BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Alexandria -- Jones Point Park, Virginia

VA -- Alexandria -- Jones Point Park, Virginia:

Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.

Recognize anyone? If you recognize specific folks (or other stuff) and I haven't labeled them, please identify them for the world. Click the little pencil icon

underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.

Slide Show: Want to see the pictures as a slide show? [Slideshow]

Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]

Share: Facebook Twitter Digg
[1] JPT_200726_005.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[2] JPT_200726_009.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[3] JPT_200726_010.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[4] JPT_200726_017.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[5] JPT_200726_023.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[6] JPT_200726_026.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[7] JPT_200726_030.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[8] JPT_200726_034.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[9] JPT_200726_038.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[10] JPT_200726_042.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[11] JPT_200726_046.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[12] JPT_200726_050.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[13] JPT_200726_054.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[14] JPT_200726_060.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[15] JPT_200726_065.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[16] JPT_200726_068.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[17] JPT_200726_070.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[18] JPT_200726_076.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[19] JPT_200726_083.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[20] JPT_200726_086.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[21] JPT_200726_089.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[22] JPT_200726_095.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[23] JPT_200726_098.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[24] JPT_200726_105.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[25] JPT_200726_106.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[26] JPT_200726_111.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[27] JPT_200726_114.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[28] JPT_200726_118.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[29] JPT_200726_120.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[30] JPT_200726_135.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[31] JPT_200726_141.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[32] JPT_200726_147.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[33] JPT_200726_153.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[34] JPT_200726_155.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[35] JPT_200726_158.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[36] JPT_200726_160.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[37] JPT_200726_167.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[38] JPT_200726_170.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[39] JPT_200726_173.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[40] JPT_200726_174.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[41] JPT_200726_177.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[42] JPT_200726_180.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[43] JPT_200726_182.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[44] JPT_200726_184.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[45] JPT_200726_192.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[46] JPT_200726_195.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[47] JPT_200726_198.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[48] JPT_200726_203.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[49] JPT_200726_209.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[50] JPT_200726_212.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[51] JPT_200726_216.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[52] JPT_200726_220.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[53] JPT_200726_223.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[54] JPT_200726_226.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[55] JPT_200726_230.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[56] JPT_200726_232.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[57] JPT_200726_238.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[58] JPT_200726_240.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[59] JPT_200726_249.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[60] JPT_200726_255.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[61] JPT_200726_259.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[62] JPT_200726_262.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[63] JPT_200726_268.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[64] JPT_200726_275.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[65] JPT_200726_276.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[66] JPT_200726_280.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[67] JPT_200726_283.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[68] JPT_200726_288.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[69] JPT_200726_290.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[70] JPT_200726_294.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[71] JPT_200726_299.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[72] JPT_200726_300.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[73] JPT_200726_306.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[74] JPT_200726_331.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[75] JPT_200726_337.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[76] JPT_200726_345.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[77] JPT_200726_349.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[78] JPT_200726_355.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[79] JPT_200726_363.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[80] JPT_200726_364.