Tallahassee: Where All of Florida Begins (A Look at the Cascades Park Meridian Marker)

A prime meridian marker is a monument marking the prime meridian, or 0° longitude, which is the basis for time zones and mapping. The Prime Meridian Marker for Florida is located in Cascades Park near downtown Tallahassee. It marks the intersection of the principal meridian and baseline, which is the starting point for all land surveys in Florida.

The park, covering 24 acres, is known for its beauty and outdoor events, but was also designed with the vital function of serving as a stormwater management and treatment facility. The name "Cascades" is a historical reference dating back to the 1820s, when representatives seeking a site for the state capital met near a waterfall that cascaded into a pool. The park currently recreates that original cascading waterfall that existed in the area. The marker is located near the amphitheater in the park.

The Starting Line for the Sunshine State

The Meridian Marker signifies Florida's own prime meridian, which is the initial point in the grid system upon which virtually all land surveying in the state is based. This point serves as the beginning of Florida's Prime Meridian for the north, south, east, and west surveying lines. The system uses the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), which divides land into six-mile-square townships. Townships are numbered based on whether they are north or south of this initial point and by "range," depending on whether they are east or west of this point. The Tallahassee meridian runs north and south from this initial point and governs surveys in Florida and Alabama. The exact initial point is located at the intersection of the Tallahassee meridian (longitude 84° 16′ 37.59″ west) and the Tallahassee Parallel/Base Line (latitude 30° 26′ 04.12″ north).

From Stake to Stone, A History of the Spot

The process of establishing this surveying system began in 1824, shortly after the U.S. acquired Florida, as identifying and selling land was a high priority. Territorial Secretary George Walton was given the honor of selecting the location in 1824 because the Surveyor General, Robert Butler, and Territorial Governor, William Pope Duval, were away. The initial point was chosen near the newly established seat of government, approximately one-quarter mile east and one-quarter mile south of the future State Capitol building. Evidence suggests the original marker was a wooden stake set in the swampy ground. A persistent, popular legend claims the location was chosen after a heavy stone monument fell off its wagon and was too immense to put back on, so it was left there to mark the starting point.

In 1891, the City Commission of Tallahassee passed a resolution requesting that the General Land Office (GLO) establish a more elaborate monument. The current 1925 monument was constructed on top of a monument from 1892. The 1892 marker was a one-ton boulder hauled from 20 miles away, bearing a carved cross that indicated the cardinal points. The monument erected by the Florida Legislature in 1925 was the one that existed before the Cascades Park renovation.

The Modern Monument

The Prime Meridian Marker is now displayed as a valuable historic site. Cascades Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, partly due to the presence of the meridian marker. The park underwent renovation (construction ran from 2010 to 2014). The new monument, a round metal disk set into a 30-foot-long granite map of Florida, was re-dedicated on November 15, 2013. During the renovation, the old 1925 concrete marker was removed. It was not destroyed, but relocated to the headquarters of the Florida Surveyors and Mappers Society in Tallahassee.