Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. 13 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1901.
From the record
“The Henry Washington Survey Marker is a survey marker in San Bernardino National Forest in San Bernardino County, California. The marker served as the earliest initial points of the San Bernardino Baseline and Meridian, which in turn mark the starting points for the surveying and subdivision of land in Southern California.”
Wikipedia article Henry Washington Survey Marker, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 98 National Register listings published here for San Bernardino County · listed in 1975 · category: Object.
National Register reference number.75000459- the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.
Then and now
1901 to 1996
The ground this property stands on, surveyed
95 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are
United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
19011996
Fires near this property
248 since 1992
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The
federal wildfire occurrence database
lists 248 fires within 5 miles of Henry Washington Survey Marker
between 1992 and 2020, burning about 52,811 acres in total. 95 started naturally. 20 were recorded as arson.
Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted
here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
Reported cause
Fires
Natural
95
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
55
Recreation and ceremony
33
Equipment and vehicle use
24
Arson/incendiarism
20
Debris and open burning
5
Misuse of fire by a minor
5
Other causes
4
Fireworks
3
Smoking
3
Power generation/transmission/distribution
1
The most recent of
them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service
that recorded it.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists
9 workings within 5 miles of Henry Washington Survey Marker: 3 past producers, 3 prospects, 2 producers, 1 occurrence.
2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Uranium, Gold, Flagstone. Distance is straight-line from the
map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring
settlement's page as well.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The National Weather Service names
Big Bear City, the town this property stands in, in 36 storm reports between 1998 and 2026: 9 hail, 9 flash flood, 6 flood, 4 debris flow.
No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office
filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date
opens the federal record of that event.
Trained spotter, Bensweather, reports the eastern end of valley covered in light coating of hailstones as seen from camera view. Roofs and some ground covered in hail. Thunderstorm moved over the area around 12:30 pm.
California Highway Patrol reported a mudslide along Highway 18 northeast of Big Bear City that was 6 feet deep and extending 20 feet across the highway. 12 vehicles were stranded in the mudslide. Highway 18 was closed between Big Bear and Lucerne Valley due to the debris flow.
A Big Bear resident reported that 0.5-inch hail had accumulated up to 1.5 inches deep in her yard. Plants and flowers in the yard were completely shredded by the hail.
Monsoonal moisture brought thunderstorms to the San Bernardino Mountains on July 12th. This resulted in flash flooding on Highway 18 near mile marker 65 (Mitsubishi Cement Corporation Plant). numerous vehicles stranded due to significant flow of water and debris. Highway 18 was closed in both directions through the afternoon on July 12th.
Flooding occurred near Big Bear City on March 15 following heavy rainfall of 0.50-1.50, with reports of 2.00-3.00+ inches nearby. Heavy rain combined with snow melt to lead to flooding in the San Bernardino County Mountains. The Department of Highways reported the closure of Gildart Drive and Division Drive; Irvine Way and Barrett Way were flooded; the riverbed broke through and resulted in flooding at SR-38, with 3 inches of standing water reported between Baldwin and State Lane.
A 200 year old Jeffery pine tree was struck by lightning. It burned later in the evening until extinguished. The large tree split in half while burning. The thunderstorm on radar appeared to be during several cloud to ground strikes near Big Bear airport around 1230 pm.
Spotter SBD286 reported a very heavy downpour in the area of North Shore Drive and Greenway Drive in Big Bear City from approximately 1340-1355 PST. During this time, his rain gage showed just over a half inch of rain.
Spotter reported street flooding on Big Bear Boulevard from the Stanfield cutoff to Pine Knot Avenue, as well as Rathbun Creek at Catalina Road. Water 6-12 inches deep covered the roadway.
A trained spotter in Big Bear City observed 3/4 inch hail and measured 1.06 inches of rain in 30 minutes during a thunderstorm. Heavy rain and hail also resulted flash flooding.
United States Geological Survey topographic
sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then
testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.
Block
