The boundary stones are the oldest monuments purchased by the U.S. government, with some dating back to 1791.
You might not notice the small, broken, rectangular metal fence at the intersection of South Capitol Street and Southern Avenue Southeast on the Washington, D.C.,-Maryland border.
But Steven Powers, chairman of the National Capital Boundary Stone Commission, said this is actually a pretty big deal.
“The boundary stone is the oldest monument ever purchased by the U.S. government,” Powers said. “It was placed in 1791, 1792.” Residence LawThis allowed George Washington to build a ten mile square piece of land somewhere along the Potomac River.”
The broken metal fence on South Capitol Street was once 40 Boundary Stones in DCThe marker used shows DC’s original 100 square mile boundary before the car was struck.
On April 20, Powers received a call from a friend informing her that the stone, also known as Boundary Stone Southeast No. 7, had been hit by a car.
Powers said that in 2013, the Daughters of the American Revolution built a concrete block earthwork around the stone and added a metal fence for protection.
Powers said when he arrived on the scene, the stone was completely covered in earthwork debris, and the bumper and license plate of the car had also fallen off.
Powers said he took the time to dig up the boundary stone and was surprised to see it was intact. But even more surprised was the reason why.
“The good news is that the fence and the berm and all the trash that’s been put there is just people using it as a trash can and a lot of trash gets dumped there,” Powers said.[That trash] The stones were not damaged at all because the rebar and concrete blocks that were there acted as a buffer.”
He contacted the D.C. Historic Preservation Office about the stone, and just a few days later, representatives from the D.C. Department of Transportation came to retrieve the monument and have had it in their possession ever since.
WTOP has reached out to DDOT for information on when the rocks will be replaced.
When asked what he thinks would have happened if he hadn’t received the call about the car accident in April, Powers replied:
“I think so [the Boundary Stone] It would have sat there for a few weeks until someone brought it to the attention of the right people.”
Sign up here to get the latest news and daily headlines delivered to your inbox.
© 2024 WTOP. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users in the European Economic Area.
