Historical Significance:
"The boundary stones are the oldest federal monuments. The Residence Act of July 16, 1790, as amended March 3, 1791, authorized President George Washington to select a 100-square-mile site for the national capital on the Potomac River between Alexandria, Virginia, and Williamsport, Maryland. President Washington selected the southernmost location within these limits, so that the capital would include all of present-day Old Town Alexandria, then one of the four busiest ports in the country. Acting on instructions from Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Major Andrew Ellicott began surveying the ten-mile square on February 12, 1791. In 1915 the District of Columbia Chapters adopted the Boundary Stones, acquired deeds from the property owners to install a footing for the iron protective fences." They had identical fences designed and installed and finally in 1916/1917 dedication ceremonies took place to mark each stone with a plaque with the name of the Chapter who agreed to be its steward. (Wording from www.boundarystones.org) This stone originally was under the stewardship of the National Training School for Boys which closed in the 1960's. The fence of the Ft. Lincoln Cemetery was moved to enclose the stone within their property and Katherine Washington Chapter took over the stewardship at this time. Noted as early as 1897 that it had a crack and in 1949 it was reported that a metal band had been placed around the stone to keep it from splitting apart. Through time the stone sunk into the ground and at some point the crack was filled with cement. In 2011, after a professional assessment, it was determined that the cement had caused more damaged than good and the stone was in fragile condition. In 2012 the preservation work was done to raise the stone, repair the fence, and fix the crack in the stone. Work was completed in late 2012 and the stone is now in excellent condition. Repair and preservation work was paid for by the D.C. DAR and Col. John Washington-Katherine Montgomery Chapter, D.C. DAR. A new dedication plaque will be installed in 2013 once Ft. Lincoln Cemetery has completed the surrounding landscaping and new memorial garden design.