{"nrhp_refnum":"80000352","name":"Jones Point Lighthouse and District of Columbia South Cornerstone","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Jones Point Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alexandria (Independent City)","county":"Alexandria","state":"VA","lat":38.79035328100008,"lon":-77.04038727099999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-05-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1855 one-and-one-half-story frame lighthouse and the historic south cornerstone of the District of Columbia, both on the Potomac River shore at Jones Point in Alexandria, Virginia, within Jones Point Park.","why_significant":"The cornerstone marks the beginning point of the 1791 survey that created the District of Columbia and is one of the oldest artifacts related to the national capital. The lighthouse aided Potomac shipping for about 70 years and illustrates Federal concern for improving inland navigation in the 19th century.","narrative":"Jones Point, on the Potomac River in Alexandria, holds two linked historic resources: a small lighthouse and the south cornerstone of the District of Columbia. The lighthouse, built in 1855, is a 19-by-38-foot frame building of one and one-half stories on a brick foundation, with a cast-iron lantern rising from its gabled roof and Greek Revival details. A keeper lived inside until 1919, when an automatic light was installed; a new tower made the building obsolete in 1926. The cornerstone sits in a recess in the riverside retaining wall. A temporary stone was placed in 1791 to mark the start of Andrew Ellicott's survey of the ten-mile-square capital district, and a permanent stone replaced it in 1794. The stone was covered in 1861 and uncovered in 1912. The lighthouse reflects Federal efforts to improve river navigation, while the cornerstone is tied to the original planning of the national capital.","period_of_significance":"1791-1926","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Simple Greek Revival character","criteria":[],"status_note":"Lighthouse is unoccupied and altered: windows boarded, chimneys and interior fittings gone, no lamp or lens remains; park use under National Park Service.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:58.170838-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/6794/41679458/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/80000352.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000352/4e81a15708-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000352/4e81a15708-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"AgnosticPreachersKid at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jones_Point_Light_-_Alexandria,_Virginia.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">AgnosticPreachersKid at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jones_Point_Light_-_Alexandria,_Virginia.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000928","name":"Alexandria Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/alexandria-historic-district-66000928/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679458","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Point_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6275284"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/alexandria/jones-point-lighthouse-and-district-of-columbia-south-cornerstone-80000352/"}