The Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia are the 40 milestones that mark the four lines forming the boundaries between the states of Maryland and Virginia and the square of 100 square miles (259 km²) of federal territory that became the District of Columbia in 1801. A survey team led by Major Andrew Ellicott placed these markers in 1791 and 1792; among Ellicott's assistants was astronomer and surveyor Benjamin Banneker. Today, 36 of the original marker stones survive as the oldest federally placed monuments in the United States. Due to the return of the portion of the District south and west of the Potomac River to Virginia in 1846, some of these markers are now within Virginia.
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The District of Columbia was originally specified to be a square 100 square miles (260 km2) in area, with the axes between the corners of the square running north-south and east-west, and having its southern corner at the southern tip of Jones Point in Alexandria, Virginia, at the confluence of the Potomac River and Hunting Creek (later the site of the Jones Point Lighthouse).[1] The sides of the square are each 10 miles (16 km) long. The specified orientation results in a diamond shape for the District's original boundaries on most maps.
The north-south axis of the District's current boundaries extends between present 17th and 18th Streets, N.W., continuing south across the National Mall to the far shore of the Potomac River; the east-west axis is between present Constitution Avenue and C Street, N.E. and N.W. [2] Note that these axes are not the lines used to define the four geographical quadrants of the District (N.E., N.W., S.E., and S.W.), commonly appended to Washington street addresses, which are delimited generally by North Capitol Street, East Capitol Street, South Capitol Street, and the National Mall. The center of the square is west of the Ellipse and north of the Mall, within the grounds of the headquarters of the Organization of American States.[3]
The survey team began at the square's south corner on the shoreline of Jones Point in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1791.[1] The team then cleared a corridor along the boundary route to facilitate surveying, starting at the south corner and continuing clockwise, placing sandstone boundary markers at the four corners and at intervals of approximately one mile. These markers were quarried near Aquia Creek in Virginia. Most weighed about a half-ton at their emplacement; the four cornerstones were slightly larger. The Virginia stones were set in 1791, and the Maryland ones in 1792. The location of the four cornerstones and the other markers is identified on the map in "Boundary Stones of the District of Columbia".[4]
The side of a boundary marker that faced the federal territory was inscribed "Jurisdiction of the United States". The opposite side was marked with the name of the border state: Virginia or Maryland. The remaining sides were marked with the year that the team placed the stones and with the marker's compass reading.
In the early 1900s, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) placed fences around the markers.
One Virginia boundary marker was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and another in 1980. In 1991 (for Virginia markers) and 1996 (for markers on the D.C./Maryland boundary), most of the markers not previously so designated were entered on this Register as parts of Multiple Property Submissions (or MPS) for Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia.[5][6]
Southwest 9. This boundary marker in Virginia was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and further was named a U.S. National Historic Landmark, in 1976 at the instigation of the Black Bicentennial Corporation, which gave the stone its name: Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone.[7][8][9]
South Corner. This boundary marker in Virginia was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, together with Alexandria's Jones Point Lighthouse.[10][11]
Southwest 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8; West Corner; Northwest 1, 2, and 3. These boundary markers in Virginia were added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 1, 1991.[12][13][14][15]
Northwest 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9; North Corner; Northeast 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9; East Corner; Southeast 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9. These boundary markers, located along the border between the District of Columbia and Maryland, were added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 1, 1996.[16]
Four of the forty original boundary markers were not in or near their original locations in 2006. Three of these had been replaced with substitute markers.[17]
The original marker disappeared before 1900. A marker stone now within a DAR fence near the street curb at 7 Russell Road north of King Street in Alexandria is a replacement. DAR records show that the replacement marker was placed at that location in 1920. The replacement marker lacks an inscription and does not resemble an original boundary marker.[18]
A photograph taken in the early 1900s shows a ceremony that members of the DAR conducted when they placed a fence around this marker stone, which was then in a field.[19] The stone was bulldozed and removed in September 1952 during the construction of a storefront at 7847 Eastern Avenue, northwest of the avenue's intersection with Georgia Avenue. A bronze plaque in the sidewalk in front of a shop at the site marks the stone's former location.[20]
This marker was located in 1976 along Southern Avenue a few feet southeast of the avenue's intersection with Naylor Road.[19] The stone subsequently disappeared but was recovered by volunteers from the Maryland Society of Surveyors while working on a resurvey of the D.C. line. David R. Doyle of Silver Spring, Maryland, placed the marker in his garage in 1991.[21]
This marker disappeared during construction in 1958. A replacement marker stone that lacks an inscription is located in the southeast corner of the Blue Plains Impoundment Lot on the Maryland side of the impoundment lot's fence. The replacement stone is nearly eight feet below ground level. A concrete pipe embedded in a mound of gravel marks the replacement stone's site. The top of the replacement stone could be seen through the interior of the pipe in 2006.[22]
The 36 extant and four missing boundary stones are tabulated in sequence below, beginning at the southern corner and proceeding clockwise, in the same order as the stones were placed. The year of designation on the National Register of Historic Places is also included for each stone.