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[81] JPT_200726_371.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[82] JPT_200726_381.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[83] JPT_200726_383.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[84] JPT_200726_387.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[85] JPT_200726_392.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[86] JPT_200726_395.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[87] JPT_200726_399.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[88] JPT_200726_402.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. JPT_200726_017.JPG: Guarding the Potomac Battery Rodgers 1863-1865 The area around Jones Point, which lies just south of the nation's capital, was an obvious location for early defensive fortifications. During the Civil War (1861-1865), Battery Rodgers was built overlooking the cove to guard the river approach to Washington. The battery also commanded the southern approaches to Alexandria by covering the Accotink Road (modern Fort Hunt Road). Though no visible remains of Battery Rodgers exist today, the complex once included the fortification, barracks, hospital and a slaughterhouse built especially to feed troops in Alexandria. "[Battery Rodgers] was arranged to throw its principal fire at any vessel attempting to pass up the river at a range of 600 yards... -- General J.G. Barnard Battery Rodgers was powerfully equipped with five 200-pound Parrott rifles and one 15-inch Rodman gun, but no shots -- or men -- were ever fired on enemy ships by its guns. This view of the battery shows the 15-inch Rodman gun and the powder magazines overlooking Battery Cove. In 1911, the cove was filled in by the Army Corps of Engineers, creating 46.5 acres of new land, including the spot on which you're standing. The battery is thought to have been just up the hill to the right. Visitors posing with -- and in -- the Rodman gun, circa 1863-1865
2. JPT_200726_026.JPG: "[Battery Rodgers] was arranged to throw its principal fire at any vessel attempting to pass up the river at a range of 600 yards... -- General J.G. Barnard
3. JPT_200726_034.JPG: Coming to the Point A Bird's Eye View of the Woods The kinds of birds you see in this forest depend on where you look and when. You might hear the rapping of a woodpecker year-round, while abundant summertime insects support a variety of neotropical migrants that breed here during the warmer months. Still other migrants stop only for a brief respite before continuing their annual journal. A Place for Forested Space: The woods at Jones Point are valuable real estate, used by a wide variety of birds for nesting and foraging -- and they need every inch of forest. Many breeding migrants require large areas of unbroken, protective forest to nest. Habitat loss and fragmentation of wooded land may be behind the decline of some birds, particularly long-distance migrants. Invasive Species: Invasive species like porcelainberry and yam-leafed clematis crowd out native plants by taking up space, nutrients, and sunlight. When invasives take over, the forest loses important food sources and nesting sites -- and the birds that depend on them.
4. JPT_200726_050.JPG: Shipshape and Cargo-Ready The Fitting-Out Dock 1918-1921 This dock, constructed of reinforced concrete on concrete and wood pilings, was once the last stop for cargo ships under construction at Jones Point's World War I shipyard. Here, ships received final fittings before heading out for service. The dock featured a derrick -- a crane-like device -- to move construction materials, equipment, instruments and fittings on and off ships. The U.S. Government contracted the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation to build 12 vessels, but only 9 of these were completed. The ship-shaped lawn on your left is the size of the SS Gunston Hall, the first ship to be built by the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation at Jones Point. On the Job for Victory: The US Emergency Fleet Corporation urged shipbuilders to take their work as seriously as soldiers fighting in the trenches. Although the Great War ended before the first ship, the SS Gunston Hall, was completed and launched in May 1919, every ship built here was commissioned into active service.
5. JPT_200726_060.JPG: Alexandria Goes to War The Race to Build Ships on Jones Point 1918-1921 In response to a shortage of ships and shipbuilding facilities at the start of World War I, the U.S. government decided to enter the shipbuilding business. In 1917, the U.S. Emergency Fleet Corporation was created and eventually oversaw construction of 218 shipyards, including one here on Jones Point. The first piling for the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation's shipyard was driven in February 1918. The massive facility was up and running just 85 days later -- a reported world record. The arrival of thousands of shipyard workers in Alexandria shattered the domestic tranquility of Jones Point. Responding to the acute worker housing shortage, the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation began construction of 100 houses in the nearby suburb of Rosemont during the summer of 1918. Posters such as this one encouraged the new hires to "pull together."
6. JPT_200726_076.JPG: Not many masks.
7. JPT_200726_089.JPG: Fighting World War I Mountains of Materials and Massive Manpower: The concrete foundations you see here were part of a craneway servicing two shipways and launch sites -- elements of an enormous World War I-era shipyard. To speed delivery of cargo ships needed for the war effort, the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation hired thousands of workers and ordered tens of thousands of tons of steel. The yard's 7,000 workers and support staff used mass production techniques developed by the auto industry to move materials and speed assembly of simple, pre-fabricated steel components. The first ship, the SS Gunston Hall, took just over a year to complete. Calling All Hands Employees of the shipyard knew they were racing the clock to build the ships needed to win the war. To turn out ships as quickly as possible, the U.S. Emergency Fleet Corporation sought both experienced shipbuilders, and anyone who could use construction tools.
