IN HONOR OF JULY 16, 1921

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The Granite Pyramid at Bow, New Hampshire - Its History

An excerpt from "Christian Science After 1910", by Andrew W. Hartsook,
pages 25, 26, 27 and 28:

The Concord Evening Monitor of December 24, 1918, contained an
interesting article regarding the project of a lone Christian
Scientist.

"On the old Mark Baker farm at Bow, New Hampshire, now owned by James
F. Lord, of Boston and near the site of the ancient house in which
Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder of the Christian Science Church, was born
in 1821, has just been completed a unique monument in the
form of a great pyramid-shaped monolith. It is cut from one of the
largest pieces of granite ever quarried and handled. The block, taken
from the quarries of the New England Granite Works at North Concord,
weighed in the rough over one hundred tons and was over eleven feet
square. This block was first moved about seventy-five feet from where
it was quarried, to a convenient place for rough cutting, where thirty
or forty tons of surplus stone were removed, and the work was then
started of shaping it true to the exact dimensions. When placed upon
its concrete foundation of the bow plateau overlooking the Merrimack
valley, it will measure seven feet, nine and one-eighths inches
(7'91/8") in height, including its granite base, the actual dimensions
of the pyramid are: base, 10' 10-9/16" square; height, 6' 11-1/8"
angle 51 degrees, 51 minutes, 14.3 seconds. It is placed in exact
orientation.

"Upon each of the four sides will be a tablet made of Benedict
nickel which is the only bronze alloy known which will not corrode or
tarnish with the weather. These tablets are very beautifully executed
after a classical design and are as follows: On the south side:

MARY BAKER EDDY
Discoverer of Christian Science
The Baker Homestead
"Around the memory thereof clusters
the golden days of my childhood."
Mary Baker Eddy

"This quotation is reproduced in facsimile from a letter in regard
to her girlhood, written by Mrs. Eddy to relatives.
"On the eastern side is the following quotation, it being the
sixteenth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the prophecy of
Isaiah:

Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a
foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Isaiah

"On the north side is the following from Mrs. Eddy's writing: "No and
Yes", page 38:

This Truth is the rock which the builders rejected; but "the same
is become the head of the corner." This is the chief corner-stone,
the basis and support of creation, the interpreter of one God, the
infinity and unity of good.
Mary Baker Eddy

"On the west, the tablet bears the following:

Novus Ordo Seclorum

"This fourth tablet containing the Latin motto, "Novos Ordo
Seclorum" meaning "the New Order of the Ages," is an intentionally
altered quotation from Virgil's rendition of the Sibylline books in a
connection with the prophecy of the return of the virgin. it is the
same motto which appears on the reverse side of the Great Seal of the
United States beneath the representation of the Great Pyramid with its
cap stone including the symbolic all-seeing eye suspended "in glory"
above it.

"It is said that the form of a pyramid was chosen for the
monument as being considered eminently appropriate as a symbol of
Science. The angles of this monument are identical with those of the
Great Pyramid of Egypt. In fact, this great granite monolith
constitutes a perfect cap stone for that marvelous architectural
triumph of antiquity to which Mrs. Eddy herself refers in her writings
as the "miracle in stone," and is one-seventh the size if the
original.

"It is said by Christian Scientists that the essence of Mrs.
Eddy's discovery is that Principle is God and that therefore
Christianity correctly understood must be demonstrable as Science.
However, they admit that as yet its Science is but faintly discerned
and that few of Mrs. Eddy's adherents, have as she herself has
pointed out, grasped the deeper significance of her discovery in this
relation to the larger problems of existence.

"The pyramid at Bow, like the Great Pyramid of Egypt, constitutes
in its exact dimension, a perfect demonstration in matter of the
problem of the quadrature of the circle, a problem which has been
uppermost in the thought of the mathematicians since the days of
Archimedes. The Astronomer royal of Scotland, Professor Piazzi Smyth,
has been the foremost writer on the subject. His Book, "Our
Inheritance in the Great Pyramid," based upon his discoveries in 1866,
has gone through several editions. This search for the solution of
the problem of "squaring the circle" has resulted in the admission by
all mathematicians that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to
its diameter is incommensurable -- the mathematical symbol of
infinity...

"In its demonstration of the squaring of the circle, the pyramid
is said to symbolize the momentous fact that the spiritual and that
which has been called the temporal are one when the illusion of the
senses is swept away and God's eternal completeness is revealed.
"The monument was taken from North Concord to Bow Junction on a
railroad car although its size and dimensions exceeded the capacity of
an ordinary car. From there special equipment was perfected to convey
it to Bow Hill. A hoisting engine mounted upon heavy wagon was
anchored in the road and with 200 feet and gradually the load was
taken to its destination. Bridges over which it passed were specially
strengthened to bear the unusual burden. It required about three
weeks to transport it from the railroad siding to its foundation, a
distance of about two miles. Elbert S. Barlow of Boston, who also
erected the Memorial to Mrs. Eddy in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge,
was the general contractor for this work."

A dedication ceremony was planned for July 16, 1921, -- the one
hundreth anniversary of Mrs. Eddy's birth. "On July 7, 1921, the
Board of Directors issued a letter "To All Christian Scientists"
cautioning them to "beware of personal propaganda attached to that
date (July 16, 1921)" saying "We should not centre our thoughts on
pyramids or on personal history...or that her life began at a certain
spot on earth or at a certain point in time.'"30

The City of Concord held an impressive ceremony with Scripture
reading and an oration by ex-Governor McCall, the "Concord Evening
Patriot" of July 16th featured the headline, "Centenary Exercises of
the Birth of Mary Baker Eddy." A wire was sent from The Mother Church
in Boston requesting a "corrective" statement which referred to the
ceremony as "mistaken zeal."

However, the cornerstones of First Church, Concord, and the
Extension were laid on July 16,1903, and July 16,1904, respectively.
In addition, Mrs. Eddy's dedicatory address at the Concord church was
delivered on July 17, 1904. All the dates of these earlier events
had been chosen by Mrs. Eddy.

Mr. Lord gave the property with the capstone to The Mother Church
on May 18, 1927, according to the June 11, 1927 Sentinel. The
monument was never included in the list of historic sites routinely
listed in the Journal.

It is also apparently during the years 1917 and 1918, that Mrs.
Eddy's beloved Pleasant View was torn down. Accounts of this event
have been difficult to track down. However, the evidence
from the time clearly showed that Mrs. Eddy considered her home to be
Pleasant View with its symbolic pond, the beautifully kept grounds,
and her birthplace visible across the hills. She referred to the
house at Chestnut Hill as "splendid misery." If an historic site was
to be maintained for posterity, it is not clear why the Board of
Directors chose Chestnut Hill rather than Pleasant View."


Excerpt from Andrew W. Hartsook's book, "Christian Science After
1910", which presently may be obtained at,
http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Science-after-Andrew-Hartsook/dp/0930227255
or http://tinyurl.com/7tacq85