, 1891-05-16
The Center OF Population.

Ind, May = I'M
yelling of the monument at the center of
population of the United States, twenty
miles east of this city, today at 2 p. m.
was an important event, and will go into
history as the second of the kind in the
century, the first being in 1910 and the
place twenty three miles west of Wash
ington city. in the District of Columbia,
which yet remains a fat stone on which
was then cut, Center of Population"
The monument erected today was of
oOlitic limestone taken from Bedford
(Ind) quarries, weighs four tons, is IF
teen feet high and bears the inscription,
Center of Population United States"
In 1870 the center OF population was
about t~wenty-three miles east o. Baltimore.
During the decade from 1890 to 1900 it
appears TO have moved almost due west
to a point about eighteen miles west of
the same city. The next decade it moved
westward aRd slightly southwark to a
point about forty miles northwest by west
from Washington. The southwark move
ment during this period appears to have
been due to the annexation of the terri
tory of Louisiana, which contained quite
extensive settlements. From lSl0to lS20it
moved westward and again slightly south
ward to a point about sixteen miles north
of Woodstock, Va. The second south
ward movement appears to have been due
to the extension of settlement in Missis-
sippi, Alabama and Eastern Georgia.
From 1920 to 1880 it moved still west
ward and southwark to a point about nine
teen miles southwest of Moorefeld. in
the present state of West Virginia. This
is the most decided southwark movement
that 1t has made during any decade. 1t
appears to have been due in part to the
addition OF Florida territory and in part
to the great extension of settlements in
Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, or
generally, it may be said, in the South
west. From 1880 to 1916 it moved still
farther westward, but slightly changed in
direction ~northward, reaching a point
sixteen miles south OF Clarksburg, W.
Va During the decade settlement had
made decided advance in tine prairie
states and in the southern portions of
Michigan and Wisconsin, the balance of
increased settlement evidently being in
favor of the Northwest.
From 1910 to 1850 it moved westward
and slightly southwark again, reaching a
point about twenty-three miles southeast
of Parkersburg, w. Va, the change OF
direction southwark being largely due to
the annexation of Texas. From 1850 to
1860 it moved westward and slightly
northward. reaching a point twenty miles
south of Cbillicothe, q. From 1860 to
1870 it moved westward and sharply
northward, reaching a point about forty
eight miles east by north OF Cincinnati,
o.. In 1880 the center of population had
returned southwark to nearly the same
latitude which it had in 1860. This
southwark movement was due only in part
to an imperative enumeration at the
South in 1870. During the decade be-
tween 1870 and 1880 the Southern states
made a large positive increase both from
natural growth and from immigrant IN
southwark
During the past decade the center of
population has moved northwar6 into
practically the same latitude which it
occupied in 1870. 1t has moved west
forty eight miles, being less by ten miles
than its movement during the preceding
decade; six miles greater than the move
ment between 1860 and 1870, and slightly
less than the average westward move
ment since the first census, its present
position being in latitude 80 deg. IL
min. Sc sec. aud longitude IS deg. 30
min, SO sec.