Brandenburg Stone

History of the Brandenburg Stone

1912 - Craig Crecelius found the stone while farming a field in Paradise Bottom in Brandenburg, Meade County, Kentucky near the Ohio River. This is 40 miles west of the Falls of the Ohio. He took the stone around to local fairs for 53 years. It was in this time that it was broken into three pieces.

1965 - Jon Whitfield (a former trustee at Meade County Library) took possession of the stone.

1973 - The stone was put into storage at the Brandenburg Library after some archaeologists examined it and said the marks were natural scratches.

1995 - The stone was moved to the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center in Clarksville, Indiana where it was put into storage.

1998 - New studies were preformed on the stone. Alan Wilson and Bram Blackett, who are professional historians with the Arthurian Research Foundation in Cardiff, Wales, translated the writing from the Welsh language of Coelbren. According to them the stone reads: "Toward strength (to promote unity), divide the land we are spread over, purely (or justly) between offspring in wisdom."

1999 - The Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center decided to put the Brandenburg Stone on display as part of their Myths and Legends exhibit.

2000 - The stone was moved to the Charlestown Library in Charlestown, Indiana and is on display in the Indiana Room. It is on loan from the Meade County Library in Brandenburg, Kentucky.

January 2012 - Stone was returned to Meade County Library.

There have been 55 stones with similar markings on them found in numerous states. More information about the history and legends behind the Brandenburg Stone can be found at the Charlestown Library or on various web sites on the internet.