Pig Monument
 | |
| 32°50′06″N 82°56′24″W / 32.8350°N 82.9400°W | |
| Location | Washington County, Georgia, United States |
|---|---|
| Designer | Harold Lawrence |
| Fabricator | Galen Mills |
| Type | Historical marker |
| Material | Granite |
| Height | 6 feet (1.8 m) |
| Dedicated date | October 18, 1992 |
| Dedicated to | The people of Washington County who helped rescue a pig from a well in 1933 |
The Pig Monument is a monument in Washington County, Georgia, United States. The monument, which is a 6-foot (1.8 m) granite historical marker, honors the county residents who, in 1933, helped a local farmer to rescue a pig of his that had fallen down a 40 ft (12 m) dry well. The monument was conceived of by a local pastor and author who had heard of the story several decades later and was dedicated in 1992.
History
[edit]Background
[edit]In 1933, during the Great Depression, Bartow Barron, a farmer from Washington County, Georgia, lost his Duroc pig, which he was raising for meat for the winter.[1] After searching for it, he found the pig at the bottom of a collapsed dry well that was 40 ft (12 m) deep.[1] Barron decided to rescue the pig by slowly filling in the well with dirt, and many of his neighbors, who were also farmers, decided to help him with this.[1][2] After 12 days of shoveling dirt, the well had been filled in enough that the pig was able to come out of the well.[1]
Erection
[edit]About 60 years after the event, Harold Lawrence, a local priest at First Methodist Church in nearby Milledgeville, Georgia, was collecting stories for a book of poetry about the region, Southland and Other Poems of the South, when a member of congregation told him about the pig story and took him to the location of the still-standing abandoned well, which by the 1990s had become a pine plantation.[1] Lawrence included the story in his book, published in 1992,[3] and decided to erect a monument honoring the event near the well.[1] Lawrence contacted Galen Mills of Elberton, Georgia, to construct the monument, based on an overall design by Lawrence himself.[1] The land for the monument was provided by the current property owners.[1] The monument was dedicated on October 18, 1992,[4] with speakers at the ceremony including Lawrence, Wesley Pittman (the congregant who took Lawrence to the site), a professor from Emory University, and the mayor of the nearby city of Oconee.[1] The monument was officially unveiled by several children who removed a black veil from the structure.[1] As of 2017, the monument is maintained by the descendants of the people who were involved in the 1933 event, as well as by several professors from Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville.[2]
Design
[edit]The monument is a 6 ft (1.8 m)-tall granite slab.[2][4] The slab bears the following inscription:[1]
ON THIS SPOT IN 1933 DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION NEIGHBORS OF A FARMER NAMED BARTOW BARRON JOINED TOGETHER TO RESCUE HIS PIG FROM A DRY WELL. THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED TO THE SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP AND COMMUNITY SO CHARACTERISTIC OF THOSE TIMES.
Additionally, the monument bears the names of donors to the project.[1]
It is located in Washington County, near the cities of Oconee and Tennille, about 20 ft (6.1 m) off of Georgia State Route 272.[2] A road sign indicating the location reads "PIG MONUMENT".[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Millians, Rick (September 21, 2019). "When a community came together to help save a neighbor's pig". The Union-Recorder. CNHI. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Pig Monument". Atlas Obscura. October 19, 2017. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- ^ Raven, Jason (May 25, 2018). "Odd pig monument recognizes the human spirit". WRDW-TV. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- ^ a b Lawrence, Harold (1999). "The Depression Pig". Southland and Other Poems of the South. Introduction by William Mallard (Revised ed.). Milledgeville, Georgia: Boyd Publishing Company. pp. 11–13. ISBN 978-1-890307-27-1.
- ^ Volk, Will (July 31, 2023). "A pig's tale: The story behind Washington County monument". WRDW-TV. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.