Photo by Skip Lawrence Members of the Frederick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution were on hand to witness the relocation, including Carol Larkin, left, and Pati Redmond. Purchase this photo

William "Skeet" Fout of Fout Enterprises used a 74-foot-high crane, four heavy-duty cables and straps to lift the 85-year-old Braddock Monument onto a flatbed truck.

The 25-ton limestone monument, which has been on the south side of Old National Pike since it was installed in 1924, was driven slowly over the mountain and lowered onto its new home at the Middletown overlook. The spot is visible and has plenty of parking.

Traffic backed up on both sides of Old National Pike, also known as U.S. 40 Alternate. For several hours, traffic was limited to the shoulder on the north side of the road.

Mike Moser, John Grossnickle and Chris Foulks, who work for William S. Fout Enterprises, dug around the base of the monument with a backhoe Monday afternoon, preparing it for the move.

But the $36,000 move, arranged by the Frederick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, started much earlier.

The Frederick DAR commissioned the monument in 1923 and dedicated it in 1924. It was placed on the south side of what was then the National Road, about halfway up the east side of Braddock Mountain. This area was once a small but attractive rest area. Postcards of the monument from the 1920s show picnic tables next to it.

It's not like that today. In 1951, the State Highway Administration raised the level of the road. The SHA widened it and smoothed out some of the curves. The monument was raised, too, but not to the level of the road. It became an afterthought.

Drivers could pull off the road into a single parking spot, but then had to hop a guardrail and step over weeds to see the monument. Many years ago, the DAR decided the monument needed to be moved.

There were obstacles. The Maryland Historical Trust, the SHA, and other state and local agencies had to support the move. The DAR had to raise the money. The DAR would have to cover all costs, including the cost of closing the road.

Joanne Baum, chairwoman of the DAR's monument committee, began organizing the move 21Ú2 years ago. The work won't end with the move. Baum is still raising money.

The monument is a large piece of limestone, weighing 20 tons, according to DAR records. It sits on a 5-ton concrete pedestal. In the center of it is a bronze plaque. This plaque, sculpted by Edward Berge, shows Gen. Edward Braddock and a young Lt. Col. George Washington in 1755 drinking from the spring near where the monument stood.

The plaque states: "This boulder marks the National Trail over which traveled Gen. Edward Braddock and Lt. Col. George Washington, 1755." Braddock and his men were headed into the frontier to Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburgh, before the beginning of the French and Indian War.

No one knows if they stopped at the spot where the monument was located, said Carol Larkin, a member of the monument committee. "If you figure out how many horses and wagons came through here, they couldn't have all stopped at the same time." They started their journey in Frederick .

Before Braddock's time, the road had been carved out by bison who once roamed this area, and then by Native Americans, said Lorna Hainesworth, of the Maryland National Road Association. Hainesworth watched Tuesday's move from start to finish.

"In Maryland, Alternate 40 is the National Road," she said. "You can tell by the way it winds and twists. U.S. 40, which also goes through Frederick County, came along after 1926 when wider, flatter highways were designed.

"We want people to appreciate the heritage," she said. "We want people to drive the road and appreciate the old bridges, the old inns." And the monuments.

Several members of the Frederick DAR's monument committee spent the day watching the monument be moved. Joining Baum and Larkin were Pati Redmond, Betty Remsburg and Barbara Shealer. All wore hard hats and safety vests as they followed the progress of the move. Other members of the committee who couldn't make it included LaVerne Burall, Frances A. Randall and Teresa Oyler.

Fout gave the DAR discounts for his services. His biggest worry Tuesday was lifting the monument over the telephone wires.

The move went smoothly, however. It took three tries to get the monument in place at the overlook, because the hole was too deep. The monument will remain covered through the end of the week while the base is prepared and a guardrail is put in place.

Rick Williams, the project engineer who also donated much of his time, recalled riding his bike down to the monument when he was a child in Braddock Heights.

Once the monument was in place, Baum looked relieved.

"The ladies are happy now," she told Fout.

"The whole mission of DAR is historic preservation, education and service to veterans, and this monument does all three," she said.