Air Mail Marker

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Air Mail Marker is a historic site, at a recorded elevation of 3 m. Gantt Hill stands 156 m to the west-northwest, 11 miles off. The nearest named place is Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, a historic site 0.1 miles away. George Washington Memorial Parkway passes 0.5 miles off. 36 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
The First Air Mail Marker is a plaque in West Potomac Park, Washington, D.C. It is located on east shore of the Potomac River beside Ohio Drive. The marker commemorates the first regularly scheduled United States airmail service flight. On May 15, 1918, Lt. George Boyle departed Washington in a Curtiss JN-4H biplane in front of a crowd that included President Woodrow Wilson. Bound for Philadelphia, Boyle became disoriented and landed in a Maryland field. The marker was erected on the flight's fortieth anniversary, May 15, 1958.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dates from 1958-05-15.
Wikidata Q34807624, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 3 m
How to reach it
- 0.5 mi off the George Washington Memorial Parkway, National
- 5.0 mi off the Booth's Escape
- 7.2 mi off the Old Georgetown Pike
- 6.3 mi off the Star-Spangled Banner Byway
Overlooks nearby
Named places within 25 miles
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial: 0.1 mi
- George Mason Memorial: 0.3 mi
- Cuban American Friendship Urn: 0.4 mi
- Japanese Lantern: 0.4 mi
- Jefferson Memorial: 0.4 mi
- Japanese Pagoda: 0.1 mi
- Thomas Jefferson: 0.4 mi
- Fala Statue: 0.5 mi
- Bridge Tender's House: 0.5 mi
- Pacific Pavilion: 0.5 mi
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial: 0.3 mi
- Constitution Gardens: 0.6 mi
- Artigas Park: 0.7 mi
- Bolivar Park: 0.8 mi
- Robert Latham Owen Park: 0.9 mi
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove: 0.5 mi
- The Statues: 0.5 mi
- Floral Library: 0.5 mi
- German-American Friendship Garden: 0.8 mi
- Big Red One: 1.0 mi
- U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum: 0.7 mi
- Art Museum of the Americas: 0.8 mi
- ARTECHOUSE: 0.8 mi
- Interior Museum: 0.9 mi
- Diplomatic Reception Rooms Museum: 0.9 mi
- Lockkeeper's House: 0.7 mi
- Smithsonian National Carousel: 1.2 mi
- White House Peace Vigil: 1.3 mi
- Memorial Gate Fountain: 1.3 mi
- Lock 0: 1.5 mi
- Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary: 1.2 mi
- Fort Bennet Park and Palisades Trail: 2.3 mi
- Reservation 630: 4.0 mi
- Ballston Wetland Park: 4.0 mi
- Potomac Overlook Regional Park: 4.1 mi
- Picnic site for Rose park: 1.9 mi
- Troy Park: 2.9 mi
- Picnic Grove 29: 3.9 mi
- Fletcher's Cove: 4.0 mi
- Picnic Grove 1: 4.0 mi
- Peters Hill: 1.0 mi
- Mackeys Hill: 2.3 mi
- Lees Hill: 2.5 mi
- Georgetown Heights: 3.0 mi
- Jackson Hill: 3.0 mi
- Fishing Shore: 3.5 mi
- Lake Barcroft Beach: 6.1 mi
- Purplehorse Beach: 12.6 mi
- Sycamore Beach: 12.7 mi
- Beaver Landing: 24.6 mi
- Takoma Spring: 6.7 mi
- Silver Spring: 7.5 mi
- Clean Drinking Manor Spring: 8.2 mi
- Indian Springs: 11.5 mi
- Sandy Spring: 17.9 mi
- Rosier Bluff: 7.6 mi
- Indian Queen Bluff: 8.9 mi
- Indian Head: 20.4 mi
- Quartz Rock Outcropping: 23.1 mi
- Quartz Rock Outcropping: 23.1 mi
- Stubblefield Falls: 10.1 mi
- Scott's Run Falls: 10.4 mi
- Great Falls: 13.8 mi
- Coe Creek: 20.3 mi
- Dale City Car-Only Safety Rest Area North: 24.5 mi
- Dale City Car-Only Safety Rest Area South: 24.6 mi
- Manassas Safety/Rest Area West: 24.8 mi
- Manassas Safety/Rest Area East: 24.8 mi
- Wilson: 24.6 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Air Mail Marker. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gantt Hill | WNW 287° | 156 m | 10.6 mi |
| Hunting Hill | NNW 329° | 156 m | 16.3 mi |
| Mount Daniel | W 278° | 144 m | 7.5 mi |
| Minor's Hill | WNW 284° | 140 m | 6.3 mi |
| Freedom Hill | WNW 285° | 140 m | 11.1 mi |
| Prout Hill | W 270° | 137 m | 8.0 mi |
| Upton Hill | W 265° | 125 m | 5.6 mi |
| Point Reno | NNW 340° | 123 m | 5.2 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:13 | 18:45 | 19:20 |
| June solstice | 05:44 | 19:58 | 20:38 |
| September equinox | 06:57 | 18:32 | 19:07 |
| December solstice | 07:24 | 16:08 | 16:50 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Jun, Aug–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 38 | 40 | 48 | 58 | 67 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 61 | 50 | 42 |
| Precip in | 2.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 3.4 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Washington Reagan Natl AP, 2 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/358960297
Day trips start here
Take the scenic way to Air Mail Marker.
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