It’s become a tradition here on the blog to recognise the week of July 4th, you know, that time of year when Americans celebrate their Americanness with fireworks (invented by the Chinese) and ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ t-shirts (most likely made in China). In past years I’ve you told you about the Liberty Bell of the West, American Freedom Museum and Pioneer Village’s Miracle of America Museum so why not add a random memorial marker to the list? Reading plaques has become my thing lately, so at least you all know one person in the world is paying attention to them.
In case you fell asleep during American History class, Texas won its independence in 1836, and became the Republic of Texas. So the Sabine River on the Texas-Louisiana border was once an international boundary. A survey crew began the demarcation process on May 20, 1840, at the Gulf of Mexico, and completed its work in 1841. Granite markers were placed along the border, but only one survives in Logansport, which means it is the only known international boundary marker within the United States. Unfortunately, any further international territorial disputes ended with the Annexation of Texas in 1845. The marker had a very short life as an international boundary: just four years. But it lives on in a three-acre park with a bronze plaque and fence (to protect it from vandalism) that probably no one even notices, but it survives and that’s all that matters. Because this is AMERICA!!!
