I Found the Original 1790s Boundary Stones That Established DC | Journey With Murphy [22:37]

YouTube ^ | August 3, 2026 | Journey With Murphy

[SunkenCiv]

In 1791, before Washington DC became the capital of the United States, surveyors placed a series of 40 boundary stones to mark the original 100-square-mile District of Columbia. Today, many of those historic markers still survive -- hidden in neighborhoods, parks, and along roads around the capital. 

Join me as I drive around Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC searching for these forgotten pieces of American history and visit several of the original boundary markers placed between 1791 and 1792. These stones witnessed the birth of the nation's capital and are some of the oldest surviving monuments connected to the creation of Washington, DC. 

From George Washington's vision for the capital city to the work of surveyors Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker, these markers tell the story of how America's capital was established. 

I Found the Original 1790s Boundary Stones That Established DC | Journey With Murphy | 22:37 
Journey With Murphy | 11.6K subscribers | 20,345 views | August 3, 2026

 

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Journey With Murphy https://journeywithmurphy.com/

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TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: dc; finderskeepers; godsgravesglyphs

[SunkenCiv]

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YouTube transcript reformatted at textformatter.ai *may* follow.

[SunkenCiv]

I wish I knew what music he's using.

[SunkenCiv]

[crusty old prospector]

It sounds like Metallica. Maybe AC/DC.

[Jane Long]

Bookmark.

[21twelve]

I did some work at an old dump site in Newark - vast area.

They gave me a map, and in faint lines they showed two systems of neighborhood roads. One system was running north-south, and the other system was diagonal.

“Oh - is this a couple of options that they are considering for the development?”

Nope - they were the two different neighborhoods that had been there before! One had burned down in the 1800’s, and the later one was demolished for the airport. It was all just cattails and brush and trees now.

Later on I was reading a book - Henry David Thoreau had been the surveyor for the second neighborhood!

[deks]

Erik Fernholm - Tread Lightly (at the beginning, and the end)

Isobelle Walton - Hand Me a Guitar (at the section breaks)

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!

[SunkenCiv]

😁

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[wbarmy]

Can they please take Alexandria back? Virginia would greatly appreciate it.

[SunkenCiv]

“Thy bed, lie in it one must!”

[SunkenCiv]

Wow!

[j.havenfarm]

I’m a big history fan and am fascinated by the obscure points and relics. I knew about the boundary stones. I didn’t watch this video, but by memory I think more than 30 of the 40 still remain, though many or inaccessible or in very rough shape. When in Washington last year I tracked down and visited two of them, including the best preserved one, in Alexandria. There’s another in one of the rooms just off the main hall at the Capitol Visitors Center. Seriously cool

[nicollo]

Can they please take Alexandria back?

And Arlington.

[nicollo]

There are many marker stones, not just for boundairies. There’s one on the Ellipse, IIRC, and another down the hill from Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima).

[Jim Noble]

Congress was granted authority to establish DC.

They were NOT granted authority to give 1/3 of it back to preserve the slave markets on the Virginia side as abolition in DC was around the corner.

[Theoria]

The Mason–Dixon line markers are another interesting part of history, almost all of them have been found again.

[Sacajaweau]

Pure dirty politics...They should go back to the boundaries established by Congress and to what the Government attended. Some of the stones are caged...people love chunks.

Residents should be allowed to vote in the underlying state noting that the district NEVER become a separate state either in part or in whole.

[KingLudd]

I really enjoyed this video.

He was is in some very rough neighborhoods on the southeast section. Specifically, he was in the WOODS in some very rough neighborhoods!