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Meridian-Baseline State Park

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Coordinates: 42°25′26″N 84°21′49″W / 42.42393°N 84.36368°W / 42.42393; -84.36368
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Meridian-Baseline State Park
The West meridian baseline marker
Map showing the location of Meridian-Baseline State Park
Map showing the location of Meridian-Baseline State Park
Location in Michigan
Map showing the location of Meridian-Baseline State Park
Map showing the location of Meridian-Baseline State Park
Meridian-Baseline State Park (the United States)
LocationIngham and Jackson counties, Michigan
Nearest cityLeslie, Michigan
Coordinates42°25′26″N 84°21′49″W / 42.42393°N 84.36368°W / 42.42393; -84.36368
Area108 acres (44 ha)
Elevation924 feet (282 m) [2]
DesignationMichigan state park
Established1967 [3]
AdministratorMichigan Department of Natural Resources
WebsiteMeridian-Baseline State Park

Meridian-Baseline State Park is a historic preservation area covering 108 acres (44 ha) in Ingham County and Jackson County, Michigan, containing the intersection of the Michigan meridian and the baseline used for the Michigan Survey.[4] The state park has two monuments that show where the two mismatched baselines meet the principal meridian at the North Initial Point and South Initial Point.[5][6]

History

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The East Baseline-Meridian marker, situated in a swamp at the end of a boardwalk. It is the northern of the two markers.
The West Baseline-Meridian marker at Michigan Meridian-Baseline State Park
The East Baseline-Meridian marker at Michigan Meridian-Baseline State Park

Efforts to acquire the site were initiated by state and private interests in the 1960s. In the 1960s and 1970s, land was acquired and money was raised toward establishing a Museum of Surveying on the site. Those efforts were abandoned when the Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors opened a museum in Lansing, Michigan, in 1981.[7]

Although the site was landlocked for many years, in 2014, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources acquired additional property allowing public access from Meridian Road near the Jackson–Ingham county line.[8] Improvements made at the site included trail clearing and construction of a 10-car parking lot.[9] After road signs, trail markers, and a bridge over the creek were added, the State of Michigan in conjunction with Ingham and Jackson counties, opened the new access to the park on October 12, 2015. In 2016, an additional boardwalk was completed in the wetlands near the markers.[9]

The Shaw Branch river, which is a tributary of the Grand River, runs through the park perpendicular to the path. A small footbridge allows you to walk over the river.

References

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  1. ^ "Meridian-Baseline State Park". IUCN. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  2. ^ "Meridian-Baseline State Park Topographical Map" (PDF). Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  3. ^ "When were Michigan state parks and recreation areas established?" (PDF). Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  4. ^ "Meridian-Baseline State Park". Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  5. ^ "Michigan Meridian". The Center for Land Use Interpretation. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  6. ^ Luebke, Kurt A. (October 6, 2006). "Michigan Meridian". Principal Meridian Project. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  7. ^ Wyatt, Ken (December 31, 2010). "Meridian-Baseline site is indeed special". Jackson Citizen Patriot. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  8. ^ Flory, Brad (January 7, 2015). "Remembering what happened in Jackson County 200 years ago". MLive. Advance Local Media. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Surveying Michigan 200th Anniversary". 1815 Surveying Michigan. October 11, 2015.
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