Most Kansans think of our state as the center of America, and the heart of the heartland. However, is that even remotely true? For years, we’ve assumed that this tourist trap, the geographic center of the contiguous United States has been northwest of Lebanon, Kansas, where the marker sits. The survey that decided this location was done in 1918, but is it really the truth?
This spot in Lebanon has been a center of tourism for decades, but what really lies behind the monument?
As for the monument itself, there’s plenty around to lead you to the spot.
They have not one,
Haydn Blackey/Flickr
not two,
J. Stephen Conn/Flickr
but three markers for the spot, with this third one being the “official” marker.
Ommnomnomgulp/Wikimedia Commons
They even have a tiny chapel to mark the spot. Why? I guess someone might want to get married here.
Ommnomnomgulp/Wikimedia Commons Here’s a close up of the plaque, that includes the coordinates, and who located it.
48states/Wikimedia Commons The “official” marker here was placed in 1940, to protect the real location of the survey done in 1918. So, this spot here is doubly wrong.
So, the original location of the 1918 survey is half a mile away and unknown by most, but that’s just to keep trespassers off of private land. The real lie starts in how they found the location in the first place. Get this: they cut out a piece of cardboard shaped like the U.S., and balanced it on a point to find the location of the center. To be fair, it’s accurate within about 20 miles, but that’s a lot of room for error. We might as well mark the whole area as the center! The group that originally did the survey no longer endorses any location as the center, however. Most likely that is due to eroding shores and small shifts that continue to slowly change our country.
Haydn Blackey/Flickr
J. Stephen Conn/Flickr
Ommnomnomgulp/Wikimedia Commons
Here’s a close up of the plaque, that includes the coordinates, and who located it.
48states/Wikimedia Commons
The “official” marker here was placed in 1940, to protect the real location of the survey done in 1918. So, this spot here is doubly wrong.
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