Ellicott's Stone

Ellicott Stone

The south side of the stone. It reads: Dominio De S.M. Carlos IV, Lat. 31, 1799.
Nearest city Bucks, Alabama
Coordinates 30°59′52.11″N 88°01′21.06″W / 30.9978083°N 88.0225167°W / 30.9978083; -88.0225167Coordinates: 30°59′52.11″N 88°01′21.06″W / 30.9978083°N 88.0225167°W / 30.9978083; -88.0225167
Area less than one acre
Built 1799
NRHP Reference # 73000359[1]
Added to NRHP April 11, 1973

Ellicott’s Stone, also known as the Ellicott Stone, is a boundary marker in northern Mobile County, Alabama. It was placed on April 10, 1799 by a joint U.S.-Spanish survey party headed by Andrew Ellicott.[2][3] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 11 April 1973.[1]

It is the only known stone monument set by Ellicott when he surveyed the 31st parallel north latitude, which served as the boundary line between the Mississippi Territory in the United States and Spanish West Florida.[3] The boundary line extended along the 31st parallel from the Mississippi River east to the Chattahoochee River, as set forth in the 1795 Pinckney Treaty, formally known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo.[4][5] Ellicott's Stone is the initial point for all United States Public Land surveys in the southern region of Alabama and Mississippi. It is the point of intersection of what is known today as the St. Stephens meridian and the St. Stephens baseline.[3]

Description

The stone marker, a ferruginous sandstone block about two feet high and eight inches (203 mm) thick, is near the west bank of the Mobile River. On the northern side of the stone is an inscription stating "U.S. Lat. 31, 1799." The inscription on the southern side reads "Dominio De S.M. Carlos IV, Lat. 31, 1799." (Dominion of his majesty King Charles IV, Lat. 31, 1799)[4][5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "American Society of Civil Engineers". "Ellicott's Stone". "History & Heritage of Civil Engineering". Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  3. 1 2 3 "Alabama Surveying History". "Alabama Society of Professional Land Surveyors". Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  4. 1 2 "Historic Markers: Mobile County". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Archived from the original on 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  5. 1 2 "Mobile:Alabama's Tricentennial City". "Alabama Department of Archives and History". Retrieved 2008-03-06.

External links

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