by June 1915, the Rumseian Society contracted with the Forbes Granite Company of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which had previously built the Indiana Monument at the nearby Antietam National Battlefield, to build the monument. Monument construction and initial use Construction commenced on July 7, 1915; contractor William J. Britner prepared the site and carried out preliminary construction work for the concrete platform. By July 22, workers had made considerable progress toward the construction; blasting atop the bluff was nearly completed and construction of the concrete platform and the blue limestone wall surrounding the platform had begun. The Forbes Granite Company selected Woodstock granite for the monument, and contracted with the Guilford and Watersville Granite Company of Baltimore, which operated quarries in Woodstock. At that time, the monument's column was projected to weigh approximately and the granite base projected to weigh between . By August 1915, initial site work was completed and prepared for the arrival of the three railcar-loads of granite for the monument's base and shaft. In October 1915, contractor H. R. Forbes notified the society Norfolk and Western had confirmed the switch leading from the railway to the construction site would be completed that month, allowing for the transport of granite to the site. By January 1916, Forbes had completed the monument's base and pedestal to support the column. The monument's dedication was originally scheduled for July 4, 1916 but this was delayed by changes to the monument's construction plan. The base of the column was originally planned to be fabricated in one piece but Forbes then fabricated it in four pieces in Chambersburg. In February 1916, the company received two pieces of Oregon fir lumber and built an derrick to lift the column into place. On March 21, the granite globe weighing was placed atop the column, completing construction of the monument's columnar section. However, the plinth remained under construction. The brass plaques arrived and were installed in August 1916, and the boundary stone walls and landscaping took slightly longer to complete. Following its completion, the monument hosted history-related events that included exercises hosted by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The monument became a tourist attraction and local retailers, including B. S. Pendleton and Owens' Drug Store, sold Rumsey Monument postcards. In 1931 and 1935, the state's department of agriculture included the monument in illustrated publications highlighting West Virginia's sites of historic and scenic interest. In 1955, residents