Meridian Marker (Circa 1898), Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Posted by: PFF
N 35° 54.785 W 079° 02.955
17S E 676019 N 3976066
South Meridian Monument, erected on the campus of the University of North Carolina in 1898.
Waymark Code: WM5M6Q
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 01/20/2009
Views: 27
Meridian Monuments were established in pairs, aligned exactly north and south. The purpose was to allow a surveyor to calibrate his compus against a known standard. By law, surveyors were required to calibrate their compasses at least once per year. The results were entered in a Meridian Book at the county's Register of Deeds office, at a cost (in 1900) of five dollars.
Orange County had two such stations. (The other was on the north side of Hillsborough.) When established, the Chapel Hill meridian stones were in open fields. (See photo gallery). In 1915, Davie Hall was built a few feet from the southern stone, and the steel in the building rendered the meridian station useless. A new station was established 200 feet to the east, in what is now Coker Arboretum.
The north meridian has not been found. It was described as being somewhere near the Chapel of the Cross. For more information, follow the web link, below.
This stone is several feet tall and weighs 400 pounds. Originally, it was enscribed 'USGS + NCGS 1898'. The lettering has worn away, but the cross remains. The center of the cross is the precise survey point. The top is flush with a brick driveway on the east side of Davie Hall, north of the intersection of Cameron Avenue and Stadium Drive. It is 35.4 feet, bearing 318 degrees magnetic, from the NE corner of Davie Hall. It is 17.1 feet, bearing 240 degrees magnetic, from the western edge of the stone wall marking the boundary of Coker Arboretum.
To reach the replacement meridian, consult the map of the arboretum on the web site, below.
Monumentation Type: Dressed stone
Monument Category: Meridian Line marker
Accessible to general public: yes
Historical significance: Established by the US Geological Survey in 1898.
Monument Website: [Web Link]
County: Chapel Hill (Orange County) North Carolina
USGS Quad: Chapel Hill
Monumentation Type (if other): Not listed
Monument Category (if other): Not listed
Explain Non-Public access: Not listed
NGS PID: Not listed
Other Coordinates: Not Listed
Other Coordinates details: Not listed
Approximate date of monument: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
1. A closeup photo of the monument is required.
______
2. A 'distant' photo including the monument in the view is highly recommended. Include the compass direction you faced when you took the picture.