A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
The Ellicott Stone
Near the end of the 18th century, there were sharp clashes among the settlers in the Mississippi Territory, much of it caused by conflicting claims of sovereignty. The initial settlers encountered continuing boundary problems between the British (and later the Americans) and the Spanish in West Florida. In 1795, the Treaty of San Lorenzo el Real finally set the boundary between America and Spain as the 31° line of north latitude. The French, Spanish, and Americans agreed that an astronomer and surveyor by the name of Andrew Ellicott was the person to run the line of demarcation (boundary line) on the ground. Beginning in 1798, Ellicott lead a joint U.S.-Spanish Survey Commission on a two-year project to place monuments along the southern boundary of the nation, as called for by Article 2 of the Treaty. He started at the 31° line of latitude at the western end of the Mississippi Territory, which was about 13 miles south of Clarksville on the Mississippi River, near Bayou Tunica. When the line of demarcation was run past the Alabama city of St. Stephens in 1799, a stone was set on the banks of the Mobile River to denote the boundary. With the exception of this stone, the only other monuments along the boundary were mounds of dirt constructed by the joint survey crews. The marker is now known as the "Ellicott Stone." In 1917, a parcel of land around it was deeded to the City of Mobile to preserve this important historical marker. Today that plot is surrounded by lands of the Alabama Power Company, near the Barry Steam Plant at Axis, Alabama, north of Mobile on U.S. Highway 43. In 1968, the line of demarcation marked by Ellicott's Stone was chosen by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as one of ASCE's ten initial National Historic Civil Engineers Landmarks. A permanent marker was placed at the site to commemorate this designation. This places the old boundary line in the same company as the Hoover Dam and the Brooklyn Bridge. The Alabama Historical Commission recognized the importance of the Ellicott Stone again in 1974 by placing it on the National Register of Historic Places. At the time the Commission noted that it was the oldest aboveground artifact in the Southeast. A marker was placed on the eastern side of U.S. Highway 43, about five miles north of Axis, Alabama, to mark the location. A trail moving eastward leads to the stone.
The Ellicott Stone
Near the end of the 18th century, there were sharp clashes among the settlers in the Mississippi Territory, much of it caused by conflicting claims of sovereignty. The initial settlers encountered continuing boundary problems between the British (and later the Americans) and the Spanish in West Florida. In 1795, the Treaty of San Lorenzo el Real finally set the boundary between America and Spain as the 31° line of north latitude. The French, Spanish, and Americans agreed that an astronomer and surveyor by the name of Andrew Ellicott was the person to run the line of demarcation (boundary line) on the ground. Beginning in 1798, Ellicott lead a joint U.S.-Spanish Survey Commission on a two-year project to place monuments along the southern boundary of the nation, as called for by Article 2 of the Treaty. He started at the 31° line of latitude at the western end of the Mississippi Territory, which was about 13 miles south of Clarksville on the Mississippi River, near Bayou Tunica. When the line of demarcation was run past the Alabama city of St. Stephens in 1799, a stone was set on the banks of the Mobile River to denote the boundary. With the exception of this stone, the only other monuments along the boundary were mounds of dirt constructed by the joint survey crews. The marker is now known as the "Ellicott Stone." In 1917, a parcel of land around it was deeded to the City of Mobile to preserve this important historical marker. Today that plot is surrounded by lands of the Alabama Power Company, near the Barry Steam Plant at Axis, Alabama, north of Mobile on U.S. Highway 43. In 1968, the line of demarcation marked by Ellicott's Stone was chosen by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as one of ASCE's ten initial National Historic Civil Engineers Landmarks. A permanent marker was placed at the site to commemorate this designation. This places the old boundary line in the same company as the Hoover Dam and the Brooklyn Bridge. The Alabama Historical Commission recognized the importance of the Ellicott Stone again in 1974 by placing it on the National Register of Historic Places. At the time the Commission noted that it was the oldest aboveground artifact in the Southeast. A marker was placed on the eastern side of U.S. Highway 43, about five miles north of Axis, Alabama, to mark the location. A trail moving eastward leads to the stone.
The Ellicott Stone
Turner, Daniel S. (author) / Pitts, Lloyd L. (author)
Third National Congress on Civil Engineering History and Heritage ; 2001 ; Houston, Texas, United States
2001-10-05
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 2001
Online Contents | 2008
Online Contents | 2009
Ellicott Dredges are Built to Last
Online Contents | 2006
Online Contents | 2005