While benchmarks normally do not raise an eyebrow, this addition to the Hub City Fun Series qualifies on pure historical significance. For those who cache for booty or for benchmarks, this is an opportunity to score in both categories. There is a micro-cache (no real booty) secreted nearby; more on that later.
Look closely at the up-facing surface of the red sandstone, into which has been cut the letters “B”, “M” and “A”. Centered between the letters is a ‘square’ cut into the stone. The cut was made in October of 1877. ‘That’ is benchmark ‘A’, the point-of-origin of a “transcontinental leveling line” so described in a geodetic report to President McKinley. The complete leveling process from Atlantic to Pacific Oceans was completed in 1904. Due to the geodetic stability of Benchmark “A” relative to other benchmarks, it has been used in leveling surveys in 1931, 1941, 1979 and 1989.
This cache is NOT at the above coordinates. It is offset. Around the corner, at the front of the courthouse (Washington Street), is a memorial to locals who fought in the large conflicts of the 20th Century. Take a somber moment to reflect on the cost of freedom and those who paid the ultimate price to preserve it. Just as there are two sides to every skirmish, there are also two sides to every Commemorative.
Note: Cache is micro-ish, magnetically attached. Thank You.