The area that became the State of Mississippi was defined by several surveys, and there are three Initial Points within its borders. This is because treaties settling land claims in this region, from conflicts with Indians and Spanish, came at different times. The Choctaw Meridian was established in 1821 and covers the middle portion of the state. The Initial Point was forgotten and unmarked for over 150 years until it was re-dedicated in 1998.
The Initial Point of the Choctaw Meridian 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 (M.A.P.S.). A brass medallion sits in a granite disc embedded in a substantial amount of concrete at and below ground.
The site is a short walk from the road, four miles west of Georgetown in south-central Mississippi.
The brush surrounding the monument is periodically cleared away.
The area surveyed from the Choctaw Initial Point is in red, in the middle of the map. South of that is the area of the 1803 Washington Meridian (in blue) and the 1805 St. Stephens Meridian. The yellow portion at the top of the state is from the Chickasaw Meridian of 1833.