|Principal Meridian Project|
|The goal of this project is to
photograph all of the Principal Meridians at their corresponding Base
Lines and post them here.
|Map of the Principal Meridians
List of the Principal Meridians
C Albert White
All of these initial points are historically significant as most of the land in the United States is referenced to one or another of them. If you are interested in participating in this project by photographing an initial point contact me by email and we can discuss the location you wish to photograph. Basically I need a picture of the general site, the marker, and then one picture each facing N, S, E, W. A short story on your trip to find it and any historical data about that point.
A very brief description follows:
In 1785 Congress enacted a law stating that the land in the new States were to be surveyed by a grid system consisting of townships 6 miles square and the said townships were to start at a principal meridian and its base line. These initial points were established as needed across the country.
Each township was further divided into sections of one mile square and divided into quarter of quarters. By verbiage in the legal description alone a piece of property can be located on a map within 330 feet, a far cry from the metes and bounds system that described property by its perimeter and location in respect to its neighbor. If you don't know where the neighbors property is you don't know where the subject property is.
Actual surveying was difficult and dangerous, more than a few surveyors were killed by accidents or Indians. The originals markers, in the prairies anyway, were made with material at hand. In many cases large poles or stakes were put in the ground along with a mound of dirt. Later in the mid to late 1800's many were replaced with some type of a large rock. By in large, the location of the original markers are still used today even if they are inaccurate. For example, if you own a 1/4 section of land, it is 1/4th of the section it is in even if that section is not exactly 1 square mile.
We are certainly pleased with the various people who have discovered this site and have contributed photos and encouragement. Thank you!
John N Shankland
The Principal Meridians
Note 1: The Latitude and Longitude readings given in the chart above were established by using Google Earth/Maps and examined by the people who visited the sites. Many of the sites have recognizable landmarks. The Lat Lon on other pages were probably determined by interpolation from maps, not as accurate, and with some entry errors. A few locations might have been determined by hand held GPS devices. The idea is that while the gps may not be exactly on you can get a good map of the area if you would like to visit one of these sites.
In addition there are 5 Meridians in Alaska
This site was partially inspired by the work being done at