Initial Point

All Idaho land surveys refer to a beginning point --"Initial Point"--16 miles directly south of here. When he began surveying Idaho in 1867, Lafayette Cartee, first surveyor general of Idaho Territory, established the initial point on a volcanic hill visible for many miles. Everywhere in Idaho, surveyors depend upon this essential point in establishing land boundaries. The city of Meridian is named for the Boise Meridian -- the surveyors' north-south line which runs through Initial Point.