Thursday, May 12, 2011

National Center of Population Geodetic Survey Disk Revealed in Plato, Missouri

On May 9, amidst townspeople, elected representatives, government officials, and hundreds of students, National Geodetic Survey (NGS) Director, Juliana Blackwell, and U.S. Census Bureau Director, Dr. Robert Groves, revealed the geodetic survey disc commemorating the national center of population and celebrating Plato, Missouri, as the 2010 Census U.S. center of population. Each decade after tabulating the decennial census, the Census Bureau calculates the mean center of population for the country, as well as for each state and county. Since 1790, the center of population has moved in a westerly direction, with a more pronounced southerly pattern the past few decades. NGS is the U.S. government source for precise latitude, longitude, and elevation measurements and has monumented the national center of population with geodetic survey marks since 1960. This distinction serves a commemorative purpose for the community, as well as a functional reference point for the nation's mapping and charting infrastructure. Each mark tells a unique story about our nation's history. The center of population (Centroid) is something the Census Bureau has been tracking for a long time. Every ten years, another point is plotted on a U.S. map. Connect the dots, and you get a snapshot of how our population is shifting over time. For more information, contact Dave Doyle.