Willamette Stone
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Hikes to this destination:
- Audubon Sanctuaries Loop Hike (TH | <— —> | LOG)
- Weather forecast: NWS/NOAA
- Maps: Oregon Hikers Maps Google Maps
- Latitude, Longitude: 45.5195, -122.7439
- Elevation: 950 feet
Description
The Willamette Meridian and the Willamette Baseline cross here at a latitude tying with the southernmost point of the Columbia River. Beginning in 1851, all surveys in Washington and Oregon were based on this point. A plaque here replaced a small stone obelisk that was vandalized in the 1980s. The Willamette Meridian is one of 37 principal meridians in the United States.
The meridian system is based on on the Land Ordinance of 1785, adopted by the U.S. Congress after an original proposal by Thomas Jefferson. It establishes the principal of land surveying throughout most of the current United States west of the Appalachian Mountains, an area then considered wilderness but ripe for settlement. Land was to be surveyed in squares of six miles to a side and further subdivided into one square mile (640 acre) lots. Hikers will come across yellow metal township markers, usually nailed to trees. A fifth nail designates the actual corner of the lot in question. Markers are not necessarily at the exact corner coordinates, but an inscription at the bottom of the marker indicates where that corner is in relation to the marker.
More Links
- Willamette Stone State Heritage Site (Oregon State Parks)
- Willamette Stone and Willamette Meridian (The Oregon Encyclopedia)
- The Point of Origin: Willamette Stone State Park (Columbia River Reader)
- Willamette Stone (Wikipedia)
Contributors
- bobcat (creator)