• What to know if you go

William Schemmel (ENLARGE)

In 1979, a mystery man with a pseudonym commissioned the construction of the six granite slabs known as the Georgia Guidestones in Elbert County.

(ENLARGE)

A statute of a Confederate soldier, commissioned in 1898 for Elberton's Public Square, was unveiled to jeers. Wiseacres called him 'a cross between a Pennsylvania Dutchman and a hippopotamus' and nicknamed him 'Dutchy.'

Elberton — Driving on rural Ga. 77 in northeast Georgia, you seem to time-travel across the sea to ancient Britain. What appears to be a scaled-down clone of Stonehenge rises above a hilltop.

Elbert County stonemasons, not druidic priests, fashioned this circular array of six granite slabs, but its origins are almost as intriguing.

In 1979, a mysterious stranger calling himself "Mr. Christian" commissioned the curiosity on the edge of a cow pasture 7.2 miles north of Elberton.

He reportedly told the president of an Elberton granite finishing plant that what he called the Georgia Guidestones would be "for the conservation of the world and to herald a new age of reason."

As they talked, he admitted his name really wasn't Christian, but he was a Christian and a patriot, who represented a group outside of Georgia with similar beliefs. Only the Elberton banker who handled Mr. Christian's substantial deposit ever knew his true identity. He took the secret to his grave, and no one has ever identified Christian or his associates.

Denounced by minister

Quarrying, cutting, etching the stones and putting them in place took nearly a year. Fewer than 100 people showed up for the dedication in March of 1980.

A minister denounced the site as a potential shrine for devil worshippers. Perhaps to calm his fears, a self-proclaimed witch twice drew pentagrams around each stone, once to drive away negative forces, the second to invoke positive forces.

Like the 4,000-year-old original on England's Salisbury Plain, the Guidestones are astronomically aligned. The central upright stone (16 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 20,957 pounds) is surrounded by four slabs of the same height, weighing 42,437 pounds each and radiating from the center like wagon-wheel spokes.

A capstone measures 9 feet, 8 inches long). At 19 feet, the monument is 3 inches taller than Stonehenge. Slots drilled in the center stone allow visitors to track summer and winter solstices and other celestial events.

Rules for 'Age of Reason'

On the four upright slabs, "Guides to an Age of Reason" are etched in 4,000 4-inch letters, in English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Hebrew, Hindi, Chinese and Swahili. They read like New Age 10 Commandments. A sampling:

• Maintain humanity under 500 million in perpetual harmony with nature.

• Guide reproduction wisely, improving fitness and diversity.

• Unite humanity, with a living new language.

• Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.

Those who speak the eight living languages may ponder the John Lennon-ish maxims, but only a scholar of dead languages can translate the admonition etched in the capstone: "Let these be Guidestones to an Age of Reason" is written in Egyptian hieroglyphics, Sanskrit, Babylonian cuneiform and classical Greek.

Unlike the Guidestones, most of the millions of tons of blue-gray stone extracted from Elbert County's more than 40 quarries — "The Granite Capital of the World" — have a more down-to-earth mission. Polished and shaped in 150 finishing plants, most granite is shipped as tombstones and building materials to all 50 states and several foreign countries.

Dishonor in the square

Now a billion-dollar industry, Elbert County granite had a bizarre birth. In 1898, the first finishing plant was built for the sole purpose of creating a Confederate soldier for Elberton's public square. The 7-foot-tall Johnny Reb, on a 15-foot pedestal, was unveiled to jeers.

With his round face, squat legs and a uniform that looked suspiciously Union, wiseacres said he was "a cross between a Pennsylvania Dutchman and a hippopotamus" and derisively dubbed him "Dutchy." Resentment grew and in 1900, he was pulled down from his perch, "lynched," and buried face down, a military sign of disgrace.

The Elberton Star gleefully reported:

"Dutchy is no more. The man with the stony glare took a tumble Monday night and now is lying in the middle of the square with two broken limbs. Dutchy had been feeling badly for some time ... he had a bad case of gout, judging from the size of his feet and legs, and he was compelled to wear a heavy United States army overcoat, like Confederate soldiers didn't wear during the Civil War, and the hot weather got next to him."

He was buried in the square, where a more pleasing Confederate trooper took his place.

Forgotten for eight decades, Dutchy was exhumed in 1982, run through a carwash and pressure-washed, and in recognition of his pioneering status, given a place of honor in the Elberton Granite Museum & Exhibit. All those decades in Georgia red clay did not diminish his fine features.

IF YOU GO

Getting there

Elberton is about 100 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Take I-85 to Lavonia (Exit 173) and head south 35 miles on Ga. 17.

Nearby attractions

The Elberton Granite Museum & Exhibit, on College Avenue, a half-mile west of downtown Elberton, is open 2-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 706-283-2551, www.egaonline.com. Free. You can see Dutchy, a model of the Guidestones and a film and exhibits about the granite industry.

Georgia Guidestones is on Ga. 77, 7.2 miles north of Elberton. You can walk right up to it and have a picnic on the grounds. No one keeps count of visitors each year, but about 3,000 people visit the museum annually.

The Ty Cobb Museum — at 461 College St. in nearby Royston, behind Cobb Memorial Hospital — is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. $5 adults; $4 seniors; $3 students. 706-245-1825, www.tycobbmuseum.org.

Two nearby state parks, Bobby Brown and Richard B. Russell, have fishing, boating, camping and cabins. Victoria Bryant State Park, near Royston, has an 18-hole golf course and campsites. 1-800-864-7275 www.georgiastateparks.org.