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Jones Point (Virginia)

AC with 0 elementsGeorge Washington Memorial ParkwayHeadlands of VirginiaLandforms of Alexandria, VirginiaNational Park Service areas in Virginia
Northern Virginia geography stubsParks in Alexandria, Virginia
Jones Point Park Alexandria, Virginia
Jones Point Park Alexandria, Virginia

Jones Point is a geographic point on the Potomac River within the city of Alexandria, Virginia, United States. The Jones Point Light and Jones Point Park are located at the point, which is immediately North of the confluence of Hunting Creek and the Potomac River. The 1791-1792 survey of the original boundaries of the District of Columbia began at a spot that was then at the tip of a cape at the Point. The south cornerstone from the boundary survey remains in a seawall several yards south of the lighthouse (see: History of Washington, D.C. and Boundary markers of the original District of Columbia). The Woodrow Wilson Bridge crosses the park, most of which is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. The Mount Vernon Trail travels through the park.Jones Point underwent a major renovation, completed in 2012, which included National Park Service placards along walking and biking trails highlighting its history. Other improvements include larger parking lots, a basketball court, a playground, a concession stand, restrooms, new walking and bike paths, small fishing/sightseeing piers, and easy access to the Jones Point lighthouse. The National Park Service and others have erected in and near the park a number of markers that relate the history of Jones Point and its surroundings.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Jones Point (Virginia) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Jones Point (Virginia)
Woodrow Wilson Bridge (Local), Alexandria

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 38.791389 ° E -77.040833 °
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Jones Point Lighthouse

Woodrow Wilson Bridge (Local)
23242 Alexandria
Virginia, United States
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Jones Point Park Alexandria, Virginia
Jones Point Park Alexandria, Virginia
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Jones Point Light
Jones Point Light

The Jones Point Light is a small river lighthouse located on the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia. It was built in 1855. It is a small, one-story house with a lantern on top and served primarily as a warning light for naval ships approaching the Washington Navy Yard. 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, however, it was eventually put out again after ownership switched from the Daughters of the American Revolution Foundation to the National Park Service. Certain local efforts have called for the structure to be relit, but as of 2017, the only working lighthouse on the Potomac River is the Fort Washington Point Lighthouse, located five miles downriver. 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. The lighthouse is immediately north of the confluence of Hunting Creek and the Potomac River. The 1791-1792 survey of the boundaries of the District of Columbia began at a spot that was then at the tip of a cape at the Point. The south cornerstone from the boundary survey remains in the seawall adjacent to the lighthouse. In 1980, the lighthouse and the cornerstone were listed in the National Register of Historic Places as reference #80000352. The lighthouse 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.

Woodrow Wilson Bridge
Woodrow Wilson Bridge

The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge (also known as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge or the Wilson Bridge) is a bascule bridge that spans the Potomac River between the independent city of Alexandria, Virginia, and Oxon Hill in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The original bridge was one of only a handful of drawbridges in the U.S. Interstate Highway System. It contained the only portion of the Interstate system owned and operated by the federal government until construction was completed and it was turned over to the Virginia and Maryland departments of transportation.The Wilson Bridge carries Interstate 95 (I-95) and I-495 (the Capital Beltway). The drawbridge on the original span opened about 260 times a year, frequently disrupting traffic on a bridge that carried about 250,000 cars each day. The new, higher span requires fewer openings. The bridge's west abutment is in Virginia, a small portion is in Washington, D.C., and the remaining majority of it is within Maryland (because that section of the Potomac River is within Maryland's borders). About 300 feet (91 m) of the western mid-span portion of the bridge crosses the tip of the southernmost corner of the District of Columbia. It is the only bridge in the United States that crosses the borders of three state-level jurisdictions (DC, Maryland, and Virginia). The section in Washington, D.C., is also the shortest segment of Interstate highway between state lines.The bridge is named for the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924), a native of Staunton, Virginia. While he was president, Wilson reportedly spent an average of two hours a day riding in his automobile to relax or to "loosen his mind from the problems before him." President Wilson was an advocate of automobile and highway improvements in the United States. In 1916, he said, "My interest in good roads is...to bind communities together and open their intercourse, so that it will flow with absolute freedom and facility".