Astronomical Pier established by George M. Wheeler in 1874 west of Julesburg, Colorado.
40°59'09.01"N - 102°21'40.28"W
NGS PID AI2900.
History: (See page 26).
http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1362/pdf/circ_1362.pdf
The USGS publication is really interesting.
Apparently that particular monolith had a capstone once upon a time. I'm wondering if an instrument was mounted directly to the capstone for observations, or mounted on a tripod over the stone...seeing as how the stone itself is apparently only about waist high.
things that make me go hmmmmm...
Thanks for the post, I enjoyed the read.
There is a Wheeler monument at North Platte that got moved to the courthouse lawn. It has a flat capstone about 6" thick that overhangs on the top. On the Julesburg monument, the top of the east pin that sticks up has a small triangle with a punch hole in the middle that is the exact NGS point.