Cross of Sigma Chi, (sculpture).

Cross of Sigma Chi, (sculpture).

Sanders, Marthame, designer.

Cross of Sigma Chi, (sculpture).

Installed Sept. 17, 1939.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: Georgia Cherokee white marble and Georgia dark mezzotint marble.

Sculpture: approx. 11 x 7.5 x 10.5 ft. (105 tons).

(On plaque on one face of sculpture:)/(coat of arms)/ERECTED BY THE SIGMA CHI/FRATERNITY IN MEMORY/OF ITS CONSTANTINE CHAPTER/ORGANIZED HEREABOUTS ON/SEPTEMBER 17, 1864, THAT SIGMA CHI/SHOULD NOT PERISH IN THE SOUTH/SEPTEMBER 19, 1935 (On cross-shaped plaque on other face of sculpture:) AS SEEN FROM THE HIGHWAY,THIS/MAGNIFICENT MONUMENT REPRESENTS/THE SHAPE OF THE BADGE OF/MEMBERSHIP OF THE SIGMA CHI/FRATERNITY./(On square-shaped plaque:) IN FULFILLMENT OF A DREAM OF HAMILTON DOUGLAS, JR.,ALPHA PSI '08./GRAND CONSUL OF THE SIGMA CHI FRATERNITY 1933-35. THIS MONUMENT/WAS ERECTED IN 1939 ON LAND GIVEN TO CLAYTON COUNTY BY HARRY G./HASTINGS AND HIS THREE SONS. ALL SIGMA CHIS OF DELTA CHAPTER./GIFTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE FRATERNITY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD/PAID THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION. THE INTRICATELY CARVED CROSS IS OF/WHITE CHEROKEE GEORGIA MARBLE AND THE COMPONENT PARTS OF THE/PEDESTAL ARE OF DARKEST GEORGIA MARBLE MEZZOTINT. FABRICATION/OF THE MONUMENT REQUIRED FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-EIGHT CUBIC/FEET OF MARBLE. THIS IS SAID TO BE THE LARGEST SUCH PROJECT/EVER UNDERTAKEN BY AN AMERICAN COLLEGE FRATERNITY./OVERALL WEIGHT OF MONUMENT, INCLUDING MASSIVE FOUNDATION/ANCHORED DEEP IN THE EARTH, 105 TONS. HEIGHT AT REAR, 11 FEET./DIMENSIONS OF WHITE CROSS 71/2 BY 101/2 FEET./DESIGNER AND BUILDER. MARTHAME SANDERS BETA PSI '25./(three inscribed plaques follow)

A large cross representing the pin worn by members of the Sigma Chi fraternity. There are plaques on some of its faces. The sculpture is mounted upon a foundation.

Emblem -- Cross

Outdoor Sculpture -- Georgia -- Johnsboro

Administered by Clayton County, Parks & Recreation Department, 7994 North McDonough Street, Johnsboro, Georgia 30326

Located 11095 Tara Boulevard, Johnsboro, Georgia

Sculpture was erected by the Sigma Chi Fraternity in memory of its Constantine Chapter, which was organized September 17, 1864, by Harry Dixon, Co D 28th Mississippi Cavalry, and others. Marthame Sanders, Beta PSI '25, was the designer and builder of the sculpture. The sculpture represents the pin worn by members of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and fulfills a dream of Hamilton Douglas, Jr., Alpha PSI '08, who was Grand Consul of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, 1933-1935. Sculpture was erected on land given to Clayton County by Harry G. Hastings and his three sons, all Sigma Chis of Delta Chapter. Worldwide donations from fraternity members paid the cost of construction. Fabrication of the sculpture required five hundred sixty-eight cubic feet of marble and the sculpture is said to be the largest such project undertaken by an American college fraternity.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Georgia, Atlanta survey, 1993.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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