November 29, 2014 - Benchmarking in Caruthers, Ca

It's not often that I am able to dedicate some time solely to Benchmark Hunting.  Often, my hunts and finds are opportunistic endeavors, or they're planned around other daily events.  Today was different.  I found myself with an empty Saturday, with nothing scheduled on the calendar.  It's literally been months since I've had an open Saturday.  I still had my Honey-Do list, yard-work, etc., but there was nothing scheduled where I had to be somewhere for something, or someone.

I had some free time.

Caruthers. Ca. is a community not far from where I live.  It's a small town about 15 miles south of Fresno, has a population around 2,500 people, and it's known for its annual Caruthers District Fair, the largest free admission fair in the State of California.  I'd been wanting to search for the marks there for nearly a decade, and had never taken the time to do it.  That happened today.

The USC&GS set multiple marks around the area in the late '50s and early '60s.  As in most cases in the small Valley towns, many of the marks are still to be found in good condition.  The marks in Caruthers were found likewise.  Some were not found, some obviously destroyed due to development and urban growth, but many were found, right where the original survey crews set them.  Pictures and reports are below.

It was a good day for benchmark hunting.