{"nrhp_refnum":"70000800","name":"Octonia Stone","other_names":["Octoney","Octony","Octona","Octuna Stone"],"category":"object","location":{"address":"N of Stanardsville, off VA 637","address_restricted":false,"city":"Stanardsville","county":"Greene County","state":"VA","lat":38.333221328000036,"lon":-78.45361552299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-09-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A granite-type rock outcrop in a hayfield near Stanardsville, Greene County, Virginia, engraved with a figure 8 topped by a cross. The engraving was probably made in 1721.","why_significant":"The stone marks the end of the westernmost boundary line of the 24,000-acre Octonia Grant, made in 1722 by Lieutenant Governor Spottswood to eight prominent Virginians. Inscribed stone boundary markers were rare in Virginia in the eighteenth century, and one this far west is described as unique. Parts of the grant's lines survive and were the basis for many Orange County surveys.","narrative":"Carved into a granite-type rock outcrop in a hayfield near Stanardsville, the Octonia Stone bears an engraved figure 8 made of two nearly perfect circles, with a cross touching the top. The engraving was probably made in 1721. The outcrop forms a small knoll with a few trees and undergrowth, beside a stream that flows into South River, a branch of the Rapidan River. The stone marks the end of the westernmost boundary line of the 24,000-acre Octonia Grant, awarded in 1722 by Lieutenant Governor Spottswood to eight prominent Virginians. The name probably comes from the Latin for eight. The grant ran from near Spicer's Mill in Orange County to the foot of the Blue Ridge, roughly two miles wide and twenty miles long. Some of its lines survive and underlie many Orange County surveys. Inscribed stone boundary markers were rare in eighteenth-century Virginia, and one this far west is considered unique.","period_of_significance":"18th Century (circa 1721)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent and unaltered, on its original site; it is part of a rock outcrop in a hayfield.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.650379-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/27/6810/41681027/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/70000800.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000800/edcdfe50d5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000800/edcdfe50d5-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hilltop_with_the_Octonia_Stone.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hilltop_with_the_Octonia_Stone.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681027","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octonia_Stone","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713004"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/greene-county/octonia-stone-70000800/"}