Sep 17, 2018 1 min read

Washington’s thumb

When Washington County Courthouse was completed in 1900, the beautiful dome was topped with a terra cotta statue of George Washington. Besides acting as a perch for thousands of birds, George also was somewhat susceptible to being struck by lightning. He suffered from two lightning strikes in his first year and three more over the next 16 years. Unfortunately, sections of the statue were blown off during the last two hits.

After being patched up several times, it was decided that it was time for George to come down. In 1927, the Washington County commissioners purchased a new bronze statue of George Washington and the days of terra cotta George came to an end. Well, not entirely. The statue was repaired and resided in a lawn on East Maiden Street for a number of years. Terra cotta George’s thumb has also seen new life. Blown off during one lightning strike, the thumb now belongs to the Washington County Historical Society and has become a favorite object to many visitors of the museum.

Clay Kilgore is executive director of Washington County Historical Society.