The Mound Line
(Ellicott Line)
Mile
Mound No. 216 located 1200 feet East
Surveyed in 1799 to mark the 31° North Latitude, this line
charted the first southern boundary of the United States, separating the U.S.
from Spanish Florida. The line was marked at one-mile intervals by earthen
mounds approximately fifteen-feet square and three-feet high with a charred
lighter-pine post at the center, hence the name Mound Line. Jointly surveyed by
Major Andrew Ellicott, U.S. Commissioner, and Esteban Minor, Spanish
Commissioner, to determine boundaries as agreed in the Treaty of San Lorenzo in
1795. The line began at the Mississippi River, ran east along 31° North
Latitude to the Chattahoochie River, thence eventually to the Atlantic Ocean.
Stockton was divided by this line, with some residents living in the
United States and some in Spanish Florida. Although Stockton became a "border
town," U.S. law generally prevailed in the area.
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