8. JPT_200726_095.JPG: A gang of expert riveters could hammer home up to 1,200 rivets per day.
9. JPT_200726_098.JPG: A Big Fish Story What's below the water at Jones Point? For more than 9,000 years, people have been attracted to the rich fisheries of the Potomac River near Jones Point. Archaeological evidence indicates that indigenous people set up seasonal fishing camps on the Point to take advantage of herring, shad, eel, striped base and sturgeon runs. Large scale harvesting of fish continued into the 19th century, but began to decline in the 20th century as pollution increased. In the 1870s, commercial fishing on the Potomac became Alexandria's leading industry. A seasonal shantytown along the waterfront, called Fishtown, was devoted to processing the catch. According to an 1883 account, that year there "were seventeen shores fished, which employed over five hundred men and sixty horses." Anadromous Life Cycle: Shad and sturgeon were the most prized catch for both natives and Europeans. These species are anadromous -- they hatch upriver, swim out to sea, and, once full-grown, ascend the river to their birthplace to spawn.
10. JPT_200726_114.JPG: Who Owns the River? According to Lord Baltimore's land grant from King Charles I in 1632, Maryland owns the "River of Pattowmack...unto the further Bank of said River." But with Virginia's shoreline constantly shifting how could the border be fixed? In 1929, a survey to establish the boundary placed 58 markers including this one on Jones Point, helping to resolve almost three centuries of dispute. When Maryland ceded land to create the nation's capital in 1788, the District of Columbia gained ownership of the river within its newly created bounds.
11. JPT_200726_147.JPG: The Nation's Capital Begins Here 1791-1793 After the Revolutionary War, the new nation searched fora permanent seat of government. President George Washington favored a 10-mile square territory along the Potomac River that encompassed the economically important ports of Georgetown and Alexandria. In 1791, the first boundary stone for the federal district -- the south cornerstone -- was laid with great fanfare right here on Jones Point. The District of Columbia was incorporated ten years later. Alexandria remained within the capital boundaries until an 1846 Act of Congress returned the land west of the Potomac River to Virginia the following year. The Survey Major Andrew Ellicott, owner of one of the finest sets of surveying instruments in the country, was put in charge of the D.C. boundary survey and established the first base camp on Jones Point. On-site measurements and round-the-clock astronomical calculations were conducted by Benjamin Banneker, a free black, self-taught in math and astronomy. After laying the first cornerstone here at Jones Point, Ellicott's team embarked on a 40-mile journey that took nearly two years. They created the boundary lines of the capital by clearing 20 feet of land on each side, then setting upright stones at each mile interval. Today 37 of the original 40 stones remain. Look for them in woods, parking lots and even private yards. L'Enfant's Folly: Although federal buildings were never intended to be constructed in Alexandria, Pierre L'Enfant, designer of the plan of Washington, hoped to extend the axial arrangement of the federal city across the river. His proposal was to erect a picturesque marker on Jones Point to complete the vista from the White House. "From these hights [sic] every grand building would rear...facing...the Potomac with the town of Alexandria in front...at the end of which the Cape of Hunting Creek [Jones Point] appears directly where a corner stone of the Federal District is to be placed and in the room of which a majestic column or a grand pyramid being erected would produce the happiest effect and completely finish the landscape."
12. JPT_200726_153.JPG: Mathematical puzzle from Benjamin Banneker's Astronomical Journal, 1798
13. JPT_200726_174.JPG: May this stone long commemorate the goodness of God in those uncommon events which have given America a name among nations -- Under this stone, may jealousy and selfishness be forever buried! -- Commemoration of cornerstone, April 15, 1791
14. JPT_200726_184.JPG: The bases of many of the signs have additional information and illustrations but gravel makes them hard to notice, let alone read.
15. JPT_200726_203.JPG: Landowner, Lawyer, Suffragette The Remarkable Margaret Brent 1601-1671 Despite occasional conflicts between European settlers and local Indians, Mistress Margaret Brent of Saint Mary's City, Maryland, was granted the first land patent on Piper's Island (later known as Jones Point) in 1654. An extraordinary woman for her time, Brent appears here before the Maryland Assembly requesting not only the right to vote, but the right to two votes -- one for herself as a landowner and one as Lord Baltimore's attorney. "Brents undertaking and medling with your Lordships Estate here? we do Verily Believe and in Conscience report that it was better for Collonys safety at that time in her hands then in any mans else in the whole province?" -- Letter from the Maryland Assembly, describing Brent's management of Lord Baltimore's will, 1649. Tobacco Farming To hold title to her land, Brent was required to cut back the forest and plant tobacco. On most plantations, indentured servants and enslaved African Americans performed the arduous labor.
