USCGS Boundary Monument Near OFFSET, 1873, ID-WA, is a roughly dressed basalt shaft of stone that stands on the north bank of the Snake River about one mile north-northwest of Lewiston, ID. It was set by Rollin Reeves, Deputy U.S Surveyor, on August 7, 1873, as the initial point for a 176.5-mile survey to the Canadian border that established the boundary line between Idaho and Washington. Today, it is located on the boundary between Nez Perce County, ID, and Whitman County, WA. The stone is in both the NGS and Geocaching databases as station BOUNDARY MONUMENT NEAR OFFSET, PID = RZ1586: (
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The stone stands about one mile north-northwest of Lewiston, ID, about one mile north-northeast of Clarkston, WA, about 0.45 miles north-northwest of the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers, and about 60 yards north of the north bank of the Snake River.
The stone is a basalt shaft, about 10-inches by 12-inches, and projects about 18 inches above a three foot tall by nine foot wide rock cairn that surrounds it. It is 108.3 feet east (094 degrees true) from triangulation station OFFSET RESET, PID = RZ1022, about 100 feet south of the centerline of ID State Highway 128 (Down River Road on the ID side of the boundary, Wawawai River Road on the WA side), and about 32 feet south of the most southerly rail of a set of two east-west railroad tracks. The letters “I T” (Idaho Territory) are cut into the east face, “W T” (Washington Territory) into the west face, “1873” into the north face, and “LAT 46 25 57.96” into the south face. A plaque, set in 1998 by the Land Surveyors of Washington (LSAW) to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the survey, is mounted at the foot of the stone on the west side.
Interestingly, the LSAW plaque lists the stone’s position as N46-25-51.6035 W117-02-23.1535, a difference (using INVERSE) of 6.22 inches from the adjusted horizontal coordinates at the current NGS datasheet: N46-25-51.60858 W117-02-23.15258.
To reach the stone from the US Highway bridge over the Clearwater River in the northeast section of Lewiston, ID, go north for about 0.5 miles to the intersection with ID State Highway 128 (Down River Road). Turn left and go westerly on ID State Highway 128 for about 1.0 miles to the turnoff for Spiral Highway leading northeast. Continue westerly on State Highway 128 for 1.07 miles to a gravel turn-out on the right. From the western end of the gravel turnout, walk west along the highway for about 215 feet. Just before reaching a four by four wood post that supports a west-facing green sign for the Idaho state line and Welcome to Lewiston, turn left and walk south. From the highway, step over a low, barbed-wire right-of-way fence, cross the double set of tracks, and continue south for about 32 feet up a small rise and the stone.
In lieu of an entry in the “History” section, below, I direct you to the June, 1999, article in Professional Surveyor Magazine by Denny DeMeyer and Melissa Whitehouse: “Commemorating the Washington-Idaho Boundary Survey of 1873”, at (
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