Rick Just
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Initial Point (Tap to read)

7/22/2022

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Everything has to start somewhere. In surveying terms, Idaho starts 16 miles south of the city of Meridian at a place called Initial Point.
 
Lafayette Cartee was the first Surveyor General of Idaho Territory, and it was he who established that first point for his survey. The north/south survey line that runs through Initial Point is called the Boise Meridian. One might think that it was a trick of fate that the Boise Meridian is so close to the town of Meridian. If one were a fool. The term Boise Meridian was first, with the town named after it coming along in 1893.
 
So, if you find an old deed that includes a description with the words Boise Meridian, it doesn’t mean the property is in either Boise or Meridian, only that the description is in relation to that feature of the survey.
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    Author, Speaker

    Rick Just has been writing about Idaho history since 1989 when he wrote and recorded scripts for the Idaho Centennial Commission’s daily radio program, Idaho Snapshots. One of his Idaho books explores the history of Idaho's state parks: Images of America, Idaho State Parks. Rick also writes a regular column for Boise Weekly.

    Rick does public presentations on Idaho's state park history and the history of the Morrisite war for the Idaho Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau.idahohumanities.org/programs/inquiring-idaho/
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    Check out Rick's history of Idaho State Parks.
    The audio link below is to Rick's Story Story Night set called "Someplace Not Firth"

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