US Meridian - Jefferson Pier - Washington, DC
Posted by: Ernmark
N 38° 53.388 W 077° 02.193
18S E 323370 N 4306518
Historic survey stone set on the proposed US 'First Meridian' and meant to mark the intersection of the latitude of the Capitol & the longitude of the White House.
Waymark Code: WM721V
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 08/21/2009
Views: 53
This historic stone sits just over 119 meters WNW of the Washington Monument and is inscribed on the W side with the following text:
POSITION OF JEFFERSON PIER ERECTED DEC 18, 1804.
RECOVERED AND RE-ERECTED
DEC 2,1869
Interestingly, the monument sits 2.23 feet S ot the actual point it was meant to mark - this was discovered due to modern technology and an unobstructed view - (
visit link) (page 20).
Recovery information from the NGS datasheet is as follows:
1/1/1907 by CGS (MONUMENTED)
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1907 (OBF) JEFFERSON PIER IS A CONCRETE POST ABOUT NW OF THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT, VERY NEARLY IN THE LATITUDE OF THE CAPITOL DOME AND THE LONGTITUDE OF THE WHITE HOUSE.
1/1/1907 by CGS (GOOD)
RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1907 RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.
1/1/1940 by CGS (GOOD)
RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1940 (TMP) THIS STATION WAS RECOVERED. THIS STATION IS LOCATED ON THE W SLOPE OF THE MOUND OF THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT, AND IS IN LINE WITH 16TH STREET EXTENDED, AND IN APPROXIMATE RANGE WITH THE N SIDE OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL. IT IS IN A DEPRESSION ABOUT 8 INCHES BELOW THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL. IT IS IN A DEPRESSION ABOUT 8 INCHES BELOW THE GENERAL GROUND SURFACE AND ABOUT 15 FEET IN DIAMETER. THE MARK IS ABOUT 2 FEET SQUARE AT BASE AND ABOUT 6 INCHES SQUARE AT TOP AND EXTENDS ABOUT 2 FEET ABOVE GROUND. THIS MARK IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN RAISED FROM TIME TO TIME AS WORK WAS DONE ON THE MONUMENT GROUNDS, BUT THE POSITION OF THE STATION IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN HELD EACH TIME.
9/9/1993 by NGS (GOOD)
RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 1993 THE STATION IS LOCATED IN WASHINGTON, D.C., ON THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT GROUNDS AT THE JEFFERSON PIER STONE WHICH LIES ON A LINE EXTENDING BETWEEN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL. OWNERSHIP--UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. CONTACT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, TELEPHONE NUMBER (202) 485-9880. THE STATION IS A BRASS PLUG WITH A PUNCH MARK, SET IN THE CENTER OF A RECESSED CROSS IN THE TOP OF A 2 BY 2-FOOT GRANITE MONUMENT WHICH IS INSCRIBED POSITION OF JEFFERSON PIER ERECTED DECEMBER 18, 1804, RECOVERED AND RE-ERECTED DECEMBER 2, 1889, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND PROJECTS 26 INCHES ABOVE THE GROUND. LOCATED 110 M (360.9 FT) WEST-NORTHWEST OF THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT AND 13.0 M (42.7 FT) SOUTH OF THE SOUTH EDGE OF A 15-FOOT WIDE CONCRETE WALKWAY. NOTE--PERMISSION MUST BE OBTAINED FROM THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TO OCCUPY THIS STATION.
7/18/1996 by DMW (GOOD)
RECOVERY NOTE BY DAFT MCCUNE WALKER INCORPORATED 1996 (JMS) RECOVERED AS DESCRIBED.
9/28/1998 by NGS (GOOD)
RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 1998 (RLA) RECOVERED AS DESCRIBED.
11/22/1999 by NGS (GOOD)
RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 1999 (RWA) RECOVERED AS DESCRIBED.
3/30/2000 by NGS (GOOD)
RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 2000 (RWA) RECOVERED AS DESCRIBED.