Starting in 1791, the US government placed 40 stones that delineated the District’s original boundaries, encompassing DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Today people travel from near and far to visit the area’s most popular historic sites, but many are unaware that these modest stones, of which 36 are still in place, are arguably America’s first federal monuments—and DC’s oldest landmarks.
This month, DC History Center and historian and author Briana Thomas are partnering with the Washington Wizards to produce a three-part video series that brings the little-known history of the Boundary Stones to life for residents and visitors to learn more about the significance of the monuments.
The video series release accompanies the debut of the Wizards City Edition uniform on November 10, when the basketball team plays its first home In-Season Tournament game. Also, on December 15, the team will unveil a City Edition Boundary Stone-inspired court which will be used concurrently with the team’s City Edition jersey on non-in-season tournament games. The new jerseys and thematic court pay homage to the original mapping of the District of Columbia.
In 1790, the Residence Act enabled President George Washington to choose a new home for the nation’s capital. Washington, a trained surveyor, decided to move the seat of the federal government from Philadelphia to the District along the Potomac River below the port of Georgetown. The designated area for the capital was a total of 100 square miles formed from land ceded by neighboring states Maryland and Virginia. Now that new lands had been obtained by the federal government, a design for the city had to be strategically mapped out.
So Washington hired French engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant, Commissioner Andrew Ellicott from Baltimore, self-taught Black scientist, astronomer, and mathematician Benjamin Banneker, and a few other surveyors to begin marking the layout for the nation’s capital. Between 1791 and 1792 40 Boundary Stones were placed along the diamond-shaped boundary lines to birth a new District spanning 10 miles across each quadrant.
Out of the original 40 stones there are 36 surviving that can now be spotted in front and backyards, neighborhood parks, church parking lots, apartment complexes, busy streets, in forests, near cemeteries, and bridges.
We hope this series will encourage viewers to explore the area’s foundational history and embrace the regional lines that connect us all. These stones are the roots of our community, serving as a visible connection to how we uniquely identify ourselves as the DMV. It will be available on Youtube, Monumental Sports Network, and social media.
About Briana A. Thomas
Briana A. Thomas is a Washington, D.C.-based historian, journalist, and tour guide who specializes in the research of D.C. history and culture. Briana is the author of the local history book, Black Broadway in Washington, D.C. Briana is the Arts and Culture Writer for Washingtonian Magazine, and a frequent contributor to Smithsonian Magazine. She has also been published in the historic Afro-American