PHOTOS: On the road with the "Who Blew Up the Guidestones?" podcast

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The Georgia Guidestones, six massive granite slabs inscribed with 10 “commandments” for society, stood in Elberton for 42 years until their explosive demise in 2022. Journalist Tyler McBrien and the AJC team traveled to the small town in North Georgia to investigate "Who Blew Up the Guidestones?" Here are some of the sights and people they encountered on their journey.

Thousands of people would turn on to Guidestones Road in Elberton every year to visit the Georgia Guidestones. But if you were to visit this place today, you'd be standing in an empty field. In 2022, someone blew them up. The AJC podcast "Who Blew Up the Guidestones?" explores the answer to that question and encounters some interesting people and places along the journey. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC)

Elberton, home of the Georgia Guidestones, calls itself the Granite Capital of the World. The town sits on a 6-million-ton granite deposit and about two-thirds of all monuments and memorials manufactured in the U.S. every year come from here. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC)

Hudson Cole is as close to an oral historian of Elberton as you can get. He worked at the Elberton Granite Association for 33 years. He's been living in Elberton for more than 50 years, and he was there when the Guidestones were built. (Kira Boden-Gologorsky/AJC)

A miniature of the Georgia Guidestones sits inside the Elberton Granite Museum. The guidestones were unveiled in March 1980 and drew speculation from the onset. Some people were convinced the structure was built by aliens. For some evangelical Christians, it was the blasphemous creation of an evil Satanic cabal. And for New World Order conspiracy believers, the Guidestones were clearly the dark hand of the deep state at work. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC).

Wayne Mullenix, who owned the land where the Guidestones were placed, is interviewed by podcast and video producers. He deeded the land to the county while the Guidestones were erected and has since retained the land and sold it to another Elbertonian. (Kira Boden-Gologorsky/AJC)

The Elbert County Library has one of the few remaining printed copies of R.C. Christian's "Common Sense Renewed." The book details the Guidestones patron's view of society. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC)

The Elberton Star, the town's local newspaper. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC)

The Elberton Star's special edition covering the explosion of the Georgia Guidestones. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC)

The production team for the podcast sets up inside the Elberton Granite Museum. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC)

Elberton Granite Museum houses the history of the granite industry in Elberton. It also has some surprises. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC)

While touring the Elberton Granite Museum, journalist Tyler McBrien was distracted and saw something near the back of the museum -- stone feet poking out of the doorway. That led to "Dutchy," the infamous Confederate statue that was taken down shortly after its debut for looking too much like a Union soldier. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC)

Chris Kubas, executive vice president of the Elberton Granite Association, explains how Dutchy was toppled by upset citizens in 1900 and left on the ground. People in town then put him in a hole, face down, until he was unearth 80 years later. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC)

While the Guidestones were mysterious and ominous, Howard Finster's Paradise Garden Art and Learning Center isn't hiding anything. A side trip during the Guidestones investigation showed the artist's enclave in Summerville to be welcoming, magical. (Kira Boden-Gologorsky/AJC)

Howard Finster's World's Folk Art Church is at the heart of the garden. It was closed for 25 years but reopened in June after a multi-year restoration. (Kira Boden-Gologorsky/AJC)

Eddy Willingham, the contractor responsible for the renovation of Howard Finster's World's Folk Art Church, as he interviews with the podcast team. (Kira Boden-Gologorsky/AJC)

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Thousands of people would turn on to Guidestones Road in Elberton every year to visit the Georgia Guidestones. But if you were to visit this place today, you'd be standing in an empty field. In 2022, someone blew them up. The AJC podcast "Who Blew Up the Guidestones?" explores the answer to that question and encounters some interesting people and places along the journey. (Tyler McBrien for the AJC)

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