By Clayton J. Hogston, PE / PS. Land Ordinance of 1785 Established the Public Land Survey System...

Digitizing & Analyzing Indiana’s PLSS Notes & Plats

by Clayton J. Hogston, PE / PS

Land Ordinance of 1785

Established the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) as a way to sell land in the Northwest Territories to pioneer farmers, thus raising funds to pay off the Revolutionary War debt.

Need for Record Access

Indiana Code 865 IAC 1-12-30(d)(1)(A):

Section corner perpetuation

If PLSS corner is not monumented and referenced by County Surveyor, or location is believed to be in error, then surveyor’s are required (in part) to obtain copies of the “original public land survey field notes and plat or transcribed copies of the same.”

Availability of Records

Field Survey Set Originally written by the Surveyor Available at the State Archives (30%)

Federal Set Transcribed by the GLO Available at the National Archives

State Set Transcribed by the GLO Available at the State Archives

County Set Transcribed by the State Auditor Available at the County Surveyor’s Office

Benefits of Digitized Records

Easy access Travel to government offices not required Available when government offices closed Less time required searching for record

Preservation Protection from fire, storms, mold…

Statewide studies Forestation, drainage courses…

Historical studies Indian treaties, reservations… Genealogy

Reduced costs Several distribution channels

Federal Set

From the National Archives located in College Park, Maryland.

MicrofilmNotes:

26 rolls of film3 volumes / roll

500 pages / volumePlats:

6 rolls of film915 maps / roll

Total records37,100 note pages 5,500 plat maps

Note Indexing

Indiana’s 73 survey books were divided into 5 Series.

A – Gore 3 Volumes

B – Southeast 2 Volumes

C – Southwest 5 Volumes

D – Northeast38 Volumes

E – Northwest25 Volumes

Image Resolution

Determine scan resolution by working backwards from the desired image size and resolution.

Paper page:8.5” x 14” @ 400 dpi

Microfilm page:0.52” x 0.88”

Minimum resolution required:8.5” / 0.52” = 16.35 ratio,16.35 x 400 dpi = 6,540 dpi

Scan at 9,600 dpi:9,600 dpi / 16.35 ~ 600 dpi

Image File Naming

Retaining a connection with the physical records, note filenames include:

the Seriesthe Volumethe Page

Tying to the same location as the notes, plat map filenames include:

the Seriesthe Volumethe Map

Examples:EV03P213.pdf (a note page file)EV03M017.pdf (a plat map file)

Image File Organization

42,600 Records separated into about 1,100 subdirectories, each containing all the files that relate to one specific Township.

Subdirectory contents:Plat mapsPatent / sales mapsPartial mapsNote page indexNote pages

Example

Survey project near Natchez, Indiana, and owner’s deed mentions the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

Example

Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

Locate subdirectory

Example

Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

Locate subdirectoryFind plat map

Example

Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

Locate subdirectoryFind plat map

View plat map

Example

Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

Locate subdirectoryFind plat map

View plat mapClose view / return

Example

Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

Locate subdirectoryFind plat map

View plat mapClose view / return

Find note page index

Example

Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

Locate subdirectoryFind plat map

View plat mapClose view / return

Find note page indexView note page index

Example

Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

Locate subdirectoryFind plat map

View plat mapClose view / return

Find note page indexView note page index

Close view / return

Example

Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

Locate subdirectoryFind plat map

View plat mapClose view / return

Find note page indexView note page index

Close view / returnFind note page

Example

Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

Locate subdirectoryFind plat map

View plat mapClose view / return

Find note page indexView note page index

Close view / returnFind note page

View note page

Image Enhancements

Range of ink contrast

Image Enhancements

Plat map

Image Enhancements

Benefits of dual monitors (20” & 17”)

Time Estimates

Initial scanning:2.5 Minutes / note page & 5 Minutes / plat map =

1,550 Hours for notes & 460 Hours for plats

Organize, enhance, review andmanage final images:

7.5 Minutes / note page & 10 Minutes / plat map =

4,640 Hours for notes & 915 Hours for plats

Total time for project ~ 7,565 hours (almost 4 years) 42,600 images x 1 second each ~ 12 hours 42,600 images x 1 minute each ~ 710 hours

Distribution Channels

CDs, DVDs, Flash Drives, Internet…

Analyzing Notes

Are there differences among the 4 sets of PLSS notes?

Township selection criteria Notes from all 4 PLSS sets

must be available. Township must lie within the

County boundaries. Ink must be dense enough to

see clearly. Handwriting must be relatively

legible.

Analyzing Notes

Survey notes for T21N-R4W Field Survey completed on

5-10-1822 by Surveyor. Federal set certified on

11-04-1842 by GLO. State set certified on

11-01-1849 by GLO. County set certified on

4-03-1861 by Auditor.

Analyzing Notes

4 Sets compared (20” monitor).

Analyzing Notes

Example of a copy error:

Analyzing Notes

Complied transcription (17” monitor).

Use a simple format with modernsymbols and don’t abbreviate words:

“ (inches)° (degrees)Ø (diameter)

Show conflicting data in footnotes,color coded for each set:

Original (O)Federal (F)State (S)County (C)

Analyzing Notes

Results of study:T21N-R4W contains28 data conflicts.

Total number of errors by set:Original 3Federal 9State 16County 21

Current Project Status

Digitizing Indiana’s PLSS (Federal set):

Develop processing plan

Scan Microfilm

Review for quality

Sort Note pages

Rename Note pages

Sort Plat maps

Rename Plat maps

Develop Photoshop process

Apply Photoshop process

Merge Notes / Plat maps

Convert final images

Deliver final images

IndianaMap – PLSS Records

http://demo.maps.indiana.edu/index.html?URLLayers=Reference_PLSS_Townships

IndianaMap – PLSS Records

Listing of Plat and Field Note files

Contact Info:

Clayton J. Hogston, PE / PSCHogston25@gmail.com