Mount Diablo Surveyors Historical Society
THE MOUNT
DIABLO
SURVEY MARKS
WITH ITS UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW,
MOUNT DIABLO'S SUMMIT HAS LONG BEEN AN IMPORTANT REFERENCE POINT FOR LAND
SURVEYS IN THE FAR WEST. IN 1851, COL. LEANDER RANSOM BEGAN SUBDIVIDING THE PUBLIC
LANDS BY ESTABLISHING THE MOUNT DIABLO INITIAL POINT. FROM THIS POINT, LINES
WERE EXTENDED NORTH, SOUTH, EAST AND WEST FORMING A SURVEY GRID THAT COVERS
MOST OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AND ALL OF NEVADA. THIS POINT IS MARKED BY A
RECTANGULAR DEPRESSION IN THE EXPOSED BEDROCK, THREE FEET NORTHEAST FROM THE
CENTER OF THIS PILLAR. IN 1852, R. D. CUTTS OF THE COAST SURVEY ESTABLISHED A
DIFFERENT SURVEY MARK FROM WHICH HE BEGAN MAPPING THE STATE'S WATERWAYS AND
SURROUNDING TOPOGRAPHY. THIS POINT IS MARKED BY THE COPPER BOLT INSIDE THE BASE
OF THIS PILLAR.
PLAQUE
DONATED BY:
NORTHERN
AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SECTIONS OF THE
AMERICAN CONGRESS ON SURVEYING AND MAPPING
MOUNT
DIABLO SURVEYORS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
EAST BAY, SAN MATEO/SANTA CLARA, MONTEREY BAY CHAPTERS
OF THE CALIFORNIA LAND SURVEYORS ASSOCIATION
OPERATING ENGINEERS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SURVEYORS JOINT APPRENTICE
COMMITTEE
KHARNEY'S
PATTERN WORKS AND FOUNDRY
PLACED
IN 1993
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