The destruction of Washington in 1814 by the invading British challenged President James Monroe and architect Benjamin Latrobe with the task of rebuilding the government edifices that had been destroyed. As symbols of the aspirations of the republic, these buildings had to be more than functional—they had to be beautiful. The building material they discovered and used to beautify the new Capitol was Potomac marble, which exists in abundance on both sides of the Potomac River, from Leesburg in Loudoun County, Virginia, to Montgomery and Frederick Counties in Maryland. Local historian Paul Kreingold details Latrobe’s and Monroe’s search for the ideal stone and their fight to use it to rebuild the chambers of the House and Senate.
Paul Kreingold is a thirty-seven-year resident of Leesburg, Virginia. He is currently the president of the Banshee Reeks Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists and the conservation director of the Izaak Walton League, Loudoun County Chapter. His interest in geology and history dates back to his college days, but after a long career in computer system design, he has devoted his time in the last five years to research and education. Besides public lectures throughout Loudoun, Montgomery and Frederick Counties, Mr. Kreingold regularly leads “expeditions” to the rediscovered Latrobe Potomac Marble Quarry along the beautiful Potomac River.