The San Jacinto Monument is a

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

located on the Houston Ship Channel in unincorporated

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, and was estimated to be 5,009,302 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, most populous cou ...

, about 16 miles due east of downtown

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. The octagonal

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

spire is topped with a , 220-ton Lone Star – the symbol of Texas. The memorial commemorates the site of the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto (), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Deer Park, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General A ...

, the decisive engagement of the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

. Part of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, it was constructed between 1936 and 1939 and dedicated on April 21, 1939. The world's tallest masonry column, it is 12 feet taller than the tall

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...

, the tallest stone monument in the world. Visitors can take an elevator to the monument's observation deck for a view of Houston and the San Jacinto battlefield. The San Jacinto Museum of History is located inside the base of the monument and focuses on the history of the Battle of San Jacinto and Texas culture and heritage. The San Jacinto Battlefield, of which the monument is a part, was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on December 19, 1960, and is therefore also automatically listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It was designated a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1992.

History

In 1856, the Texas Veterans Association began lobbying the state legislature to create a memorial to the men who died during the Texas Revolution. The legislature commemorated the final battle of the revolution in the 1890s, when funds were appropriated to purchase the land where the battle took place. After a careful survey to determine the boundaries of the original battle site, land was purchased for a new state park east of Houston, in 1897. This became San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas began pressuring the legislature to provide an official monument at the site of the Battle of San Jacinto. The chairman of the Texas Centennial Celebrations, Jesse H. Jones, provided an idea for a monument to memorialize all Texans who served during the Texas Revolution. Architect Alfred C. Finn provided the final design, in conjunction with engineer Robert J. Cummins. In March 1936, as part of the Texas Centennial Celebration, ground was broken for the San Jacinto Monument. Construction began on April 21, 1936, the centennial anniversary date of the Battle of San Jacinto. The cornerstone was set one year later on April 21, 1937, and two years later construction ended, also on the anniversary date, April 21, 1939. Jesse H. Jones was in attendance along with the commencement ceremony in 1939 when he and

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

's last surviving son, Andrew Jackson Houston, and others officially dedicated the monument. The project was completed in exactly three years costing $1.5 million. The funds were provided by both the Texas legislature and the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

. From its opening, the monument has been run by the nonprofit association, the San Jacinto Museum of History Association. In 1966, the monument was placed under the control of the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitat (ecology), habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state park, state's parks and historical ar ...

. The Parks Department allows the history association to continue its oversight of the monument. The monument was renovated in 1983. In 1990, the base of the monument was redone to contain the San Jacinto Museum of History and the Jesse H. Jones Theatre for Texas Studies. The exterior of the monument underwent a further renovation in 1995, and the entire structure was renovated from 2004 through 2006.

Description

The San Jacinto monument is an eight-sided tapering spire, square in cross-section with chamfered corners. At the point where the shaft rises from the base, it is square (). The shaft narrows to square () at the observation deck. At the top of the monument is a 220-ton, high star, representing the Lone Star of Texas. A reflecting pool shows the entire shaft. The monument was built by W.S. Bellows Construction and primarily constructed of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

. Its exterior is faced with Texas

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

from a quarry near the Texas State Capitol. It stands tall and is the tallest monument column in the world. It is taller than the next tallest, the

Juche Tower The Juche Tower (more formally, the Tower of the Juche Idea), completed in 1982, is a monument in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, and is named after the ideology of ''Juche'' introduced by the country's first leader, Kim Il Sung. Backgro ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. The base of the monument contains a museum and a 160-seat theater. The base is decorated with eight engraved panels depicting the

history of Texas Native American tribes in Texas, Indigenous people lived in what is now Texas more than 10,000 years ago, as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of prehistoric Leanderthal Lady. In 1519, the arrival of the first Spanish conquistadors in ...

. The bronze doors which allow entry into the museum show the six flags of Texas. As of 2006, approximately 250,000 people visited the monument each year, including 40,000 children on school trips. Aerial View San Jacinto Monument

Inscription

An inscription on The base of the monument tells the story of the birth of Texas:

Gallery

File:USS TexasSan Jacinto Park in Fog.jpg, and the Monument seen at sunrise in late 2007 File:Base of San Jacinto Monument (2001-05).jpg, The base of the monument File:San Jacinto Monument at San Jacinto Battle Field.jpg, The spire seen from the shipping canal File:San Jacinto Battle Ground.jpg, San Jacinto Battle Ground (postcard, c. 1898) File:San Jacinto Monument engraved panel depicting the history of Texas.jpg, Engraved panel depicting the history of Texas on the San Jacinto Monument

Notes

References

External links

{{Commons category, San Jacinto Monument
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Official San Jacinto Monument webpageSan Jacinto Museum of HistoryThe Portal to Texas History: Images of the San Jacinto Monument

American Society of Civil Engineers, Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks: San Jacinto Monument
Monuments and memorials in Texas Obelisks in the United States Texas Revolution Buildings and structures in Harris County, Texas Buildings and structures completed in 1939 Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks National Register of Historic Places in Houston Tourist attractions in Harris County, Texas Art Deco architecture in Texas Art Deco sculptures and memorials Works Progress Administration in Texas Alfred C. Finn buildings 1939 establishments in Texas