Imagine surveyors meticulously placing stones. These marked the boundary of a new capital. Here we are at Northwest No. 5 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia. This marker is one of the oldest federally placed monuments in the United States.
The Residence Act of 1790 authorized a new national capital. It would be along the Potomac River. The capital was to be a diamond shape. Each side was ten miles long. This created a 100 square mile area. Land was carved from Maryland and Virginia. President George Washington chose Jones Point as the southern point. He was an accomplished surveyor himself.
Andrew Ellicott led a team to survey the new territory starting in 1791. This team included Benjamin Banneker. Banneker was a famed astronomer. Illness forced Banneker to leave the project. Ellicott’s team completed the survey in 1792. They surveyed the Virginia and Maryland sides of the Potomac River. A stone marked each mile of the “Territory of Columbia.”
Virginia’s land was returned in 1846. This land became Arlington. It also included a part of Alexandria. This nullified many stones on the northwestern and southwestern sides.
The boundary stones defined the territory’s borders. They solidified the permanence of the capital. Weathering and urban development took their toll. In 1906, Fred E. Woodward documented the stones’ conditions. He noted damaged or missing stones. Some were only “stumps”.
Woodward called for the stones’ preservation. He suggested small iron enclosures. These would protect them from further damage.
Preservation efforts followed Woodward’s report. Protective fencing was constructed. Today, 36 of the original 40 boundary stones still exist. Some maintain their original inscriptions. These mark the “Jurisdiction of the United States.” Others are severely eroded. They resemble ordinary stones.
The boundary stones were added to the National Register of Historic Places in the 1990s. Local and federal agencies have worked to rehabilitate them.
Northwest No. 5 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia stands about 600 feet west of Dalecarlia Parkway. It is also 300 feet southeast of a concrete culvert.
These stones have survived for over 200 years. They remain modest monuments. They represent Washington D.C.’s past and present. Each stone was inscribed on the side facing the federal territory. It read “Jurisdiction of the United States”. The distance from the previous corner stone was also inscribed. The opposite side showed the border state, Virginia or Maryland. The year and compass variation were marked on the remaining sides.
The GIS program mapped the District’s boundary in 2011. It used GPS and modern survey technology. The accuracy was plus or minus 5 centimeters horizontally. It was plus or minus 9 centimeters vertically. The survey found the stones slightly off from the current boundary.
These stones are located in various places. They are beside streets and in parks. Some are deep in the woods and on personal property.
The Daughters of the American Revolution placed fences around the markers in 1915. They also placed a marker at the center of the original territory.
So, as you stand before Northwest No. 5 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia, remember its history. Think of the surveyors. Think of the significance it holds. It marks the very foundation of this nation’s capital.