at the time of washington, d.c.'s creation in 1791, the land beneath present-day meridian hill park was owned by robert peter, wealthy georgetown merchant, and was known as peter's hill. in 1804, president thomas jefferson had a geographic marker placed on this large hill. centered exactly north of the white house, this marker helped to establish a longitudinal meridian for the city and the nation: the "white house meridian". after the war of 1812, commodore david porter, a naval hero of that war, acquired the hill in 1816 as part of a 110-acre tract of land that he had purchased; he named this property meridian hill. on the brow of this prominent hill on his new estate, and close to the marker, porter then built a large and famous mansion which he also named meridian hill. the home faced south with a dramatic view of the white house and the potomac river. meridian hill park today shares this view.