Marble Marker?

[swizzle]

Sorry no pics but I found an old marble marker today. It stands about 2 feet out of the ground and its maybe 4x4 inches square. In the top there is a small triangle shape except the sides are bowed out a bit. There are two spots on the corner of the stone that are ground out. As far as I can tell there are no other markings on it. This is on the side of an old RR track. I'm assuming its some type of mile marker but I'm probably wrong. Any guesses? Swizzle

 

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[bakergeol]

Perhaps a survey marker as railroad markers were every mile and not stone.


http://www.unm.edu/~creelbm/pages/benchmark/benchmarks_unusual.html

George

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Sounds like a mile-marker for a automobile route. We still have some hereabouts.

 

[littleneckhalfshell]

hiking I have found similar stone markers that were 'county' boundry markers, but usually they had a "X" inscribed in the top, not a triangle. It would seem to me to be some type of information, check to see if you were near a county or town line where you found it.

 

[swizzle]

I'll try to get a few pics of it this week. If it was a marker in between towns then wouldn't they need to place more all around each town? It is between an old set of RR tracks and a big highway and about a half mile from the intersection of two highways. At first I thought it would be funny to see this thing on ebay but I think it should stay right where it is. Its kinda nice to see something from the past that isn't obvious to the many people that walk down that path everyday. It is completely hidden in the summer time when the grass starts to grow. I'll get pics for sure but it'll be a day or 3 before I get them posted. I might turn it into a waymark just so other people can find it and check it out. Swizzle

 

[Monty]

I found a stone marker on some rural property I use to own. I wondered what it was so I partially dug it up. Below ground level it was etched U.S. Corps of Engineers 1/4 1876. I left it there and did some research. It was an original quarter section marker from a government survey back in 1876. Monty

 

[swizzle]

You think I should dig down a bit and see if i see any other markings? Its already 2 feet above ground so I doubt its sunk in that far but anything is possible. Swizzle

 

[TreasureTales]

I can't speak to the way things were done in NY, but I know that when the West was opened up the government gave the railroads a free section of land (alternating sections) as an incentive to lay more track, and thereby get people moved out to the West. What the railroads then did was run their tracks all over the place in order to gain more land, sometimes running track to places that they knew would never grow. This practice made railroads very rich and very hated out here. Maybe the marker has something to do with their property boundary? BTW, if anyone looks at a forest service map of some of the Western states, you can still see the patchwork quilt of railroad land alternating with forest service land. Kind of interesting when you know why it looks like that today.

 

[Monty]

The marker I found had about a foot and a half above ground and I don't know how deep it was. I just dug up about another foot and found the info etched into the rock. Now days they cement in a brass plate with all the info on it.....Corps of Engineers anyway. Monty

 

[swizzle]

Sorry it took so long but here's the pics of the marble marker. The last pic shows the barbed wire strand that was rubbing against it towards the bottom. I doubt it was every actually a part of the fence. It probably fell over a long time ago on the marker. Well here's the pics. Swizzle

 

[swizzle]

I didn't notice it when I was there but in pic 2 it almost looks like a number in the hole on the top. It may be a bit of rubbish though. Looks like I'll have to go get another closer pic again. Swizzle

 

[Monty]

That's about the same size as the marker I found indicating a government survey. Check a plat map and see if the marker is situated on a corner of a section, half section or quarter section. Monty