Here is a pretty good scan I found online of the various Principal Meridians. I know Kurt Luebke is making his way toward going to all of the Initial Points. Anyone else done this or seeking to do this?
How many have you been to? I have only been to the 6th PM Intial Point and the Black Hills Initial Point.
Click on the map once it comes up to enlarge.
Well Al White tried it about 12 or so years ago and wrote a book that the PLSC (Colorado) sells. Since then a number have been rehabilitated, a few recovered and remonumented, etc. He missed one or two, like the Chickasaw where he looked in the wrong place. He also has a significant amount of history about each point in the book.
- jlw
The Peters Colony did establish an initial point at the confluence of the West Fork and the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. There is no evidence of a monument due to industrial development in the immediate vicinity. The sectionalized mapping was never completed and rife with preemption surveys but many sections of land in North Texas were based on Henry Hedgecoxe's efforts.
Peter's Colony Initial Point vicinity
I’ve been to the Point of Beginning near East Liverpool, Ohio and the Initial Points of the first, second, third, fourth (on the Illinois – Wisconsin boundary), fifth, sixth and Gila and Salt River Meridians.
Interesting. Seen that map in many survey manuals. Was just talking about the Cimarron Meridian baseline for Oklahoma this morning. Really interesting and the error in it (330'±). OOPS. darn surveyors.
C. Albert White - Initial Points of the Rectangular Survey System
Great book. If you can't visit in person, you can read about the Initial Points and peruse the pictures. I had the pleasure of meeting him several times.
Here's some pics of the 3rd PM. It was remonumented I think in the early 1990's due to road construction. I got these pics from a guy in our office who actually got to touch it. It is now under a heavily reinforced slab of concrete, covered by asphalt. It will be a while before the light of day touches the stone again.
Great photos! Thanks for sharing!