Georgia Guidestones: Identity of Creator May Finally Be Known

Since its unveiling in 1980 to its destruction in 2022, the mysterious monument known as the Georgia Guidestones has been surrounded by controversy. Conspiracy theories ranging from population control to satanic cults were linked to the granite monument. Adding to the controversy and mystery, the monument's main sponsor remained anonymous throughout its creation—known only by the pseudonym Robert C. Christian, or R.C. Christian. For decades, people have tried to figure out the real identity of this man. It looks like that mystery may have been solved almost a decade ago, although it completely flew under the radar.

Georgia GuidestonesPhoto byBy RMSB-E460 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 (wiki commons)

The northeast corner of Georgia produces some of the finest granite in the world. At the center of this granite production lies the small town of Elberton, known as the granite capitol of the world. To this day, the Elberton granite industry produces around 250,000 markers and monuments yearly.

In 1979, a man known only as Robert C. Christian approached the Elberton Granite Finishing Company with an unusual request. He believed that humanity would soon undergo a catastrophic event. He wanted to commission a granite monument that would survive this calamity. He believed this monument would then serve as a guide to the remnant of humanity that survived the disaster. A secondary monument erected beside the guidestones read, "Let these be guidestones to an Age of Reason."

Elberton MuralPhoto byDarby Carl Sanders, New Georgia Encyclopedia

There was one man in Elberton who knew the real identity of Robert C. Christian. His name was Wyatt Martin, a local banker, who made all the financial arrangements for the monument to be created. Although Wyatt Martin never directly revealed the true identity of Robert C. Christian and vowed that he would take the man's identity to his grave, he may have accidentally broken his own vows when he was interviewed by documentary filmakers.

In 2015, a documentary was released called "Dark Clouds Over Elberton: The True Story of the Georgia Guidestones." Although the film never got a lot of recognition, it contained some striking revelations. While interviewing Wyatt Martin, the film's producer, J. Michael Bennett, and director, Christian J. Pinto, talked the aged Martin into letting them see some of the old letters that were sent directly from the backer of the monument, Robert C. Christian.

As the cameras rolled, two envelopes were captured on film that revealed a postmark and the return address of Robert C. Christian. Wyatt Martin also read a letter in which Christian revealed that he was 78 years old when he wrote the letter that was dated July 14, 1998. Those three clues led to the probable real identity of Robert C. Christian.

The postmark seen on one of the envelopes revealed Fort Dodge, Iowa - meaning that the letter had to be mailed from that city. The address on the other envelope was also in Fort Dodge. For years that address was the residence of a Fort Dodge doctor named Herbert H. Kerston, M.D. There was one more clue that matched. Kerston was born on May 7, 1920, making him 78 years old on July 14, 1998 - matching what the letter sent to Wyatt Martin stated.

Georgia GuidestonesPhoto byQuentin Melson (wiki commons)

There are other clues outside the letters that lead back to Dr. Herbert M. Kerston. In an article published in February 2024, CNN reporter Thomas Lake tracked down a little known book that was written by the mysterious Robert C. Christian about the creation of the Guidestones. The book titled "Common Sense Renewed" was published in 1986.

The CNN reporter revealed passages in the book where R.C. Christian expounded on his beliefs in population control and criticized what he called “subsidies that encourage childbearing by the indigent, the lazy, the irresponsible and the inadequate" in society. The style of writing by the person known as R.C. Christian, along with his support of poulation control, was eerily similar to letters written by Dr. Herbert M. Kerston that were published in the Des Moines Register. The following newspaper clip was part of a letter to the editor by Dr. Kerston published in 1981.

Kersten, Letter to the editorPhoto byThe Des Moines Register Des Moines, Iowa • Sun, Jan 25, 1981

Although the evidence in the documentary "Dark Clouds Over Elberton" is very convincing, there's no one left alive who could verify definitively that R.C. Christian was actually Dr. Herbert H. Kerston. The banker, Wyatt Martin, passed away in 2020, and Dr. Kerston died way back in 2005. If other people were involved in creating the Georgia Guidestones, as R.C. Christian often claimed, we will probably never know exactly who they were.

An unknown assailant detonated a bomb at the base of the Georgia Guidestones, which heavily damaged them in 2022. For safety reasons, authorities chose to demolish the rest of the structure. There is nothing left today of the monument. The bombing happened at a time when new conspiracy theories claimed that the guides were linked to the Covid vaccine and population control. Whoever left the bomb probably thought they were helping the "common man." The sad part is that they directly hurt the good people in the small town of Elberton. The Guidestones were the biggest tourist attraction in the area, attracting 20,000 people a year.

The Documentary, "Dark Clouds Over Elberton: The True Story of the Georgia Guidestones," is available on TubiTV and Youtube.

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