Piviot Point/Initial Point - Paoli IN - 1805 - U.S. Historic Survey Stones and Monuments on Waymarking.com

This mark is the mark by which all Indiana township and range sections are derived from. It is the first and original survey mark for the state of Indiana.

The original wooden post was placed here in September 1, 1805 by Ebenezer Buckingham Jr., U.S. Deputy Surveyor. The corner stone which now marks Initial Point replaced the wooden post in 1866. The stone was inscribed with an “S 31” for Section 31 and placed by J.H. Lindley, Orange County Surveyor.

Three members of the crew who initaly established Initial point died in this area. A panther killed Thomas Shay and severely mauled George Tate in Pike County. David Sanford, a young graduate just out of Yale, died of malaria, and Ziba Foote drowned in a swamp. However in Buckingham’s survey notes from September 1, 1805, there is nothing special to indicate establishing Initial Point was a milestone for his crew. He merely described the soil and timber. Once he set Initial Point, Buckingham turned north and continued along the 2nd Principal Meridian to the Indiana Treaty Line. At 77 chains north of Initial Point, he noted that he had crossed the Buffalo Trace.

In recognition of the importance of this point, a group of people from the Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors, Indiana County Surveyors Association, and citizens of Paoli decided to protect the site. They purchased 18 acres around the point and in 1968, made a cooperative agreement with the Forest Service to maintain the site. Title of the land was later conveyed to the Forest Service.

It should be noted that although the BLM records this point at N38 28' 14" (http://www.blm.gov/cadastral/Manual/73man/id131.htm) it is at the coordinates noted as referenced by the USDA forest service (http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/hoosier/recreation/outdoorlearning/recarea/?recid=41560&actid=119).

Monumentation Type: other (not included below) Monumentation Type (if other): inscribed stone on ground Monument Category: Initial Point Accessible to general public: yes Historical significance: see long description Monument Website: [Web Link] County: Paoli USGS Quad: vincennes Approximate date of monument: 09/01/1805 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

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.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   10/15/2013 DnRseekers visited it