Costing the Baseline
An education program of Michigan Legacy Art Park
 Coasting
the Base Lineis a nonprofit arts and education project by David Barr that consists of a series of
granite obelisks that define and express the history, social
differences and similarities of communities along the base line
survey road in the State of Michigan. The surveying of Base Line
Road began three years after the War of 1812, and took 36 years to
complete (1815-1851). The intersection of the base line road and the
prime meridian, which runs south from Sault Ste. Marie on longitude
84 degrees, 22 minutes, and 24 seconds west, is the reference point
for all lands surveyed in Michigan. The townships are numbered east
or west and north or south of these lines. The Coasting the Base
Line project provides an original and fresh set of experiences about
the significance of this history.
The project started as a community project
for the Northville Arts Commission. Subsequently, Coasting the
Baseline was scoped as a statewide project and placed under the
jurisdiction of the Michigan Legacy Art Park.
 Description
of the Obelisks
Each obelisk is ten feet high and constructed of six-inch layers
of alternating black and white granite slabs that suggest the
surveyor's pole. Truncated obelisks have often demarcated
boundaries. The seasonal changes of sunlight would allow shadows to
be cast as markers of regional history. The obelisks will be similar
in design but engraved with specific data of a historical,
geographical and mathematical nature. The obelisks will be located
on or near Base Line Road, which crosses southern Michigan east to
west from the coast of Lake St. Clair to that of Michigan. In those
installations where precise siting on the base line is not suitable,
a granite base marker will be installed describing the location of a
more publicly desirable site for the obelisk.
The intention of this project is to
stimulate community and educational awareness of the historical
significance of Michigan’s surveying methods. In particular, it will
highlight the profound impact of Thomas Jefferson’s dream to convert
land measurement and ownership into a true, revolutionary,
democratic ideal that transcended European aristocratic tradition.
Indeed, the method of surveying Michigan was one of the crucial
manifestations of the abstract concepts of “liberty” providing the
means for democratic law. In addition, the series of obelisks across
the State will encourage tourism, research, and affiliated projects
for communities, schools, and artists bordering Michigan’s base
line.
What is the American Dream? What is the
American experience? A one or two-day trip along Michigan’s Base
Line Road to view the finished installations could provide an
intriguing cross section of the Midwestern American heartland
experience. Travel would go from a museum (The Edsel and Eleanor
Ford House) on the eastern Michigan coast to a South Haven resort on
the western coast. (Base Line Road crosses over dozens of bodies of
water and marks the division of the following counties:
Wayne/Oakland, Washtenaw/Livingston, Jackson/Ingham, Jackson/Eaton,
Calhoun/Eaton, Kalamazoo/Barry and Van Buren/Allegan.) Once in a
city with an obelisk, the traveler could be directed to other local
sites of historical, educational and artistic interest.
Opportunities for Community
Participation
The obelisks will be engraved with graphic data of national, state
and local interest. Working with the artist, a community that
decides to erect an obelisk could have significant involvement in
the selection of local events to be inscribed on the monument. Such
events could be of two kinds: 1) images specifically associated with
the construction of Base Line Road through that community and 2)
selected events of general historical significance to the
community.
Opportunities for Curricula
Students in a community erecting an obelisk could be engaged in the
project. Subjects for related study would include surveying,
geography, history, art, transportation, mathematics, social and
economic studies, law, regional government, transportation, geology,
map making, public relations, photography, astronomy, real estate,
and language arts. Students could also be engaged in problem solving
and mentoring situations.
Sites
The first installation was in December 2003 on Base Line and Center
Roads at Northville’s Hillside Middle School. The second
installation took place in July 2005 in Founder’s Park for
Farmington and Farmington Hills. Other potential sites include
Gaukler Pointe on Lake St. Clair, marking the division of Wayne and
Macomb Counties; North of South Haven on Lake Michigan dividing
Allegan and Van Buren Counties; Eastpointe/Detroit; Warren/Detroit;
Ferndale/Detroit; Southfield/Detroit; Oak Park/Detroit;
Novi/Livonia; Northville/Livonia; Oakland County/Washtenaw County;
Maybury State Park and Jackson’s Meridian Baseline Historic Park. |
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