BM0990 - CHAPEL HILL FIRST BAP CH SPIRE - Chappell Hill, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 30° 08.435 W 096° 15.417
14R E 764237 N 3337540
The weather vane which used to be located on the top of the spire of the old Providence Church in Chappell Hill, Texas was a NGS benchmark ("BM0990"). The monumentation (in this case, the spire) is still there, but the weather vane is gone.
Waymark Code: WMNK32
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/26/2015
Views: 2
As described by the Coast and Geodetic Survey ("CGS") in 1954:
"THE STATION IS THE ARROW SHAPED WEATHER VANE ON THE TOP OF THE CHURCH SPIRE. IT IS LOCATED NEAR THE CENTER OF THE VILLAGE AND ON THE EAST SIDE OF U.S. HIGHWAY 290. THE SPIRE IS 75 FEET HIGH, PAINTED WHITE AND IS MADE OF WOOD."
While the coordinates are pretty much accurate and the church spire is still present, the actual official marker -- the weather vane -- has been removed from the top of that spire.
BTW, a follow-up description of this seemingly unobtrusive church (which was incorrectly labeled as "Chapel Hill First Baptist" by the CGS/NGS might be of interest to future finders:
The Providence Baptist Church was founded in 1842 and built its first church on a site roughly 2.5 miles NW of its current location. That particular structure was destroyed by a violent storm in 1866, so its congregation built itself a new church at this location, on the site of yet another former church, the St. Luke Episcopal Church, in 1873.
The Greek Revival structure served the local community for several decades but ultimately closed its door due to much needed restoration. It eventually got listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a "Contributing Structure" of the town's "Main Street Historic District", was then acquired by the Chappell Hill Historical Society in 1996, restored to its original condition, and -- while no longer used for religious ceremonies -- is now open to the public on guided tours and is available for special event rentals.
The church was mistakenly labeled by the NGS as "Chapel [sic] Hill First Baptist Church", completing ignoring the "Providence" label in its name.
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Below are some additional facts, per the NGS database (with some editing for length): (
visit link)
BM0990 ***********************************************************************
BM0990 DESIGNATION - CHAPEL HILL FIRST BAP CH SPIRE
BM0990 PID - BM0990
BM0990 STATE/COUNTY- TX/WASHINGTON
BM0990 COUNTRY - US
BM0990 USGS QUAD - CHAPPELL HILL (1989)
BM0990
BM0990 *CURRENT SURVEY CONTROL
BM0990 ______________________________________________________________________
BM0990* NAD 83(1993) POSITION- 30 08 26.11079(N) 096 15 25.01546(W) ADJUSTED
BM0990* NAVD 88 ORTHO HEIGHT - **(meters) **(feet)
BM0990 ______________________________________________________________________
BM0990
BM0990_MARKER: 90 = CHURCH SPIRE
BM0990
BM0990 HISTORY - Date Condition Report By
BM0990 HISTORY - 1954 FIRST OBSERVED CGS
BM0990 HISTORY - 19940820 GOOD USPSQD
BM0990 HISTORY - 19941105 GOOD USPSQD
BM0990 HISTORY - 19991009 GOOD USPSQD