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Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone

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Coordinates: 38°52′58.6″N 77°9′32.6″W / 38.882944°N 77.159056°W / 38.882944; -77.159056
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Benjamin Banneker: SW 9 Intermediate Boundary Stone
SW9 Boundary Stone (2012)
Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone is located in Northern Virginia
Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone
Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone is located in Virginia
Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone
Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone is located in the United States
Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone
Location18th and Van Buren Sts., Arlington and Falls Church, Virginia
Coordinates38°52′58.6″N 77°9′32.6″W / 38.882944°N 77.159056°W / 38.882944; -77.159056
Built1792
NRHP reference No.76002094
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 11, 1976[1]
Designated NHLMay 11, 1976[2]

Benjamin Banneker: SW 9 Intermediate Boundary Stone, also known as an Intermediate Stone of the District of Columbia, is a surveyors' boundary marker stone. The stone is located on the original boundary of the District of Columbia (see: Boundary markers of the original District of Columbia and History of Washington, D.C.) The stone is now on the boundary of Arlington County, Virginia and the City of Falls Church. It is within the two jurisdiction's Benjamin Banneker Park at 6620 18th Street North, Arlington.[3][4]

The marker stone was named and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976 at the instigation of the Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation. The name of the marker honors Benjamin Banneker, a free African American astronomer who in 1792 assisted in the early part of the survey that established the original boundaries of the District of Columbia.[1][2][5] The stone was the first of the District of Columbia boundary markers to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Description and history

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The Virginia side of the marker

The boundary stone is a sandstone block about 1 foot (0.30 m) square in cross section, extending about 15 inches (38 cm) above ground and probably about 2 feet (0.61 m) below ground.[5] The top is rounded and worn.[5] Standardized inscriptions placed on each side of the stone are only partially visible, due in part to the stone's sinking over time.[3][5]

The words "Jurisdiction of the United States" are inscribed on the northeast side, which faced the federal territory (once the District of Columbia; now Arlington County). The opposite side now facing the City of Falls Church contains the remnant of the word "Virginia". Between those two sides, one side contains the year "1791", while the opposite side contains the remnant of an inscription recording the variation of the compass needle at the stone's location (indicated as "Var.").[6] A brass marker was once mounted top of the stone, placed in early 1900s by the Daughters of the American Revolution; it has since been removed.[5]

Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) was a free African American mathematician and astronomer who assisted Andrew Ellicott during the first three months of the 1792 — 1793 survey of the District of Columbia's original boundaries.[7] The stone is one of 40 markers that once lined the District's boundaries.[3][4] Banneker had left the survey before Ellicott's team laid this and most of the other boundary marker stones.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b (1) "SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone (milestone) of the District of Columbia". NPGallery Digital Asset Management System. National Park Service. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
    (2) "Benjamin Banneker: SW 9 Intermediate Boundary Stone". VIRGINIA - Arlington County. National Register of Historic Places.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 21, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
    (3) "Benjamin Banneker. SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone (United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: Annual Listing of Historic Properties: National Park Service: Notices)" (PDF). Federal Register. 24 (26, Part 2). National Archives: 7612. February 6, 1979. Virginia ... Arlington. BENJAMIN BANNEKER. SW-9 INTERMEDIATE BOUNDARY STONE, 18th and Van Buren Sts., N., (5-11-76) NHL
  2. ^ a b "Banneker (Benjamin) SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone". National Historic Landmarks Program. National Park Service. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "The Banneker Stone (SW #9)". The Boundary Stones Project. Falls Church Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. October 11, 2017. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Benjamin Banneker Park". Department of Parks and Recreation, Arlington County, Virginia. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e Graves, Lynne Gomez, Historical Projects Director, Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation, Washington, D.C. (February 3, 1976). "Benjamin Banneker: SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone (milestone) of the District of Columbia" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior: National Park Service: National Register of Historic Places Inventory––Nomination Form. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) and "Accompanying three photos (undated)". Archived from the original on April 20, 2019.
  6. ^ (1) National Capital Planning Commission (1976). Boundary markers of the Nation's Capital: a proposal for their preservation & protection: a National Capital Planning Commission Bicentennial report. Washington, D.C.: National Capital Planning Commission; For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office. p. 9. OCLC 3772302. Retrieved February 22, 2016. At HathiTrust Digital Library
    (2) "SW9". Boundary Stones of the District of Columbia. boundarystones.org. Archived from the original on October 15, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  7. ^ (1) Bedini, Silvio A. (1999). The Life of Benjamin Banneker: The First African-American Man of Science (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society. ISBN 0-938420-59-3. LCCN 98022848. OCLC 39024784. Retrieved May 31, 2017 – via Internet Archive.
    (2) Bedini, Silvio A. (2008). "Banneker, Benjamin". Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Charles Scribner's Sons. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018 – via Encyclopedia.com.
  8. ^ Boyd, Julian P., ed. (1974). "Locating the Federal District: Editorial Note: Footnote number 119". The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: 24 January–31 March 1791. Vol. 19. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 41–43. ISBN 9780691185255. LCCN 50007486. OCLC 1045069058. Retrieved March 27, 2019 – via Google Books.
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