On June 21st 1967 at 2:30 EST. a simultaneous dedication in all Capital cities of Canada took place to honour the land surveyors of this country. The twelve Centennial monuments and plaques were unveiled to the public showing the important part the surveyor played in the exploration and mapping of our nation. Each capital city will have a brass cap which is a First Post in a unified system of precisely co-ordinated survey points. Some monuments have a document cache or a time capsule encased to be opened on our 200th birthday.
The first survey of land in Canada was made in 1625 on the St. Charles River near the City of Quebec and was made by the man recognized as Canada's first surveyor, Samuel de Champlain.
The search for gold in the Yukon posed a need for surveying. William Ogilvie ran surveys on the 141st Meridian. J.B Tyrrell also did some early surveying in the Yukon.
The survey chain used to measure was called Gunters Chain.It was made up of 100 steel links and was 66 feet long. It was invented by Edmund Gunter an Englishman in 1620.
To Log your find e-mail a description of what is directly east and west of the Brass Cap. You can include pictures of the monument if you'd like.
First Post locations :
Ottawa
Whitehorse
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Fredericton (destroyed)
St John's
Charlottetown(under repair)
Halifax
Quebec City (destroyed)
Toronto
Victoria(destroyed)
Regina