"South Magnetic" meridian - Frederick, MD - U.S. Historic Survey Stones and Monuments on Waymarking.com

An adjacent plaque states "South Magnetic - The compass meridian stones of Frederick County - One of two stone set in 1896 by USC&GS to establish a true meridian line. Used by surveyors to check compass variations pursuant to Article 25, Code of MD. - North Magnetic lies 150' due North - Reset April 9, 2005 by the Appalachian Chapter of the Maryland Society of Surveyors.

The secondary link below is to a lengthy 2003 article in the Maryland Surveyor newsletter providing more history on these two meridian markers. It states that these "Compass Meridian Stones [were] mandated by the Maryland Legislature in 1870 for the purpose of calibrating surveyor’s compasses to magnetic declination". The reset of the southern pin was required when a TV camera truck knocked the monument. The local declination is roughly 11 degrees, 7 minutes west of astronomical north.

Monumentation Type: other (not included below) Monumentation Type (if other): Copper pin in concrete base Monument Category: Meridian Line marker Monument Category (if other): n/a Accessible to general public: yes Explain Non-Public access: n/a Historical significance: See the Long Description. Monument Website: [Web Link] County: Frederick County USGS Quad: Baltimore NGS PID: JV2528 Other Coordinates details: n/a Approximate date of monument: 01/01/1896 Other Coordinates: 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   02/02/2022 bluesnote visited it 06/01/2013 Searcher28 visited it 04/07/2013 Ernmark visited it 03/10/2010 Benchmark Blasterz visited it

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