Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-25
BOULEVARD AROUND
DISTRICT PROPOSED
Suqqested as Memorial Route
to Mark Original Boundary
Surveyed by Washington.
ANCIENT MILESTONES
ARE FAST DISAPPEARING
Plan Contemplates Relocation Of
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of
/ Virginia and Maryland.

Willard F, Bowen Of this city has ad-
dressed a. communication to former
Gov. Claude A. Swanson, now senator
/ from Virginia, proposing the construc-
| ton of a boulevard on the line sur
| rounding the original District Of CO.
/ lumbia, partly at the expense of the
| United States and partly at the ex-
pense Of the states Of Maryland and
Virginia
In his letter to Senator Swanson.
Mr.. Bowen says:
Yesterday / took a lady out to the
District line on the Chevy Chase car
and turned to the left at the circle
southwest on Western avenue to 41st
street, to see one of the forty mile
stones that stands in the field to the
right of the avenue several feet be-
low the level of the avenue; there are
two stone culverts nearby, SO the
boundary stone cannot be missed. 1t
is marked Maryland on the north
west side and 1892 on the northeast
side, and Jurisdiction of the United
States Z on the southeast side facing
the District, and the magnetic varia-
ton is marked on the southwest side
Many Stones Missing.
Very few persons know of the ex-
istence of thirty-nine of the forty
such stones placed along the forty
miles bounding the original District
of Columbia by Washington in 1871
and 1892 Some of them are worn by
the elements till all marks have dis
appeared; some are out of the ground
entirely and are lying nearby and
some are standing at various angles
away from the perpendicular. In the
April number of the National Geo
graphic Magazine for the year 1903
appeared an interesting article writ
ten by Ernest A Shuster. jr., of the
United States geological survey, upon
these mi1estohes. and he also. as la
Dor of love- took photographs of each
of the stones their original locations
as they existed in 1908.
What better work can be done to
preserve ancient landmarks than to
protect and beautify these stones and
their locations? l propose that a bou
levard be constructed on the line sur
rounding the original District of Co
lumbia, partly at the expense of the
United States and partly at the expense
of the states of Maryland and Virginia:
undoubtedly Maryland and Virginia
will join heartily in such a joint plan
and do their share of a work that will
exist IOf ages.
Suitable structures should be built
over and around each stone in the cen
ter of the boulevard and concrete
arch bridge should be thrown across
the Potomac near Little Falls at the
highest level of the banks on either
side to join the Virginia section to
that on the District side. The wester-
ly corner of Alexandria county is four
miles southwest of the proposed bridge
and all of the ten miles of the south
west line of the original District is
on the Virginia side.
The south corner stone is at the
lighthouse on Jones point, south of
Alexandria. so at that point the bou-
levard would be only a few miles from
Mount Vernon and could be extended to
that historic place. 1t would not be
practica BILE to brd dye the Potomac at
Jones' point on account Of navigation.
The north corner stone Is in the direction
of Gettysburg.
''The present surveys of the District of
Columbia show Western avenue on the
northwest line Eastern avenue on the
northeast line. and Southern avenue on
the southeast line. and a little work has
been done on each of those avenues.
What is needed is to extend this work
and to obtain the cooperation of the
states of Maryland and Virginia to dedi-
cate enough land on their sides of the
boundary TO make a wide boulevard n
tersecting every road that leads out of
the District, and to thus make the grand
est forty-mile boulevard in the world.