EAGLE COUNTY — Having a place designated as a national monument isn’t necessarily as permanent as it sounds.
Mount of the Holy Cross in Eagle County is a historic case in point.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order for a review of two dozen national monuments. While the scope of his proposed review was hailed as unprecedented, national monuments have been decommissioned in the past. For Mount of the Holy Cross, national monument status was brief — it only lasted for 17 years.
Mount of the Holy Cross was declared a national monument in 1933, but the site’s fame stretched back decades. According to a 2010 , the mountain’s remote location generally kept it hidden from view.
“The mountain with the great white cross remained the stuff of rumor until after the Civil War,” notes Janiskee.
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