16. JPT_200726_209.JPG: On September 6, 1654, this site was included in a patent of 700 acres granted by the Colony of Virginia to Mistress Margaret Brent (c1601-c1671). An extraordinary woman, she spent most of her adult life fighting discrimination of her sex, she was the first private owner of the rectangular tract of land on the Potomac River above Hunting Creek that became the nucleus of Alexandria. Erected by The Mount Vernon Chapter Daughter of the American Revolution 1978
17. JPT_200726_216.JPG: Shedding Light on a Landmark The Jones Point Lighthouse 1856-1926 In the 1850s, Alexandria was one of the busiest seaports in the Chesapeake region. To help guide Potomac River ship traffic, the federal government built the Jones Point lighthouse, illuminating the beacon for the first time on May 1, 1856. It was one of the first lighthouses designed to use a new "unified" plan, combining the beacon and keeper's house into a single structure. Among the duties listed in the manual for the keeper were to keep a journal and log of expenditures, maintain the lighthouse and grounds, employ attendants,report wrecks, and "...be courteous & polite to all visitors..." This last duty was taken to heart by a one keeper: "Year round, after Sunday morning obligations, citizens would gather in the buoy shed near the Light House. There...keeper Benjamin Potter Greenwood would listen to the recollections of those present. They would occasionally partake in a hand or two of poker -- would finish off the visit with a bit of Maryland rye (Oxon Creek stills) or 'Virginia corn.'" The lighthouse lantern was outfitted with a fifth order Fresnel lens, which was new technology at the time. The beacon initially used whale oil, then ran on gas, was changed to a fixed red oil lamp and finally became a flashing white gas lamp.During the period that the red light was in place, the Point became known as something of a nautical "red light zone" with gambling barges and floating brothels. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Between 1910 and 1912, the Army Corps of Engineers infilled the cove at Jones Point. In 1926, a fully automated 60-foot steel tower with beacon was erected along the new coastline, replacing the obsolete lighthouse. Image courtesy of National Archives
18. JPT_200726_223.JPG: Unidentified Jones Point lighthouse keeper and boy, circa 1905.
19. JPT_200726_230.JPG: Between 1910 and 1912, the Army Corps of Engineers infilled the cove at Jones Point. In 1926, a fully automated 60-foot steel tower with beacon was erected along the new coastline, replacing the obsolete lighthouse.
20. JPT_200726_232.JPG: The Long Story of The Jones Point Ropewalk 1833-1850 In 1833, Josiah Davis constructed a narrow, 400-yard-long building where rope was manufactured for ship's rigging, a once-thriving maritime industry for the nearby port of Alexandria. Archaeological Evidence: Excavations at Jones Point revealed the remains of the ropewalk's foundations and a black stain down the middle -- probably from the tar applied to cordage to resist rotting from seawater. "... every afternoon during the summer, it was the custom of the boys to go thither after school... to indulge in the luxury of a bath. They began to undress in the western part, and run naked through the long building... At the entrance on the west there was a huge reel for rope, on which the boys used to stand and turn each other over, the rise and fall being probably twenty feet, and on occasion a boy threw out his back as he passed the second story window..." -- Description of the abandoned Jones Point ropewalk, Academy Journal, June 3, 1873 The Jones Point ropewalk was a two-story building with larger wheels than are pictures here, but the process of making rope was the same. Walking backward between two reels, a spinning unwound lengths of hemp from around the waist and spun the fiber in each hand to create rope. A spinner could walk as much as 20 miles in a 10-hour workday.
21. JPT_200726_249.JPG:
```
"In that building, long and low, 
With its windows all a-row,
Like the port-holes of a hulk,
Human spiders spin and spin,
Backward down their threats so thin
Dropping, each a hempen bulk."
