The Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey is the point from which the United States in 1786 began the formal survey of the lands known then as the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

, now making up all or part of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The survey is claimed to be the first major

cadastral survey Cadastral surveying is the sub-field of cadastre and surveying that specialises in the establishment and re-establishment of real property boundaries. It involves the physical delineation of property boundaries and determination of dimensions, a ...

undertaken by any nation. The point now lies underwater on the state line between Ohio and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Because it is submerged, a monument commemorating the point is adjacent to the nearest roadway and located on the state line between

East Liverpool, Ohio East Liverpool is a city in southeastern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,958 at the 2020 census. It lies along the Ohio River within the Upper Ohio Valley and borders Pennsylvania to the east and West Virginia to the ...

and

Ohioville, Pennsylvania Ohioville is a borough in western Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,345 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. History Ohioville was originally Ohio Township, formed in 1805 from parts ...

. The area around the marker was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1965.

Description and history

The monument commemorating the survey point is located on the north side of the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

, on the south side of the road designated

Ohio State Route 39 State Route 39 (SR 39) is a primarily east–west running state highway in north-central and northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. The route runs through seven counties on its approximately trip through the region. Its western termi ...

to the west and

Pennsylvania Route 68 Pennsylvania Route 68 (PA 68) is a east–west state highway located in western Pennsylvania in the United States. The western terminus of the route is at the Ohio state line west of Glasgow, Pennsylvania, Glasgow, where PA 68 continues into ...

to the east. It is near the three-way intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the northern tip of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, in both the

Pittsburgh metropolitan area Greater Pittsburgh is a populous region centered around its largest city and economic hub, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The region encompasses Pittsburgh's urban core county, Allegheny, and six adjacent Pennsylvania counties: Armstrong, Beaver, ...

and the East Liverpool micropolitan area. It is inscribed "1,112 feet south of this spot was the point of beginning for surveying the Public Lands of the United States." The

Public Land Survey System The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is the surveying method developed and used in the United States to plat, or divide, real property for sale and settling. Also known as the Rectangular Survey System, it was created by the Land Ordinance of 1 ...

of the United States was established by Congressional legislation in 1785, in order to provide an orderly mechanism for opening the

for settlement. The ordinance directed the Geographer of the United States,

Thomas Hutchins Thomas Hutchins ( Monmouth County, NJ 1730 – April 18, 1789, Pittsburgh) was an American military engineer, cartographer, geographer and surveyor. In 1781, Hutchins was named Geographer of the United States. He is the only person to hold that ...

, to survey an initial east-west base line. Hutchins began in 1786, using as his starting point a stake on north bank of the

placed by a 1785 survey team from the states of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and Pennsylvania to fix their common north-south boundary (now the boundary between Pennsylvania and the northern tip of

). Hutchins' work, completed in 1787, established the

Seven Ranges The Seven Ranges (also known as the Old Seven Ranges) was a land tract in eastern Ohio that was the first tract to be surveyed in what became the Public Land Survey System. The tract is across the northern edge, on the western edge, with the sou ...

, with a baseline about line. This survey is believed to be "the first mathematically designed system and nationally conducted

cadastral A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...

survey in any modern country." The monument was placed in 1881, and is maintained by the East Liverpool Historical Society. It was declared a

in 1965 and designated as a

National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...

in 1985.

References

{{NRHP in Beaver County, Pennsylvania Initial points National Register of Historic Places in Columbiana County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Beaver County, Pennsylvania National Historic Landmarks in Ohio National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania Borders of Ohio Borders of Pennsylvania Monuments and memorials in Ohio Monuments and memorials in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Beaver County, Pennsylvania Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks Historic surveying landmarks in the United States Tourist attractions in Columbiana County, Ohio 1881 establishments in Pennsylvania 1881 establishments in Ohio

Description and history

See also

References