Oklahoma was surveyed from an Initial Point established in 1870, at a site one mile south of the federal government’s Fort Arbuckle, near the center of the territory. It was called the Indian Meridian, as much of the region that would become the state of Oklahoma was officially Indian territory at the time, mostly Chickasaw. The land around the Initial Point is now part of the Lazy S Ranch, and a cattle fence meets at a corner there, running along the baseline and meridian. The stone marking the Indian Initial Point is the original marker from 1870, and is carved with that date. There are only three other original initial point monuments remaining on site in the Lower 48 states: the Ellicott stone in Alabama; the pole and rock pile at San Bernardino Peak in Southern California; and the “SENR” stone on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico.
Most of Oklahoma (in blue) was surveyed from this initial point, with the exception of the panhandle, which was done later (in red).