

The Guidestones have become a subject of interest for conspiracy theorists. One of them, an activist named Mark Dice, demanded that the Guidestones "be smashed into a million pieces, and then the rubble used for a construction project," claiming that the Guidestones are of "a deep Satanic origin," and that R. C. Christian, belongs to "a Luciferian secret society" related to the New World Order. At the unveiling of the monument, a local minister proclaimed that he believed the monument was "for sun worshipers, for cult worship and for devil worship".

Another conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones, in his 2008 documentary 'Endgame: Elite's Blueprint For Global Enslavement' highlights "the message of the mysterious Georgia Guidestones, purportedly built by representatives of a secret society called the Rosicrucian Order or Rosicrucians, which call for a global religion, world courts, and for population levels to be maintained at around 500 million, over a 5.5 billion reduction from current levels. The stones infer that humans are a cancer upon the earth and should be culled in order to maintain balance with nature."

Researcher Van Smith claims to have uncovered numerological messages encoded within the proportions of the various Georgia Guidestones components that link the monument to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world which opened in Dubai over thirty years after the Georgia Guidestones were designed. Smith presents evidence demonstrating that the opening date of the tower, the death of Dubai's emir, Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum, and the exact height of the Burj Khalifa can all be deduced directly from the proportions of the granite slabs.

In 2008, the stones were defaced with polyurethane paint and graffiti with slogans such as "Death to the new world order." Wired magazine called the defacement "the first serious act of vandalism in the Guidestones' history". More recently, in an apparent attempt to topple the monument, a large notch was cut from the top of the English language Guidestone near the 8" long, 1?" thick stainless steel dowel pin used to secure that slab to the capstone.

Sunset at the Guidestones

We were here very late in the afternoon, and were able to get some interesting pictures close to sunset. Fred's picture, that you can see at left, is probably the best one, with the symmetrical arrangement of the shadows. But I took two decent ones also, and you can have a look at them by clicking on the thumbnails below:

Our visit to the Georgia Guidestones was really neat, but now we face our thousand-mile trip home, so it is time to get started.

Our Trip Home

When we left the Guidestones, we continued north on Highway 77 and then angled west to get to I-85:

We went south on I-85, and then around the west side of Atlanta to pick up I-20 west.

We simply continued west on I-20, skirting around Birmingham to the south on I-259 to pick up I-20 again on the west side of Birmingham, where we stopped for dinner. Then we continued to Meridian, MS, where we stayed in a Super 8 for the night. The next day, we had another seven or so hours of driving to get home to Dallas.

This was a great trip, but it was nice to be home.

You can use the links below to continue to the album page for different day. To continue on through the photo album, first return to the index for this trip.

	November 26, 2010: Visiting Joe and Barbara Buchanan
	Return to the Index for Our Thanksgiving Trip