Ellicott's Stone historical marker tells of important boundary stone

Ellicott's Stone Historical Marker

This week’s featured historical marker is the “ELLICOTT’S STONE” marker that was erected in 1999 by the Alabama Historical Association and the Alabama Society of Professional Land Surveyors.

This marker is located in Mobile County, between the 18-mile and 19-mile markers on U.S. Highway 43. The marker’s north of Creola and just west of the Mobile River. It’s also just south of the Barry Steam Plant.

The marker has text on both sides, but both sides are identical. What follows is the complete text from the marker.

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“ELLICOTT’S STONE, Erected April 9th, 1799, Marks 1st Southern Boundary of the United States and the Mississippi Territory created in 1798 ---- 900 feet East ---- Stone marked 31° North Latitude separating the U.S. & Spanish Florida.
“This line of demarcation ran from the Mississippi east, along the 31° parallel to the Chattahoochie River, thence down that river to the mouth of the Flint River, thence on a line to the headwaters of the St. Mary’s River, thence down that river to the Atlantic Ocean.
“Major Andrew Ellicott, appointed by George Washington as U.S. Commissioner to survey the boundary as defined in the Treaty of San Lorenzo (1795), was engaged in this expedition from 1796-1800. Esteban Minor was appointed Commissioner on the Spanish side.
“In 1803, the Ellicott Stone was selected as the Initial Point to begin the U.S. Public Land Surveys which control land boundaries in southern Alabama & Mississippi (St. Stephens Meridian).
“Sponsored by the Alabama Society of Professional Land Surveyors & Alabama Historical Association, 1999.”

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If you ever get the chance to stop and read this marker for yourself, be sure to take the short walk through the woods to see Ellicott’s Stone. A few feet from the roadside historical marker, you’ll find a small set of steps that will take you up to a trailhead. Take the trail east towards the river, cross a set of railroad tracks and you’ll find Ellicott’s Stone beneath a gazebo that’s been constructed to protect it from the elements.

One side of the stone is written in Spanish and the other side is written in English. The English side reads "U.S. Lat. 31, 1799," and the Spanish side says "Dominio De S.M. Carlos IV, Lat. 31, 1799." Everything on the Spanish side once belonged to Spain, and everything on the English side was in the United States. Spanish Florida didn’t last much longer after Ellicott’s Stone was put in place. It became a part of the U.S. in 1819.

A few feet south of Ellicott’s Stone, you’ll also find a short, more modern marker set down in 1969 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. This marker designates Ellicott’s Stone as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. So far as I know, this is the only marker of this type in all of Alabama. (If you know of any others, let me know.)

In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.