Choctaw Meridian Initial Point, Mississippi

Most of Mississippi was surveyed from one survey point, known as the Choctaw Meridian Initial Point, one of 37 federal survey points of origin covering the USA (outside of the 13 original colonies), to anchor newly acquired federal land to the legal and cartographic grid. The Choctaw Meridian was established in 1821 and covers the middle portion of the state. There are two other Initial Points within the state because treaties settling land claims in this region, from conflicts with Indians and Spanish, came at different times. The Choctaw Initial Point was forgotten and unmarked for over 150 years until it was re-dedicated in 1998, when it was re-established for historical purposes by a group of organizations including the Bureau of Land Management, Mississippi State University, and the Mississippi Association of Professional Surveyors. A brass medallion sits in a granite disc embedded in a substantial amount of concrete at and below ground.