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While the center of the contiguous United States is marked by a small plaque and plinth in Kansas, the actual center of the United States (including Hawaii and Alaska) is off in a field in South Dakota. Oh, but the actual monument is about 20 miles away from that.
Hawaii became the last U.S. state to join the union in 1959. Previously the middle of the nation had been mapped as a spot in Lebanon, Kansas, but this point moved over 200 miles with the addition of the island state. The new spot was determined to be out in the middle of some South Dakota farmland, where a metal pole was driven into the ground to mark the location.
This seemed like kind of a weak way to honor the very middle of America, so the city of Belle Fourche, a little over 20 miles south of the makeshift marker, decided to do it up right. In 2008, the city installed a large granite compass rose and dubbed it the “Center of the Nation” monument. There is even a metal disc in the middle that looks like an official geographic marker for people to stand on and take pictures.
Sure, it might not be on the exact center of the country, but let’s face it, this lovely granite compass makes a better photo op than some pole in a field.
Submitted by Atlas Obscura contributor arc459.
For more on the Center of the Nation Monument, visit Atlas Obscura!
More wonders to explore:
- This storefront library and museum is dedicated to the life and literature of Kurt Vonnegut.
- Vietnam’s abandoned water park Ho Thuy Tien offers access to a postapocalyptic funscape, now with fewer crocodiles.
- On the outskirts of a reborn ghost town in Arizona, a decaying post office remembers the bad old days.
