Medina Meridian Stone - Medina, Ohio - U.S. Historic Survey Stones and Monuments on Waymarking.com

This is the southern of two Meridian Stones found in downtown Medina, Ohio. Although the plaque indicates “Longitude 81° 52’ W / Latitude 41° 8’ N,” it is actually at W 81° 51.7482' / N 41° 8.3532', putting it about .5 miles to the northeast of the posted coordinates.
According to "American Surveyor" magazine, May 2006, page 4: “The local legend has it that these two stones were erected in 1832 by two men, Thomas Miller (probably, a local surveyor) and a visiting astronomer whose name ‘may have been Powell,’ and that the alignment of the stones with the meridian was achieved by astronomical observations of Polaris ‘at midnight’ (Kovach 1966). In response to our request, Ms. J.G. King, the former Curator of the Medina County Historical Society, undertook an intensive search, but she could not find any document or reference related to the origin of the stones (King 2005, private communication).
“Ignoring the obvious fantasy about observations ‘at midnight’ (the time for observing Polaris in order to trace the meridian is not usually midnight), we do not have reasons to doubt the legend of the Meridian Stones’ origin in general. The horizontal table on top of the Southern stone (to place a compass?) and small dots on the tops of both stones undoubtedly indicate that the stones were functional. There is little doubt that the Medina Meridian Stones are another example of early attempts to create permanent local meridian lines for calibrating surveyor’s compasses.”

Monumentation Type: Stone post Monument Category: Meridian Line marker Accessible to general public: yes Historical significance: Stone depicting Longitude 81° 52’ and Latitude 41° 8’ County: Medina, Ohio Approximate date of monument: 01/01/1832 Monumentation Type (if other): Not listed Monument Category (if other): Not listed Explain Non-Public access: Not listed Monument Website: Not listed USGS Quad: Not listed NGS PID: Not listed Other Coordinates: Not Listed Other Coordinates details: 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   10/23/2021 27Jack visited it 05/15/2014 CONPER visited it 05/21/2013 buffalohiker visited it

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