 -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1859
```
22. JPT_200726_259.JPG: Leap like a deer
23. JPT_200726_262.JPG: In Pursuit of Fur, Fish and Fowl The First People on Jones Point Archaeological evidence indicates that humans have occupied the Potomac River Valley for over 13,000 years and Jones Point for almost 9,000 years. Attracted by the rich resources of Hunting Creek marsh, indigenous people built temporary structures to serve as seasonal hunting and fishing camps. At the time of European contact, several established American Indian villages were nearby: Namoraughquend (between today's Pentagon and Theodore Roosevelt Island) and Assaomeck, Namassingakent, and Tauxenent (downriver). 11,000 BC - 8,000 BC: Paleo-Indian Period: Nomadic Hunter-Gatherers: As the last Ice Age was ending, early hunters migrated in small bands, pursing large game, fathering plants and setting up temporary camps along rivers in locations with plentiful supplies of natural materials for tools and food. 8,000 BC - 1,200 BC: Archaic Period: Temporary Hunting and Fishing Camps: During this period of warming climates, fertile floodplains formed along rivers, attracting seasonal settlements of two or three families. native peoples hunted smaller game, added various seeds, shoots, roots, and berries to their diet, stored extra foodstuffs and formed bowls of soapstone. 1,200 BC - 1,600 AD: Woodland Period: Permanent Farming Villages: Pottery-making traditions emerged and small villages formed, characterized by farming, assigned work tasks, and more elaborate social structure. Since homes were permanent village construction patterns became more complex.
24. JPT_200726_276.JPG: Hop like a rabbit
25. JPT_200726_283.JPG: Trot like a fox
26. JPT_200726_288.JPG: The Lost Village of Cameron at Great Hunting Creek Three hundred years ago, a river as wide as the Capital Beltway -- Great Hunting Creek -- emptied into the Potomac River at this spot. In the absence of good roads, this river and its tributaries were vital corridors for travel and trade. Great Hunting Creek linked inland tobacco farms to inspection stations and warehouses where tobacco was monitored and stored before heading to markets overseas. With a lucrative tobacco trade established, settlements soon grew into hamlets and villages, including Cameron -- a village that, at one time, had the potential to be the area's most successful tobacco port. Oceangoing ships were once able to sail up Great Hunting Creek, all the way to the village of Cameron, the original home of some of Alexandria's founding families. Though Great Hunting Creek was considered to be a good location for at tobacco inspection station, West's Point, located along the Potomac River, was selected as a more suitable site for navigation. Despite the setback, Cameron prospered into the 1800s, until siltation reduced the port's usefulness. The West's Point site eventually overshadowed Cameron, and became part of the town of Alexandria, which was founded in 1749. Rolling Roads Tobacco was packed into cylindrical barrels called hogsheads and rolled to the port of Cameron. Several of these "rolling roads" converged on the town, including Back Road today known as Telegraph Road.
27. JPT_200726_299.JPG: Where Land and Water Meet Life in the Marsh
28. JPT_200726_345.JPG: Evidence of the Shipyard at Jones Point In May 2000, this rudder was recovered along the banks of the Potomac River near Jones Point. Measuring over 22 feet high and 4.5 feet wide, the rudder is of the variety used to outfit steel cargo ships constructed between 1918 and 1920 at the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation site. Except for concrete building foundations and the finishing pier, the rudder is the last remnant of the shipbuilding industry at Jones Point. Why put a wood rudder on a steel ship? The answer is unknown, but modifications to shipbuilding and outfitting during times of war were often completed on an ad hoc basis, and were not recorded. A rudder of this type may have been pre-fabricated by a contractor, using more readily available materials. A wooden rudder could also have been produced more quickly, was less costly than a metal rudder, and was easier to repair at sea. Rudder Workers found the rudder while driving piles for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Once pulled from the mud, archaeologists and historians studied the artifact. Though of slightly different shape than the one shown in the diagram at right, research indicates that the rudder is an alternate style for the ships built on site. This fragile artifact is displayed horizontally to provide better support.
