In the foreground of the above picture on the fence line you see a rock sticking up out of the ground. You will find rocks sticking up out of the ground in various places around the ranch and they are cornerstones. Cornerstones mark the corner of sections when they surveyed this country but not all corners have them, just some.
The question I have falls with the stone in the picture though. It is a "cornerstone" but it's not in the corner of a section. It is in the middle of the section line. So, is this stone still a "cornerstone" or is there another designation for it since it falls in the middle of the section? Mid-section stone? Doesn't have quite the ring if you ask me. Any ideas out there?
A prudent question is one-half of wisdom. Francis Bacon
"Corner - The beginning or end point of any survey line. The term corner does not imply the property was in any way square.
Merestone - A stone that marks a boundary. (See monument.)
Monument - A permanently placed survey marker such as a stone shaft sunk into the ground."
So I suppose it could be a merestone or a monument. It would be weird to be a cornerstone even for a really obtuse angle, so close to that fence corner; if it IS a cornerstone, maybe it was moved or misplaced (or perhaps the fence line is the thing that isn't accurate).
Bozeman's "Section Line Ditch" is behind my house. Maybe it was on the section line a hundred years ago, but not today.