| Name | Also known as | Address | City/County | Status | Designation |
| District of Columbia South Cornerstone | South Cornerstone of the Original District of Columbia | Seawall south of lighthouse, Jones Point Park, 1 Jones Point Drive, Alexandria | City of Alexandria, Virginia; Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1980 |
| Name | Also known as | Address | City/County | Status | Designation |
| Southwest No. 1 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 1220 Wilkes Street | City of Alexandria, Virginia | Extant | 1991 | |
| Southwest No. 2 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | East side of Russell Road, north of junction with King Street | City of Alexandria, Virginia | Missing | 1991 | |
| Southwest No. 3 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 2952 King Street | City of Alexandria, Virginia | Extant | 1991 | |
| Southwest No. 4 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | King Street north of junction with Wakefield Street | City of Alexandria and Arlington County, Virginia | Extant | 1991 | |
| Southwest No. 5 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | Northeast of junction of King Street and Walter Reed Drive | Arlington County, Virginia | Extant | 1991 | |
| Southwest No. 6 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | South Jefferson Street south of junction with Columbia Pike, in median strip | Arlington and Fairfax counties, Virginia | Extant | 1991 | |
| Southwest No. 7 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | Behind 3101 South Manchester Street, in fence southwest of Carlin Springs Elementary School (5995 5th Road South) parking lot | Arlington and Fairfax counties, Virginia | Extant | 1991 | |
| Southwest No. 8 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | South of junction of Wilson Boulevard and John Marshall Drive, behind apartment building | Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, Virginia | Extant | 1991 | |
| Southwest No. 9 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone | West side of Benjamin Banneker Park, 1701 North Van Buren Street, between 18th Street North and Four Mile Run | Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, Virginia | Extant | 1976 |
| Name | Also known as | Address | City/County | Status | Designation |
| West Cornerstone | West Jurisdiction Stone | In Andrew Ellicott Park at the West Cornerstone, 2824 North Arizona Street, Arlington, Virginia | Arlington County, City of Falls Church, and Fairfax County, Virginia | Extant | 1991 |
| Name | Also known as | Address | City/County | Status | Designation |
| Northwest No. 1 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 3607 Powhatan Street | Arlington and Fairfax counties, Virginia | Extant | 1991 | |
| Northwest No. 2 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 5145 North 38th Street | Arlington and Fairfax counties, Virginia | Extant | 1991 | |
| Northwest No. 3 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 4013 North Tazewell Street | Arlington and Fairfax counties, Virginia | Extant | 1991 | |
| Northwest No. 4 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 5906 Dalecarlia Place, Northwest | Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northwest No. 5 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | Dalecarlia Reservoir, 600 feet (180 m) west of Dalecarlia Parkway and 300 feet (91 m) southeast of concrete culvert | Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northwest No. 6 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 150 feet (46 m) northeast of junction of Park and Western Avenues, Northwest | Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northwest No. 7 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 5600 Western Avenue | Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northwest No. 8 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 6422 Western Avenue | Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northwest No. 9 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | Rock Creek Park, approximately 165 feet (50 m) Northwest of the centerline of Daniel Road and 5 feet (1.5 m) southeast from edge of 2701 Daniel Road | Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 |
| Name | Also known as | Address | City/County | Status | Designation |
| North Corner Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 1880 block of East-West Highway (south side) | Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 |
| Name | Also known as | Address | City/County | Status | Designation |
| Northeast No. 1 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland | Missing | |||
| Northeast No. 2 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 6980 Maple Street, Northwest | Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northeast No. 3 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 144 feet (44 m) northwest of junction of Eastern Avenue and Chillum Road | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northeast No. 4 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 5400 Sargent Road | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northeast No. 5 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 4609 Eastern Avenue | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northeast No. 6 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 3601 Eastern Avenue | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northeast No. 7 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | Fort Lincoln Cemetery | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northeast No. 8 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, northwest of junction of Eastern and Kenilworth Avenues | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Northeast No. 9 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 919 Eastern Avenue | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 |
| Name | Also known as | Address | City/County | Status | Designation |
| East Corner Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 100 feet (30 m) east of junction of Eastern and Southern Avenues | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 |
| Name | Also known as | Address | City/County | Status | Designation |
| Southeast No. 1 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 30 feet (9.1 m) south of junction of Southern Avenue and D Street | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Southeast No. 2 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 4245 Southern Avenue | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Southeast No. 3 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 3908 Southern Avenue | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Southeast No. 4 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Missing | |||
| Southeast No. 5 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 280 feet (85 m) northeast of junction of Southern Avenue and Valley Terrace | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Southeast No. 6 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 901 Southern Avenue | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Southeast No. 7 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 25 feet (7.6 m) northeast of junction of Southern Avenue and Indian Head Road | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 | |
| Southeast No. 8 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Missing | |||
| Southeast No. 9 Boundary Marker of the Original District of Columbia | 0.225 miles (0.362 km) southwest of the southern end of Oxon Cove Bridge and about 120 feet (37 m) east of the Potomac River, at the base of a hill[23][24] | Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland | Extant | 1996 |
Additional stones, erected later along major roads, mark the boundary lines that separate the District of Columbia and Maryland.
One marker stands in a traffic circle near Silver Spring at the junction of Eastern Avenue NW, 16th Street NW, N. Portal Road NW and Colesville Road.[25] This marker is between the North Corner boundary marker and the former site of the Northeast No. 1 boundary marker of the original District of Columbia.
Three sets of stones and a another single stone are known collectively as the Garden Club of America Entrance Markers.[26] They are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places.