International Boundary Marker

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm going to do it justice. Now settle in, because this one goes back further than most folks think to look. Sometime in the early 1700s, France and Spain started squabblin' over where one empire ended and the other began — and this very stretch of East Texas was caught right in the middle of that argument.

Both nations claimed what is now Texas, and neither one was inclined to back down easy. Then in 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, and you might think that would've cleared things up. It did not.

The boundary was still in dispute. So leaders agreed to let things simmer in what they called a neutral area — land sitting between the Arroyo Hondo and the Sabine River. That uneasy arrangement held until the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty came along and formally drew the line.

Fast forward to 1836. Texas becomes a republic. And one of the first orders of business for a brand-new republic is knowing exactly where you end and someone else begins.

So Texas and the United States appointed a joint commission to survey and physically mark that established boundary — all the way from the Gulf of Mexico up the Sabine River and on to the Red River. John Forsyth represented the United States. Memucan Hunt represented Texas.

And the marker is careful to note that the work proved to be long and difficult. That is not a throwaway line. They started on May 20, 1840, down at the Gulf, driving a thirty-six-foot pole into the center of a large earthen mound.

Then they began movin' north, planting eight-foot posts along the way, each one denoting the number of miles from the 32nd parallel. When they finally reached that parallel, they placed a granite marker on the west bank of the Sabine River — a proper stone anchor for an international line. From there, they turned due north and pressed on to the Red River, wrapping up the whole undertaking in late June of 1841.

Now here's where the story gets a little bittersweet. That first granite marker on the Sabine — the one right at the 32nd parallel — erosion took it. It fell into the river long ago, gone to the current.

But a second granite marker, placed further up on the northward path of those surveyors, survived. That marker is here. And according to what's known, it is the only original international boundary marker remaining within the contiguous United States.

One stone. Out of everything Hunt and Forsyth laid down across that long difficult survey — the poles, the posts, the granite at the river — one stone is left standing. Today, the border between Texas and Louisiana still follows the Sabine River up to the 32nd parallel, and right there it connects to the boundary that Hunt and Forsyth established.

The Texas Historical Foundation purchased this site so the public could come and see it. You can walk right up to it. One granite marker, still holdin' the line.

What the marker says

In the early 1700s, France and Spain began disputing their New World international boundary that included this area; each nation claimed what is now Texas. When the U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, the boundary was still in dispute. Leaders agreed to a neutral area between the Arroyo Hondo and the Sabine River, and the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty formally defined the border. When Texas became a republic in 1836, it appointed a joint commission with the U.S. to survey and mark the established boundary from the Gulf of Mexico up the Sabine River and on to the Red River. John Forsyth represented the U.S., and Memucan Hunt represented Texas in the work, which proved to be long and difficult. The survey crew began the demarcation process on May 20, 1840 at the Gulf, placing a 36-foot pole in the middle of a large earthen mound. Proceeding north, they placed eight-foot posts denoting the number of miles from the 32nd parallel. Upon reaching the parallel, they placed a granite marker on the west bank of the Sabine River. From that point, they traveled due north to the Red River, completing their work in late June 1841. As a result of erosion, the first granite marker on the Sabine fell into the river long ago, but a second granite marker on the northward path of the surveyors had been placed here to mark the north-south meridian. This is the only known marker remaining, and it is believed to be the only original international boundary marker within the contiguous U.S. Today, the border between Texas and Louisiana follows the Sabine River to the 32nd parallel, at which point it connects to the boundary established by Hunt and Forsyth. The Texas Historical Foundation purchased this site to provide public access to the early boundary marker.