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Unusual/Odd Benchmark Designations


W4REZ

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What's the strangest benchmark designation you've found? I recovered one yesterday named 'SHEEP' although I could see no current reason for it to be named thusly. During benchmark research I found another one named 'MOM' but it was named that way because there was once a restaurant adjacent to it named 'Mom's Diner' or something like that.

 

Today I also found one named 'DEVIL', a rather new one at that (1999) but could find no reason for it to be named that way.

 

Jeff Workman | jworkman@pimpworks.org | http://www.pimpworks.org

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There's one in Northern Virginia called VETTE.

 

No, not what you think. What is now a super market used to be the site of a long-defunct discount store called E.J. Korvette, which incidentally refers to its founders - Eight/Eleven Jewish Korean [War] Veterans.

 

It was last recovered in the '60s, as I recall, and it was a poorly described nail or spike in a 10-acre parking lot, so I don't think it's likely to be recovered any time soon.

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Points were named by the crews who set them and many were named after crew members, their wives, their girlfriends, etc. Most however were logically named after some local geographic feature, the landowner, or some nearby outpost or hamlet. The main criteria was that the name had to be short enough to fit on the disk, so many longer words were split up between 2 or more stations, resulting in what seems like nonsense until you link them together. For example, a series of points set along a ridge in a mountain range named "Serpentine", might be named "Ser", "Pen" and "Tine".

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Yesterday, I went to find JC1600. This is one of those landmarks and not a benchmark that had a designation made up for it. And in the first and only history on this one in 1871, it really was an insane asylum. It is now a state mental hospital and I got questioned for entering the grounds and taking pictures. Still, it's a neat one to get after so long a time.

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This past weekend I found ROACH (HD1219) and TICK (JD2581). I did not set out to find buggy named triangulation stations -- just looking for some in an area we were visiting. BTW the Roach name is on a very small post office across the road from HD1219 and there are some Roach headstones in the cemetery near the azimuth mark for HD1219. I do not know anything else about TICK....

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quote:
Originally posted by N8RZI:

What's the strangest benchmark designation you've found?


 

I had a really good laugh when two of the members of our local group showed up at a meeting and we started talking about benchmarks. They were excited to announce they had not only found, but saved MARS.

 

-beatnik-

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I decided to hike Whiskey Mountain in Idaho, which happens to have BM Whiskey on top (OH1363, not listed on this site). I was somewhat amused to notice a nearby hill is marked with BM Jack!

 

Also, a friend told me he was looking at some maps somewhere and noticed a "Republican Mountain" with BM Democrat on top, or maybe vice versa. I didn't confirm that but it suggests at least some surveyors enjoy leaving a little humor behind..

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SG0178 DESIGNATION - BUMBLETOWN MIGS 1934

 

SG0178 HISTORY - Date Condition Report By

SG0178 HISTORY - 1934 MONUMENTED MIGS

SG0178 HISTORY - 20010823 GOOD MIDT

 

I know a guy who was born there in the 1930's, he showed me his birth certificate with place of birth = Bumbletown

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Take a look at the datasheet for BN0607 and read the original 1956 Station Description. I was in the area two weeks ago and should have taken a picture of this one, because I'm sure Political Correctness will lead to the renaming of this mark someday soon.

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