a contributing property to the Shepherdstown Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The Rumseian Society donated the monument to the corporation of Shepherdstown in 2007. In November 2019, Shepherdstown's Parks and Recreation Committee and its Tree Commission planted a monarch butterfly waystation at the foot of the steps leading to the monument. As of 2022, the corporation of Shepherdstown refers to the monument and park together as "Rumsey Monument Park", which is administered by the corporation's Parks and Recreation Committee. Monument description The James Rumsey Monument consists of a fluted, Ionic column that is made of gray, hammered, Woodstock granite. The column is capped by a polished, granite globe upon which the outlines of all continents are inscribed. The column stands atop a tall, concrete plinth consisting of a plaza. The 1927 West Virginia Blue Book described the monument's column as "a towering shaft". The monument is accessed by a stairway that leads to the bluff, where the monument's concrete plinth is enclosed by an iron railing. The monument's park is surrounded by a stone wall. Two plaques are affixed to the monument; the front plaque bears a text inscription and the rear plaque bears an image approximating Rumsey's steamboat that is approximately the size of a small skiff with a steam engine at the center of the vessel near a rower. Beltzhoover drafted the front plaque's text, which is not historically accurate because Rumsey did not build and test a full-sized steamboat at the 1783 trial at Sir John's Run. The following text inscription appears on the front plaque: IN HONOR OF JAMES RUMSEY INVENTOR OF THE STEAMBOAT Who in October, A. D. 1783, on the Potomac River, near the mouth of Sir John's Run, made the first successful application of steam to the practical purposes of navigation and who on December 3rd, 1787, made a further successful demonstration on the Potomac River at Shepherdstown, Virginia, about three hundreds yards above this site. Erected by The State of West Virginia Under the auspices of The Rumseyan Society A. D. 1915 See also List of West Virginia state parks National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, West Virginia Shepherdstown Historic District References Explanatory notes Citations Bibliography External links 1906 establishments in West Virginia 1916 establishments in West Virginia 1956 establishments in West Virginia 1978 disestablishments in West Virginia Buildings and structures completed in 1916 Buildings