Historic D.C. boundary stones still standing after 235 years

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, some of the nation’s oldest landmarks – the District of Columbia boundary stones - are still standing where they were first placed centuries ago.

In 1791, George Washington selected the 100-square-mile tract of land that would become Washington, D.C. Surveyor Andrew Ellicott later marked the area with 40 boundary stones, working alongside freedman astronomer Benjamin Banneker who established their position using the stars.

“The first thing they had to do was set up the boundary, take the land from Virginia and Maryland and then start building the city,” said engineer and boundary stone preservationist Stephen Powers. “One mile apart, all the way around.”

Today, 36 of the original 40 stones are still in the ground.

Speaking to Gray Media’s Washington Bureau, Powers said he first learned about the boundary stones while helping his daughter with a school project. He’s since spent the past two decades leading preservation efforts around the historic sites.

“We started doing one or two at a time and it was very successful,” he said. “Then we started doing six at a time. It ignited everybody.”

A good deal of preservation work has also been completed by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1915, local DAR chapters began adopting boundary stones across the region. The Alexandria-based Dr. Elisha Dick Chapter has cared for the Southwest 8 stone for more than 75 years.

“It was up on a hill, owned by a farmer who didn’t want anybody on his land,” said Katherine McCarron, a member of the Alexandria chapter. “Finally in 1950, he gave the DAR permission to put a fence around this.”

In April, the group rededicated the site with a new fence modeled after the original 1950s design.

“Preserving our past is an act of service to our country and the future,” said Linda Ferrara, regent of the Dr. Elisha Dick Chapter. “When we safeguard these stones we safeguard the story of how the United States chose to mark its identity.”

Like many of the stones, Southwest 8 has witnessed major moments in American history. The site is referenced in George Washington’s journals, and some historians believe poet Julia Ward Howe visited Union troops near the site during the Civil War before later writing ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic.’

In the 1840s, Virginia’s portion of the District of Columbia was ceded back to the state, reshaping the capital’s original diamond-shape marked by the stones. But for preservationists, the remaining markers still serve as a lasting reminder of the nation’s founding.