160 M. Baker—Surveys and Maps, District of Columbia. 
When in 1791-92 Ellicott laid off the streets, avenues, reser- 
vations (or appropriations, as they were then called), he began 
by drawing “a true meridional line by celestial observation, 
which passes through the area intended for the Congress house ; 
this line he crossed by another due east and west, which passes 
through the same area. These lines were accurately measured 
and made the bases on which the whole plan was executed.” 
This line of Ellicott’s is probably, perhaps surely, the first 
meridian laid down on the ground in the District of Columbia, 
and may have been designed for two purposes: first, to serve 
locally as a reference or base-line from which to lay out the then 
imaginary city, and second, to serve as a first meridian from 
which to reckon longitudes in the very young and very patriotic 
republic. 
Now Meridian hill is not north of the Capitol, but north of the 
White House, at the head of Sixteenth street, and so we have 
another meridian to consider. 
In the State Department is a letter from Nicholas King, S.C. W. 
(which I take to mean surveyor city of Washington), to the 
President of the United States (Jefferson) relative to a meridian 
line through the President’s house. It is dated October 15, 1804, 
and uponit are two endorsements. The first is “ Nicholas King. 
15 Oct’. 1804. Meridian Line through the centre of the Presi- 
dent’s house.” The second is “ King Nich*. Surveyor’s office 
Oct. 15, 04. rec*. Oct. 15. to be filed in the office of state as a 
record of the demarcation of the 1“. meridian of the U. 8.” 
This is an important letter,* and as it appears not to have 
been published, I have appended a copy of it to this paper. 
It appears that Mr King, under the direction of a Mr Briggs, 
laid out a meridian line along Sixteenth street in 1804. Who 
ordered this work done I do not know; but as Mr King, who 
ran the line, made a report to President Jefferson, and as this re- 
port was sent to the State Department and endorsed to be filed 
as a record of the demarcation of the first meridian of the United 
States, I infer that the work was done at the instigation of Presi- 
dent Jefferson and for the purpose of marking the initial me- 
ridian line from which longitudes were to be counted in the 
United States. 
*T am indebted to the courtesy of Mr Fred L. Harvey, formerly secre- 
tary of the Washington National Monument Association, for calling my 
5 Secliceal -, : 
attention to and furnishing me with a copy of this letter. 