29. JPT_200726_364.JPG: Potomac Connections Tidewater and the Atlantic Coastal Plain George Washington lived in and traveled from this region, pursuing his dream of westward expansion -- to connect the Atlantic Seaboard with the frontier West. His efforts to use the Potomac River as a commercial artery influenced industrialization and development in the 1800s and beyond. Today wild intermingles with urban. Stands of oak, tulip poplar and paw paw trees and varied wetlands contrast with the Piedmont, highways, and a growing metropolitan area. The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail network is a portal into the region's history, culture, and ecology. Here along the upper tidal Potomac, hiking, bicycling and water trails allow you intimate connections with the river and the region's distinctive landscapes.
30. JPT_200726_371.JPG: The Mount Vernon Trail
31. JPT_200726_387.JPG: Welcome to Jones Point Park The open vistas, recreation fields, or fishing pier may be what drew you to Jones Point Park, but archaeological and historical evidence shows that this land has been attracting people for a multitude of reasons during the last 9,000 years. Over time, previous generations used and reshaped Jones Point in a variety of ways, creating Native American seasonal hunting and fishing camps, cultivating tobacco, erecting a 19th-century ropewalk and a Civil War fort, and even transforming the landscape into an impressive industrial World War I shipyard. Of the few structures that remain, Jones Point's lighthouse, built 1855-1856, is the park's most prominent feature. But Jones Point's most important story lies in front of the lighthouse, where the south cornerstone of the original survey of Washington DC, marks the founding of the nation's capital city.
32. JPT_200726_399.JPG: Boxing practice
Multi Column: Number of columns of thumbnails to appear per page (normally defaults to 3): [1 col] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Wikipedia Description: Jones Point Light
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Jones Point Light is a small river lighthouse located on the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia. Built in 1855, it is the oldest surviving inland lighthouse in the United States. It is a small, one-story house with a lantern on top. The lighthouse was discontinued in 1926, replaced by a small steel skeletal tower located nearby; this smaller tower was in use for ten years before being discontinued. After being dark for more than half a century, Jones Point Light was relit by a private concern in 1995.

The lighthouse is located on Jones Point in Alexandria, and is part of Jones Point Park. Visitors can approach the lighthouse, but it is currently impossible to enter the building.

In 1980, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places along with the District of Columbia South Cornerstone as reference #80000352. It is also listed in the Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey as survey number VA-641. The listing shows lighthouse drawings and several black and white photos of the lighthouse prior to restoration.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.) I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (VA -- Alexandria -- Jones Point Park, Virginia) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2014_VA_Jones_Pt: VA -- Alexandria -- Jones Point Park, Virginia (88 photos from 2014)
- 2010_VA_Jones_Pt: VA -- Alexandria -- Jones Point Park, Virginia (9 photos from 2010)
- 2000_VA_Jones_Pt: VA -- Alexandria -- Jones Point Park, Virginia (9 photos from 2000)
- 1998_VA_Jones_Pt: VA -- Alexandria -- Jones Point Park, Virginia (10 photos from 1998)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [Other] [Display ALL Other photos]
2020 photos: Well, that was a year, wasn't it? The COVID-19 pandemic cut off most events here in DC after March 11. The child president's handling of the pandemic was a series of disastrous missteps and lies, encouraging his minions to not wear masks and dramatically increasing infections and deaths here.The BLM protests started in June, made all the worse by the child president's inability to have any empathy for anyone other than himself. Then of course he tried to steal the election in November. What a year! Trips: Because of COVID, the farthest distance I traveled after that was about 40 miles. I only visited sites in four states -- Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and DC -- and didn't do any overnight travel anywhere. That was the least amount of travel I had done since 1995. Equipment this year: I continued to use my Fuji XS-1 cameras but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. Number of photos taken this year: about 246,000, the fewest number of photos I had taken in any year since 2007.
Connection Not Secure messages? Those warnings you get from your browser about this site not having secure connections worry some people. This means this site does not have SSL installed (the link is http:, not https:). That's bad if you're entering credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal information. But this site doesn't collect any personal information so SSL is not necessary. Life's good!
Limiting Text: You can turn off all of this text by clicking this link: [Thumbnails Only]
Photo Contact: [Email Bruce Guthrie].