Is the Pentagon in Virginia?
Region where the Pentagon would be situated, in 1878.
Source: Library of Congress, Atlas of fifteen miles around Washington (by G. M. Hopkins, 1878).
The Defense Ministry.’s headquarters building is situated in Virginia, regardless of the mailing address. Mailing addresses are not obliged to align with political boundaries.
Following the establishment of National Airport, the former Washington-Hoover Airport location was partially utilized by the Pentagon after being selected in 1941. In 1929, Washington Airport filed a lawsuit against a contractor involved in constructing the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. Smoot Sand & Gravel Corporation was responsible for the construction of the retaining wall beneath the high-water mark, which restricted the potential expansion of the airport runway.
In the year 1931, the Supreme Court ruled that Washington Airport Inc., Claimed ownership of the land on the Potomac River shoreline, which marked the boundary of the Columbia District water level. The court made this ruling in the case of Smoot v. Gravel & Sand Corp., Where the airport asserted its ownership rights.
The disputed shoreline, which determined the precise location of the intended boundary between Maryland and Virginia, has been a point of contention since ancient times. The Calverts, who were granted the entirety of the Potomac River by Charles II in 1632, used the phrase “unto the River” to define the extent of their new colony in Maryland.
The newly formed land, resulting from the dredge spoils, was situated within the District. The dumping of these sediments on the shoreline of Virginia did not change the legal boundary between Virginia and the District of Columbia, which was originally determined by the shoreline in 1791. However, it did modify the demarcation between land and water. The sediment, known as “spoils,” was extracted from the riverbed during the dredging of the Little River channel, located between the Long Bridge and Analostan/Mason Island.
The Pentagon was built in 1941 after additional sediments were removed from the riverbed. To prevent flooding, the ground at the Pentagon’s location was elevated by at least eight feet. Consequently, there is no flood barrier along the shoreline to safeguard the Pentagon.
The National Airport, which Congress clarified with a law in 1945, was situated in Virginia. The law defined the boundary line north of Alexandria as the high-water mark, as it was in 1945.
The Pentagon is situated in Virginia, and Boundary Channel demarcates the contemporary boundary of the District of Columbia.
Source: ESRI, Arc
The Pentagon
Before the Pentagon, Where Were the Military Headquarters?
Military Bases in Virginia
Virginia-District of Columbia Boundary
Links
References
Alexander Island was situated to the east of the present-day Pentagon.
Source: Library of Congress, Arlington County, Construction of the Pentagon in the 18th century.