San Bernardino Meridian Initial Point, California

Southern California’s original Initial Point was established in 1852, by the surveyor Henry Washington. Washington intended to locate it atop the 10,649 foot San Bernardino Peak, but determined that the summit was not visible from the valley below, so he established the point half a mile west, 350 feet lower in elevation, but more visible from the west. He built a tower at the site, a 25-foot tall pole rising from a pile of rocks, with dangling tin reflectors, to make the point even more visible from below. The pile of rocks and the bottom part of the pole are still there, preserved primarily by the remoteness of the site—it is a five hour hike, with nearly a mile gain in elevation. It is one of 37 federal survey points of origin covering the USA (outside of the 13 original colonies), known as Initial Points, selected over a span of 150 years, to anchor newly acquired federal land to the legal and cartographic grid.

In addition to the ruins of the monument atop the peak, a half-size replica of Washington’s monument was built in a regional park in Yucaipa. The view from the bench lines up the interpretive plaque, the pole, and San Bernardino Peak in the background. Dangling tin flashers on the replica were also part of the original monument, used to make it more visible from the valley below.