Being a native of the area, I have taken for granted being so close to many historical places. Virginia’s history as part of the United States is as long as any other state. This is due to its early settlement by European explorers. With so many of the early leaders and architects of our system of government, it has always played a key role in shaping our nation.
One famous Virginian, George Washington, decided that part of Virginia should be part of the capital city. Since it is close to the middle of the original 13 states, it would donate part of its land with Maryland to make the nation’s capital city. He surveyed a perfect diamond shape for the city on a map creating Washington, DC. Today, the land under that diamond south of the Potomac River is now Arlington County, VA. This is why the District is no longer a perfect square shape. The whole story of which was recently documented in the History Channel program, “How The States Got Their Shapes“.
Federal Markers
In order to mark the 10-mile boundary of the original square shape for Washington, DC, Andrew Ellicott was tasked by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, to place boundary stones marking the border of the city. Since moving closer to the city last year, I found out that we live very close to the stones in the Virginia side in Falls Church. We took out the smartphone to find the markers on the map, and found 2 – the West Cornertone and SW 9 stone. Both are very accessible and fenced off making them very easy to spot and view. This was a very satisfying find! I’ll be on the lookout for others.
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