Exact Center of the Northwest Hemisphere
In the town of Rietbock, Wisconsin, you’ll find the only easily accessible point on Earth where the 45th parallel crosses the Prime Meridian.
There are only four places on Earth where the 45th parallel (the horizontal line of latitude halfway between the Equator and the poles) crosses the Prime Meridian or the International Date Line (the vertical line of longitude that separates the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
One of these points is in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, about 800 miles west of Chile. Another is in the middle of the Indian Ocean, about 1500 miles southwest of Australia. The third is in a remote mountain range in western China.
The fourth is in a cornfield in the Town of Rietbock, Wisconsin. This is the the only one of the four points that is easily accessible to even the most ardent of geo-curious visitors.
History of the 45 x 90 Marker
This unique 45 x 90 Geographical Marker dates back to 1969. That’s when the powers that be in Marathon County erected a marker honoring this happenstance of geography.
The location was declared “The Center of the Northwestern World,” and the site was dedicated as a county park. At the time, it was (and remains to this day) the smallest county park in Wisconsin.
The original sign marking the location read:
This spot in section 14, in the Town of Rietbrock Marathon County is the exact center of the Northern half of the Western Hemisphere. It is here that the 90th Meridian of Longitude bisects the 45th Parallel of Latitude meaning it is exactly halfway between the North Pole and the Equator and is a quarter of the way around Earth from Greenwich, England.
But there was a small wrinkle. The actual location where the notable lines of latitude and longitude crossed was on private property — about 1150 feet from the public road.
And for many years, the area that is now the site’s parking lot was as close as you could get (without trespassing) to the spot that’s the center of one fourth of the planet.
But in 2018, a task force of volunteers worked to expand the site. They managed to secure an easement from the property owner and placed an official bronze marker embedded in concrete on the exact spot where the two geographic lines cross.
The precise location is now accessible from a small parking area located along Meridian Road just north of where it intersects with County U. A quarter-mile gravel path leads from the parking lot, skirting the edge of the cornfield along a grove of trees, right to the marker.
The 45 x 90 Club
When the monument was first erected in 1969, John Gesicki, owner of Gesicki’s Store and Tavern in nearby Poniatowski, started the 45 x 90 Club. He invited anyone who stopped by the park to log their visit by adding their signature to the Club Book kept at the tavern.
Gesicki’s Store and Tavern closed in 2003 (and has been supplanted by C & J’s Central Pub). But visitors can still join the club by driving 20 miles west to Wausau and stopping in at the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitor’s Bureau to sign the original Club Book.
In addition to being added to the historic record of visitors to the 45 x 90 Geographical Marker, you’ll be awarded with a commemorative coin featuring a design modeled after the look of the official benchmark.
On a recent visit, the Wausau Visitor’s Bureau was undergoing some renovation. Instead, I was directed to stop in at La Quinta Inn at 1910 Stewart Street in Wausau to sign the book and get the coin.
So before you visit, I recommend checking the Marathon County website or the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau for details on where you can sign the 45×90 Club Book and pick up your commemorative coin.
And as a footnote, The American Landscape Project posted an old (1970s-era) photo of Gesicki’s Bar on Facebook a few years back.
Also, humorous folk singers Lou & Peter Berryman wrote a song about the landmark called, appropriately, “Poniatowski.”
45 x 90 Geographical Marker
- 234801 Meridian Rd, Athens, WI 54411
- Google Maps: 44.99922, -90.004265
- what3words: ///snake.stage.hazards
- Website: http://www.45x90marker.com/
