Monterey Honors History With Standing Stone Day

Monterey will honor the town’s rich history with its annual Standing Stone Day celebration Saturday.

Putnam County Historian Dale Welch said it celebrates the Standing Stone, a local monument believed to be built a few thousand years ago. Welch said the event became a local holiday in 1974 after Dr. Opless Walker discovered how old the monument really is.

“It’s about why we’re here,” Welch said. “Why did people come to the Standing Stone, why did people settle here, why do people still live here? It’s all about where we come from and why. Some people came for new adventures, some people came because of coal and timber.”

Welch said the original Standing Stone was much bigger but it was destroyed in 1893 as part of Monterey’s construction.

“The Improved Order of the Red Men which weren’t really Red Men, it was a fraternal organization, took an eight-hundred and twelve pound portion of what was left and had it engraved,” Welch said.

Welch said that section of the stone has sat in its current place near the local library since it was put there in October of 1895.

“The Standing Stone Monument was cemented together with irregular stones and the cement is red to commemorate the blood of all peoples,” Welch said.

Welch said the event includes a ceremony where a wreath and tomahawk are laid down to commemorate peace between people. There will also be craft vendors, kids games, and live music to enjoy. The event begins at 8:00am.

“They’re going to have people portraying for instance General John Thomas Wilder who built the hotel and opened up coal catchers all the way to the eastern tip of Tennessee who lived here,” Welch said. “TJ Whittaker, who was the guy that sold the land to the Cumberland Mountain Coal Company that became Monterey, and other things. They’re going to have a mountain man, they’re going to have even a moonshine still. That was pretty important to the economy back during the day.”