Center of the 48 States - Lebanon KS
Posted by: PeterNoG
N 39° 48.335 W 098° 33.625
14S E 537628 N 4406271
In 1918, Lebanon claimed to be Geographical Center of the United States of America. In 1940, a monument was erected just northwest of town.
Waymark Code: WM6QYN
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 07/11/2009
Views: 11
~ from
http://www.clui.org/clui_4_1/lotl/lotlsp99/geo.html~
The Lebanon, Kansas "center," in fact, was determined by cutting the shape of the lower 48 states out of a cardboard sheet, and balancing it on a point. This determination of the "center of gravity" of the country (or at least of a jagged piece of cardboard) was used by the Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1918, and placed the center of the lower 48 states at 39° 50'N. longitude 98° 35W latitude. This method, even at its best, is believed to be accurate only within ten or twenty miles. Though the Geodetic Survey would later regret making any official declaration, this early endorsement was enough to enable Lebanon's Hub Club to claim its center as official, beating a few other competing communities for the title, which, it was assumed, could lead to considerable tourist revenue, and literally put the community on the map.
Another link (
visit link)
There has never been an official recalculation of the Geographical Center of the lower 48, but some methods put it in Phillipsburg, 40 miles west.