iFamily History: Second Meridian of the Dominion Land Survey

At a historical stop along the TransCanada highway going East, in the middle of Saskatchewan, is the plaque [shown on right] identifying the beginning of the Second Meridian.

The second meridian starts here and continues to the middle of Saskatchewan.

The west bound highway is behind the trees in the photo. If you are travelling west, there is a dirt road linking the two so you can go see this historical plaque.

Site Location (lat/long): 50.272628 -102.006449
It is located 53 kilometers west of the Manitoba / Saskatchewan border.
[Copy the Lat/Long into the search bar of Google Map to identify the exact spot.]

The second meridian is part of the Dominion Land Survey used to divide and identify land for homesteading.

Transcript

SECOND MERIDIAN

You are standing on the second meridian, which is one of the main control lines for land surveys in this province. The second meridian is a true north line established from the Canada – United States boundary to Saskatchewan’s North-East Corner.

From this line surveys were carried westward to create a land system of sections, townships and ranges upon which titles to land were based. Most of the survey was completed between 1860 and 1910 and made the orderly settlement of the province possible.

Government of Saskatchewan.

About Lianne Kruger

Genealogy

I researched my paternal grandmother's line to the first three white landowners of Canada in the 80's. I began genealogy going on genealogy trips in Ontario, England, and Scotland at graveyards with my mother starting at age 7 on. As a teenager, I sat in front of a microfilm reader with a list of names every Saturday at an FHL while my mother volunteered helping others.

I have spoken at Genealogical conferences and sessions at RootsTech (UT), FamilyRoots (UT), The Genealogy Show (in Birmingham, UK) as well as in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ogden, and Ontario.

Click on My Speaking Experience for session titles.

I have articles published on BYU Studies Quarterly magazine website and FamilySearch as well as AGS Relatively Speaking and Tree Climber.

Click on My Publications for complete list.

1 comment:

Charleen19 September 2017 at 05:43
I am from Roseau Minnesota and go to Winnipeg as often as I can, which can be once a month. I have seen this monument but never have time to check it out, so your blog post added to my Canadian history. My great, great grandfather came to Canda in the 1800s and settled in Kincardin, Ontario, one of his sons moved to Michigan and from there the family dispersed around the United States.