Willamette Stone State Heritage Site Information
The Willamette Stone was a small stone obelisk originally located in the western hills of Portland, Oregon in the United States. It marked the intersection and origin of the Willamette Meridian and Willamette Baseline, which defined the grid system of sections and townships from which all real property in the states of Oregon and Washington has been measured following the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. The Willamette Meridian runs north-south from the marker, and the Willamette Base Line runs east to west through the marker.[1]
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History
The location of the original stone is now indicated by a stainless steel marker in Willamette Stone State Heritage Site, an Oregon state park approximately four miles (6.4 km) west of downtown Portland. The site is on Skyline Boulevard, in the West Hills overlooking the Tualatin Valley and the Willamette River watershed.
The grid defined by the stone extended the Public Land Survey System and was used as the basis of land claims in the Oregon Territory. The first marker, a red cedar stake, was placed on the site on June 4, 1851, by John B. Preston, the first Surveyor General of the Oregon Territory.[1] Preston was appointed by President Millard Fillmore to create a system for surveying land in the territory;[2] he lost his position in 1853, and "drifted into obscurity."[3] The location was chosen such that the base line would not cross the Columbia River and the meridian would lie west of Vancouver Lake.[4] The grid system was an extension of the system used in the Northwest Territory proposed by Thomas Jefferson. The Willamette Stone marked the location of the first townships and ranges north and south of the marker.
The stake was replaced by a stone obelisk on July 25, 1885.[1] On two sides, the stone was marked with the words "BASE" and "LINE", while on the other two sides it was marked with the words "WILL." and "MER." The stone was vandalized in the 1980s and replaced with the current marker, as well as an accompanying bronze plaque: "Beginning here, the Willamette Meridian was established running north to Puget Sound and south to the California border, and the baseline was established running east to the Idaho border and west to the Pacific Ocean."[3]
Streets
The location of the Willamette Meridian and Willamette Baseline can be identified by various streets that follow their courses, often named to call attention to this fact.
North-South streets & the meridian
- In Multnomah County, Southwest 65th Avenue overlays the Willamette Meridian. A short section of Interstate 5 immediately south of the Barbur Blvd. interchange also overlays the meridian.
- In Clackamas County, Southwest Stafford Road and Meridian Road overlay the meridian.
- In Marion County there are several sections of a road named Meridian Road that parallel the meridian. Due to the hilly landscape, not all sections of this road overlay the meridian.
- In Jackson County, Meridian Road runs along several miles of the meridian.
- There is a Meridian Street in Newberg. However, it is several miles west of the actual meridian.
- In Kitsap County, Washington, west of Silverdale there is Willamette Meridian Road NW which runs along the meridian for about three miles (5 km).
- In Thurston County, Washington, east of Lacey, there are two stretches of road along teh meridian about two miles long called Meridian Road.
East-West streets & the baseline
- Stark Street in Portland runs along the Willamette Baseline.
- Baseline Road in Tillamook, Washington, Hood River, Gilliam, and Morrow counties all run along or start at the Willamette Baseline.
- Division Street in Portland and Section Line Road in East Multnomah County follow the division between the first and second rows of square-mile sections south of the Willamette Baseline.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Corning, Howard M. (1989) Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 138.
- ^ Atwood, Kay (2008). Chaining Oregon: Surveying the Public Lands of the Pacific Northwest, 1851-1855. McDonald & Woodward. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-939923-20-5.
- ^ a b Friedman, Ralph (1990). In Search of Western Oregon. Caxton Press. pp. 279–80. ISBN 9780870043321. http://books.google.com/books?id=4i1grNoMcWgC&pg=PA279.
- ^ Atwood, p. 27.
External links
- Surveying the Land, from the website of the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
- Location of the Willamette Meridian and the Oregon Base Line
- Willamette Stone State Heritage Site
- Photographs of the stone, published 1959
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Coordinates: 45°31.172′N 122°44.628′W / 45.519533°N 122.7438°W
Categories: History of Portland, Oregon | Land surveying of the United States | Lines of latitude | Lines of longitude | Obelisks in the United States | Geography of Portland, Oregon | Oregon state parks | Monuments and memorials in Oregon | Parks in Portland, Oregon
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