Stephen Powers has been documenting and helping to preserve the boundary markers that established the original 10-mile square of the District of Columbia.
Washington DC, DC – A Virginia man is being praised for his help preserving a piece of American history after a historic monument was damaged following a car accident in Southeast DC.
Stephen Powers says it was Saturday morning, April 20, when he received a call from a friend about a missing marker near the intersection of Southern Avenue SE and South Capitol Street SE.
Powers says when he arrived he could still see debris from the crash, including the vehicle’s bumper and license plate. A concrete wall protecting the monument was completely destroyed and the iron fence surrounding it was damaged. “The stone itself was dug up, it was on its side and I was able to fully uncover it,” Powers told WUSA9.
The amateur historian was able to rescue one of the 36 remaining markers that outline the original 10-mile square that eventually became the District of Columbia.
Powers’ work was recognized by the organization Ward 8 Woods, which tweeted photos of the incident.
We were saddened to learn that marker number 7 was missing on the SE, placed in 1792, one of the 40 (now 37) original federal monuments to mark the boundary of the “Territory of Columbia.” Fortunately, engineer and historian Steven Powers saved the stone from the rubble of a car accident. pic.twitter.com/POfms8oDyG
— District 8 Woods (@ward8woods) May 28, 2024
Originally, 40 stones were laid by the Ellicott brothers between 1791 and 1792.
A park on the border between Arlington and the city of Falls Church is named after one of the brothers, Andrew, and is where WUSA9 met Powers.
“I caught the stone fever,” Powers said as he described his passion project to preserve the nation’s oldest federal monuments. She says it all started with an elementary school project for her daughter almost twenty years ago.
“We made this presentation,” Powers said as he showed off the poster board that became a large folder documenting the cairns and the website dedicated to the monuments.
Powers says that through volunteer work they have been able to preserve 25 of the iron fences that protect the cairns.
He says that fortunately the southeast stone was removed from the ground but was not damaged. It is now in the hands of a unit that preserves the District’s history at the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT).
Powers says the most rewarding part of her work with the DC stones is how it inspires others. “Everyone likes to know where they are and where they come from. So I think the power of the stones comes through that. Where you feel a real connection to the father of our country, like ‘wow, I’m standing in his footprints.’ ‘.’ “This gives you a complete appreciation for the entire region,” he added.
DDOT has not provided a timeline for when the marker could be reinstalled.
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