162 AM. Baker—Surveys and Maps, District of Columbia. 
inscription upon it. It was always pointed out to me as the 
center of the District. In the recently published centennial 
history of Washington this is called the Capitol stone. It is now 
gone and its site is unmarked. 
After establishing the Capitol stone Mr King measured back 
toward the White House 175 feet 83 inches, a distance just one- 
half of the length of the Capitol as it then existed, and here 
erected a monument. Of the spot and its mark he says: 
It is on the south bank of Tyber creek, and marked by the erection of 
a small pier, covered by a flat freestone, on which the lines are drawn. 
Ex-Commissioner Webb, in his centennial history of Wash- 
ineton, already mentioned, page 28, calls this the Jefferson stone 
or Center stone and describes it, as also its removal in 1872 by 
order of General Babcock, who seems not to have been aware of 
its character or history. 
It seems probable that this Jefferson stone was removed when 
grading was in progress and the Capitol stone carefully preserved ; 
that later the relation of these stones, as has been described 
above, became known to the engineers, who then set a new stone 
in place of the removed Jefferson stone, and then removed the 
Capitol stone. 
The more or less exact site of the Jefferson stone is now 
marked by a cut granite stone (or post) planted nearly flush 
with the ground and marked by a deep cut across, north and 
south by east and west. It may be seen on the green lawn on 
the eastern side of and near to the driveway west-northwest from 
the Monument. 
Recapitulating, then, we find that along the meridian line 
through the White House, run in 1804, were three stone monu- 
ments—Meridian stone, Jefferson stone, and Capitol stone, and 
a wooden post at I street north. The Meridian stone is gone 
and its site is unmarked. The Capitol stone is gone and its site 
isunmarked. The Jefferson stone is gone, but its site is marked, 
Some suitable label or inscription would, however, add greatly 
to the interest of this mark, which is, as it now stands, meaning- 
less to most people. And, lastly, the forgotten post on I street. 
Of this we have no present knowledge. 
A word now about the stone on Meridian hill. It will be re- 
membered that Commodore (afterward Admiral) Porter had a 
mansion on the old Peter place, at the head of Sixteenth street. 
Its main entrance was due north of the main entrance to the 
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