# Monument Do Not Remove **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monument-do-not-remove/717500 "2015-04-12T16:19:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![benh999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@benh999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benh999)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monument-do-not-remove/717500/1 "2015-04-12T16:19:09Z")
Does anyone know what small plaques on sidewalks that say “Monument Do Not Remove” (like [this one](https://www.flickr.com/photos/neaners/2736826811/)) are for? It stands to reason that a monument would indicate what it was a monument to. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monument-do-not-remove/717500/2 "2015-04-12T16:33:56Z")
I don’t think it’s a monument “to” anything, it’s probably the use of the word “monument” in the sense of “boundary marker”. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monument-do-not-remove/717500/3 "2015-04-12T16:38:07Z")
it honors the sidewalk which in order to help you lets itself be exposed to the elements. a sacrifice that deserves recognition. or it could be a survey marker. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monument-do-not-remove/717500/4 "2015-04-12T16:39:58Z")
The free dictionary [Monument - definition of monument by The Free Dictionary](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/monument) has as one of its definitions : 5. An object, such as a post or stone, fixed in the ground so as to mark a boundary or position. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monument-do-not-remove/717500/5 "2015-04-12T16:58:50Z")
From the pic, it is probably and old, old survey marker. Survey monuments are placed to use as a control for other surveys. It’s used to tie everything together. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monument-do-not-remove/717500/6 "2015-04-12T23:26:22Z")
Survey marker was my first guess until I saw the thing. The markers I’ve seen all have a specific point on them - if it is a rock in the middle of nowhere, a chiseled ‘X’ is on the surface. In the city, you can see brass markers with its location and an engraved ‘X’ in the center. That was made in a shop and could have easily been engraved. Even if cheap, a chisel and hammer is not that much trouble (especially if you just spent 4 days throwing a line from several miles away). ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/monument-do-not-remove/717500/7 "2015-04-12T23:44:32Z")
The text is on the removable cover of a cast iron sleeve that surrounds a land survey marker (monument), below the base ground level. You can see the seam around its perimeter. Its designation as a “monument” probably means that it is a permanent marker for large area surveys or it may be a “benchmark” of known elevation above sea level, a datum used in many land (cadastral) surveys.