Old survey marker leads to letter to U.S. Geological Survey director

Just a few feet from the dirt driveway that leads to my parents’ house outside Frisco City, Ala. there’s a U.S. Geological Survey marker. When I was a boy, my siblings and I used to sit and stand on it while waiting to catch the school bus. I can remember reading the curious marker hundreds of times as a child.

As things go, I got older and I hadn’t thought about that marker in a long time, that is, until recently when we took a family trip to my parents’ house for the holidays. I walked out to the marker with my kids and told them about how it was just part of the scenery during my bus-catching days.

The metal marker is encased in a small cement cube that’s fixed into the ground. Many of you have likely seen markers of this type because thousands of them have been placed around the country by the U.S. Department of the Interior over the centuries. I know of at least one other one, just off Conecuh County Road 15 in Belleville.

These survey markers, which are sometimes called geodetic markers or benchmarks, are placed to mark key survey points on the earth’s surface and are used for land surveying purposes. The marker near my parents’ home was apparently placed there by surveyors I 1971, and the elevation there is 383 feet above sea level.

Beside this marker, there’s a metal sign on a post that reads as follows – “WITNESS POST – PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB NEARBY SURVEY MARKER – FOR INFORMATION WRITE TO THE DIRECTOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, WASHINGTON D.C. 20242”

I snapped a few pictures of the marker and on the ride home, I got to thinking about what sort of information I might receive if I were to actually write the USGS Director. So later, I did just that. What follows is the letter that I mailed off earlier this week in hopes that I can learn more about the marker.

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Thurs., Jan. 12, 2012

Dr. Marcia McNutt
Director, U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Dr. McNutt,

Re: USGS Marker

I hope this message finds you doing well. I know that you are extremely busy, and I appreciate you taking the time to read this letter.

I’ve enclosed a few photos of a survey marker that’s near my parents’ house, just outside of Frisco City, Ala. When I was a kid, my siblings and I would often sit or stand on it while waiting for the school bus. I’ve always been curious about the significance of this marker, and while showing it to my children over the holidays, I noticed that it says to write the USGS Director for more information.

My children are elementary school age, and I would appreciate any information you could send us about this marker. I know they’d get a big kick out of it, and I have to admit that I’m curious as well.

I work for a newspaper in Evergreen, Ala., and I’ll probably write a short column based on the information you send back. I know there are other markers like this across the country, and I suspect that our local readers would enjoy reading about them.

In the end, I really appreciate you taking the time to read this letter and thanks in advance for what ever information you can provide.

Respectfully,
Lee Peacock

Enclosures (3)

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In the end, I hope that Dr. McNutt will take the time to reply or have one of her assistants reply. If I do receive a response, I follow up with here at a later date.

How many of you out there are familiar with these markers? Do you know of any in your neighborhood? Let us know in the comments section below.