Meridian Marker (Circa 1898), Chapel Hill, North Carolina - U.S. Historic Survey Stones and Monuments on Waymarking.com

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.
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2. A 'distant' photo including the monument in the view is highly recommended. Include the compass direction you faced when you took the picture.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/30/2010 LJParr visited it