ABSTRACT
Initial points are the origins of the PLSS. There are 32 in the conterminous United States, 5 in Alaska, and several others still have their original monuments. When they were first mentioned in the Manuals of Instructions in 1881, most of the 37 points were already in place. However, the criteria for setting initial points never included the idea that they needed to be set at a particular latitude and longitude. Their latitudes and longitudes were determined astronomically and recorded, but they were not placed at previously determined coordinates.
