U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Benchmark EL0397 - Ardmore, OK
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member QuarrellaDeVil
N 34° 10.582 W 097° 07.627
14S E 672610 N 3783296
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Benchmark EL0397 is on the east side of the old Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railroad Depot -- now used by the local VFW -- at 301 N Washington St, Ardmore, OK.
Waymark Code: WMW2N6
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 07/02/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Ernmark
Views: 2

This one is very easy to find, visible from N Washington St. From the entry on the east side, turn to your right (east) and walk a few paces past a window to the corner of the building. Just around the corner, on the north side, is the disk, in excellent condition.

Documented History (by the NGS)

01/01/1934 by CGS (MONUMENTED)

DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1934 AT ARDMORE. IN ARDMORE, CARTER COUNTY, AT THE GULF, COLORADO AND SANTA FE RAILWAY STATION, IN THE NORTH WALL OF A BRICK BUILDING AT CORNER OF NORTH WASHINGTON STREET AND THIRD AVENUE N.W., FORMERLY USED AS DEPOT BY THE ST. LOUIS AND SAN FRANCISCO RAILWAY AND NOW OCCUPIED BY THE LOCAL POST OF THE AMERICAN LEGION, ITS BUILDING AND 4.3 FEET ABOVE THE CONCRETE PAVEMENT ALONG SAID NORTH WALL. A STANDARD DISK STAMPED Q 40 1934 AND SET VERTICALLY.

01/01/1944 by NGS (GOOD)

RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 1944 RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.

03/07/1994 by NGS (GOOD)

RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 1994 IN ARDMORE, AT THE INTERSECTION OF WASHINGTON STREET AND 3RD AVENUE NORTHWEST, SET VERTICALLY IN THE NORTH FACE OF AMERICAN LEGION POST 65, 26.2 M (86.0 FT) NORTHWEST OF THE OF THE STREET CENTERLINE, 17.4 M (57.1 FT) NORTHEAST OF THE AVENUE CENTERLINE, 1.2 M (3.9 FT) ABOVE THE LEVEL OF A SIDEWALK, AND 0.4 M (1.3 FT) WEST OF THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE BUILDING.

--

This building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is a bit more than special, given its rare, direct tie to John Ringling. From the National Register's Nomination Form:

The Ringling Road Depot in Ardmore is significant because it is the only building in Oklahoma directly associated with John Ringling of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

John Ringling's railroad building efforts led directly to the establishment of three towns in southern Oklahoma: Ringling, Wilson, and Healdton, as well as the Healdton oil field.

Ringling and the city of Ardmore built this depot in 1915 with Ringling's Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Pacific Railroad Company. Construction of a line west from Ardmore had been begun in 1913 and was supposed to reach Lawton, Oklahoma. By the time builders finished the depot, the line extended 25 miles to the west, the present site of Ringling, Oklahoma. The depot built there no longer exists.

The Ringling Road never extended further west than Ringling because of the discovery of oil at Healdton, Oklahoma. The oilfield at Healdton was vital to the Allied effort in World War I. It supplied 50% of all the oil the Allied powers used during the war. The Ringling Road made this output possible.

The Santa Fe Railroad Company purchased the Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Pacific Railroad from Ringling in 1926. Santa Fe used the line until 1976, when they closed the 25-mile stretch.

Condition: Mark found in good condition

Designation: Q 40

Benchmark Agency: U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey

Monumentation type: BENCH MARK (or B.M.) Disk

County: Carter

USGS 7.5' Topographic Quadrangle Name (optional): Ardmore East

Find type: Found by luck/skill/knowledge

Web address of this benchmark's datasheet (optional): [Web Link]

NGS PID: EL0397

Benchmark Agency (if other): Not listed

Monumentation type (if other): Not listed

Special category (optional): Not listed

Special Category (if other): Not listed

Local database's URL (optional): Not listed

Visit Instructions:
  1. A closeup photo of the mark taken by you is required.
  2. A 'distant' photo including the mark in the view is highly recommended. Include the compass direction you faced when you took the picture.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest U.S. Benchmarks
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.