Delving into history. The Northwest No. 2 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia stands as a sentinel of the past. It quietly marks a boundary. This marker is more than just a stone. It represents a pivotal moment in the shaping of a nation’s capital.
Imagine the scene in 1791. Surveyors meticulously placing these markers. They defined the borders of the new District of Columbia. Major Andrew Ellicott led the team. He worked under President George Washington’s appointed commissioners. This Northwest No. 2 Boundary Marker is one of the original 40 milestones. These stones marked the lines between Maryland and Virginia. They formed a square of 100 square miles for the federal territory.
Today only 36 of these original markers survive. They stand as the oldest federally placed monuments in the United States. Thirteen markers reside in Virginia. This is due to the District of Columbia retrocession in 1846.
The District was originally designed as a square. Each side was ten miles long. The Northwest No. 2 Boundary Marker helps define this original boundary. In 2011, modern technology mapped the District’s boundary. This mapping used GPS with high accuracy. The survey found the Northwest boundary stones slightly outside the existing boundary.
These stones can be found in various locations. They are located alongside streets and in public parks. Some are even on personal property.
President Washington proclaimed Jones’s Point as the starting point in 1791. The survey team began their work there. They placed sandstone markers at corners and at one-mile intervals. These markers came from quarries near Aquia Creek in Virginia. Most weighed about half a ton.
The side facing the federal territory had a specific inscription. It read “Jurisdiction of the United States.” It also included the distance from the previous cornerstone. The opposite side bore the name of the border state. The remaining sides showed the year and compass variation.
In 1915, the Daughters of the American Revolution began protecting the markers. They placed fences around them. The Northwest No. 2 Boundary Marker is among those listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It received this designation in 1991.
The Northwest No. 2 Boundary Marker is on North 38th Street. It sits on the boundary of Arlington and Fairfax counties. Major Andrew Ellicott was a skilled surveyor. He also surveyed the boundary between Virginia and Pennsylvania. He measured the Niagara River accurately. He was a mathematics professor at West Point.
Standing before the Northwest No. 2 Boundary Marker, we connect with the past. We remember the surveyors and the visionaries. They shaped the District of Columbia. This stone is a reminder of the careful planning. It also symbolizes the enduring legacy of the nation’s capital.