By Travis Thayer Bilby Steel Tower heights ranged from 24 to 116 feet. Photos courtesy the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Osgood, Ind.) – State officials will dedicate a new historical marker in southeast Indiana this weekend to commemorate the accomplishments of a former Ripley County resident. Jasper Sherman Bilby, an internationally known surveyor, moved to Ripley County in the 1890’s where he would later invent the Bilby Steel Tower surveying instrument. Bilby performed geodetic surveys, accounting for the curvature of the earth, for commercial and infrastructure purpose The towers allowed surveyors to sight over obstacles when measuring long distances. Standard tower heights were 24, 37, 50, 64, 77, 90, 103, and 116 feet. Herbert Hoover commended the invention in 1927, just two years before becoming President of the United States. The invention was used nationally and internationally for over 50 years, and eventually helped build the foundation for modern mapping and GPS. The Bilby Steel Tower marker will be dedicated on Saturday, November 12 at the corner of U.S. Highway 421 and County Road 300 North in Osgood.
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