HIGGINS (PE1870)

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State: ME
County: Hancock
Quad: Salsbury Cove
Location: N 44° 23.334' W068° 22.119'
Elevation: 131 ft.
Designation: HIGGINS 1865
Setting: Rock Ledge
Type: Bolt
Year: 1865
Established By: NGS
Recovered: 13 June 2005

Rich and I just hadn't had enough benchmark hunts for one day, even after two very early-morning finds in the park. We were on our way to Indian Point to lounge around and watch the seals (who were also lounging around) when we realized that we'd be passing right by HIGGINS.

The nearby witness sign was very helpful in locating the small bolt. Reference mark 1 was easy to find as it's set into a large boulder, although it was covered in moss when we arrived. Reference mark 2 was more difficult to find; recovering it required taking measurements and bearings from the station as well as moving some heavy brush and fallen tree trunks. This was all quite an adventure on a hot, sunny, and extremely humid morning.

HIGGINS was a particularly interesting mark because of its Civil War-era date of monumentation. It's not often in this country that you can touch something you know to be exactly the same as it was 140 years ago! Many of the very oldest stations were simply drill holes, which were later filled in with standard triangulation station disks in the 1930s. This station, marked by a bolt, managed to survive in its original form and was therefore an exciting find for us. The only additions to the site were the two reference marks (added in 1934) and a witness sign, date unknown though it looks to be relatively recent. This station may require another check soon, as there were indications of recent surveying in the area. I hope the station remains intact, even if development occurs.

A report on the condition of the station mark and both reference marks was submitted to NGS, along with the following recovery note:

The station mark and reference marks 1 and 2 were recovered in good condition. The fence and the blazed tree were not found. A standard metal witness sign is attached to a small tree adjacent to the station mark.

Zhanna

NGS Official Description, 1865 (see datasheet for recent updates) :

DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1865 (GAF) ON THE N SIDE OF THE HILL ON INDIAN POINT, W SIDE OF MOUNT DESERT ISLAND, ABOUT 1-3/4 MILES W BY S FROM TOWN HILL. THE STATION IS ABOUT 1/4 MILE FROM THE END OF THE POINT, 1/8 MILE FROM THE SHORE OF CLARKS OR NORTHWEST COVE, AND 1/2 MILE N OF THE W SHORE ROAD. A BRANCH ROAD TO INDIAN POINT PASSES CLOSE TO THE STATION, WHICH IS MARKED BY A COPPER BOLT SET IN A HOLE IN A ROCK. THE LAND THEN BELONGED TO SYLVANUS HIGGINS.