Silhouettes of the Sky

The earliest record of a weather vane dates back to the first century, B.C. It was a bronze sculpture built by Andronicus of Athens, Greece. Mounted at the top of the Tower of the Winds, it was of the shape of Triton, ruler of the sea.

In the 9th century, A.D. Pope Nicholas decreed that the cock, or rooster, be used as a weather vane on church domes or steeples symbolizing the prophecy of disciple Peter denying Jesus three times before the rooster crows the morning of the Last Supper. This decree was the source of the nickname of weathercocks; which also refer to weather vanes.

Weather vanes became an American tradition in Colonial times. Thomas Jefferson had a weather vane at his Monticello house that was designed to attach to a compass that extended to the ceiling in a room inside his house.

George Washington recorded weather observations using his dove of peace weathervane mounted atop the cupola structure of his Mount Vernon mansion. The ordering of the weather vane design is recorded by George Washington and states: “should like to have a bird…with an olive branch in its Mouth. The bird need not be large (for I do not expect that it will traverse with the wind and therefore may receive the real shape of a bird, with spread wings).” cite: MountVernon.org

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