NRHP: Nebraska-Kansas Public Land Survey Thematic Group, Rulo
Contents
Nebraska-Kansas Public Land Survey Thematic Group
NRHP Reference #: 87001001
NRHP Listing Date: 19870619
Location
6 1/2 mi SE of Rulo, Rulo vicinity, Richardson County, Nebraska
View this property's location
View all NRHP properties on this map.
Summary
These surveyors' monuments, and witness stones which locate them, played a vital role in the survey of public lands in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming. A cast iron monument, located on a bluff above the Missouri River in Richardson County near present-day Rulo, marks the initial point for the survey. It was set in place on May 8, 1855. An 1856 red sandstone monument marks the intersection of the sixth principal meridian and the fortieth degree of the north latitude base line (the point where present-day Thayer and Jefferson counties, Nebraska, and Washington and Republic counties, Kansas, meet). The monuments remain major reference points to the present day in the rectangular land survey system. Broken off and reburied several times, the stone monument was most recently unearthed in 1986 by surveyors from five states who were sponsored by the Professional Surveyors Association of Nebraska.
Further Information
Bibliography
About the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the country’s official list of historically significant properties. To be eligible for the NRHP a property must generally retain their historic appearance, be at least 50 years old, and have the potential to be documented as historically or architecturally significant at either the local, state, or national level. The National Register of Historic Places is a National Park Service program administered by the Nebraska State Historical Society for the state of Nebraska. Visit the Nebraska State Historical Society's website to learn more about the program.
