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BLO

AND SURVEYORS

OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN1185 - 1915

FRONTISPIECE

In 1914, surveyors called this "typical mountain work in the West." The mountains arein Washington State. Theinstrument, a solar compass with telescopic attachment, is being used by Jerry Campbell.

SURVEYS AND SURVEYORSOF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

1785-1975

by

Lola Cazier

DEDICATIONOver the years since 1785 there have been perhaps a few thousand public land

surveyorseach one worthy of his own story. The names of many of them appear in thesepages. Yet, the story of all those who are not mentioned is here too, for it took all of themthe many unnamed no less than those written aboutto mark the lines and corners of thepublic lands. They are the people who have done, and are still doing, the work upon whichrests the title to the public lands.

CONTENTS

Foreword

AcknowledgmentsPage

Ancient Surveys 1Colonial America 5The Beginning of the Rectangular Surveys 13The Ellicotts and Benjamin Banneker 21The Proving Ground 25Congressional Authority for Management of the Public Lands 35The Refinement of the Rectangular Survey System 47Pioneer Surveyors 53The Far West 65In the Vanguard 87The Direct System 97About Cadastral Surveys 107Alaska 145The Early Years of the Direct System 153Modernization of the System 195News, Notes, and Anecdotes 205The Bureau of Land Management 213

References 219

Index 223

FOREWORDCadastral surveys are performed to create, mark, and define, or to retrace the

boundaries between abutting land owners, and, more particularly, between land of theFederal Government and private owners or local governments. As referred to here,cadastral surveys were performed only by the General Land Office during its existence andby the Bureau of Land Management. The Bureau of Land Management is the only agencythat is currently authorized to determine the boundaries of the public lands of the UnitedStates.

Proper understanding of the basis for performance of cadastral surveys includes anunderstanding of the history of the public land surveys. An understanding of that historyrequires some consideration of the people who performed these surveys and of the peoplewhose land was affected by them.

These chapters were written to be used as an aid in training cadastral surveyors in theapplication of surveying principles. The learner is expected to gain from the factual materialon survey laws and their formation, as well as from a study of the people who performed thesurveys. Many of the men who had an important role in the history of cadastral surveying arestill living, but only those who have retired are included in the present document.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe assistance of many persons was necessary to the completion of this book. It would

be impossible to thank them all, but I would like to express my gratitude to at least a few ofthose who generously helped me in this project.

Without James A. Simpson, leader of the Cadastral Survey Training Staff, BLM, it wouldnot have been started, much less finished. Thomas A. Tiliman, civil engineer, BLM (retired),contributed valuable assistance, criticism, and suggestions. Renee Munoz improved themanuscript by her thoughtful and constructive editing. Line drawings and illustrationswere done by Kasper Schaff, Herman E. Weiss, Diane Colcord, and Sharon Foster. F.Mason, Teledyne Gurley, Troy, N.Y., loaned me a photograph of Arthur D. Kidder andJoseph Thoma. W. R. (Roy) Bandy, now deceased, permitted me to use many photographstaken during his long career as a cadastral surveyor. Theodore VanderMeer, John S.Knowles, and Roger Wilson, now deceased, all long-time cadastral engineers, also sharedtheir personal photographs and reminiscences with me as did C. Albert White, supervisoryland surveyor, BLM (retired), and P. T. Reilly, who worked on various cadastral survey crewsduring the 1930's. David Nelson, cadastral surveyor, Alaska State Office, BLM,and HobartHyatt, cadastral surveyor, Alaska State Office, BLM (retired), also permitted me to usetheirpersonal photographs. Clark Gumm, chief, Division of Cadastral Surveys, BLM (retired),permitted me to use photographs taken by many surveyors in many places that he hadgathered and preserved over a period of years. Last, and most important, special thanks tomy husband, Dell Cazier, who kept me "on line."

When the first individual felt the desire topossess land, the need for the work of a cadastralsurveyorto define boundaries and propertylinesbecame inevitable. This occurrence is lostin antiquity, as is the moment man first perceivedthe principle of the wheel, but it is also noteworthy.

Before there was recorded history, cave dwellersclaimed their homes and hunting grounds by rightof occupancy and/or weapon (the club). Disputesover boundaries have always, along with religion,politics, and taxes, awakened people's hiddenpassions. Thus, to the surveyor must go the creditfor the lessening of disagreements over propertylines.

Surveying itself has no "point of beginning." Weknow that an ancient Assyrian clay tablet exists. Itwas found at Nuzi, near Kirkuk, and dates from thedynasty of Sargon of Akkad, well over 5,000 yearsago. Scratched into its surface is a map that showsa surveyed part of what is now Iran (northernMesopotamia) 32

NILE VALLEYUnder the Pharaohs, the Egyptians devised

extremely precise methods of measurement. TheGreat Pyramid of Giza (Khufu or Cheops) is themost famous example. Its base is oriented in thecardinal directions. The four sides (9,068.8 inches)have an average of just one-sixteenth of an inch inlength and 12 seconds in angle from a perfectsquare. It was constructed about 4700 B.C.114 Norecord exists today of the methods the Egyptiansused, nor of their equipment; we do know,however, that they were concerned with the surveyof land lines for purposes of taxation. The land inthe Nile Valley had to be surveyed repeatedlybecause of the river's annual flooding.

Three or four thousand years ago, theBabylonians took surveying seriously. There are inexistence today a few of the boundary stones setduring that period. One of them has much carvingupon it, most of which has been translated. It refersto the size of the land, five gur of cornland,measured by the great cubit. The stone gives thedistrict, the province, and the location. The name ofthe surveyor is also noted, along with the fact that itwas an official survey and established the land asthe property of Gula-Eresh. The translation alsogives, at great length, numerous curses to befallanyone so foolish as to move the stone.117

Chapter 1

ANCIENT SURVEYSBIBLICAL MEASUREMENT

Long before the reign of Caesar, the first fivebooks of the Old Testament were written. Thesefive books, the Pentateuch, at one time consisted offour major documents that were combined into asingle literary unit about 400 B.C.31 Many timeswithin the Pentateuch and in the rest of the Bible,references are made to land survey:

And as for the western border, ye shall evenhave the great sea for a border; this shall be yourwest border.

Numbers 34: 6

And the border shall go down to Jordan, and thegoings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shallbe your land with the coasts thereof roundabout.

Numbers 34: 12

Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he saidunto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what isthe breadth thereof, and what is the lengththereof.

Zechariah 2: 2

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length isas large as the breadth: and he measured thecity with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs.The length and the breadth and the height of itare equal.

Revelation 21: 16

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundredand forty and four cubits, according to themeasure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Revelation 21: 17

And there are more: I Samuel 14: 14 describeshalf an acre of land, Isaiah 5: 10 discusses the yieldfrom 10 acres of vineyard, and both Ezekiel 40: 5and 44: 13 described the long cubita cubit and ahand breadth.

Biblical units of measure were simple and ratherinexact. For the most part they consisted ofapproximates arrived at by the use of one's body.The cubit was the length of a man's arm from hiselbow to his extended finger tipabout 18 inches.A span was the reach of a man's outstretched hand,from fingertip to fingertip, or about9 inches. (Twospans equalled 1 cubit.) A palm was alifourfingers,or about 3 inches, and a finger was about three-fourths of an inch.

In Ezekiel 40: 5 and 43: 13, a long cubit ismentioned, comparing it to a cubit and a hand-breadth. Fathoms are mentioned in Acts 27: 28.This was the length of a man's outstretched arms,or about 6 feet.

The Bible contains many other references to theinstruments used by land surveyors in ancienttimes:

I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, andbehold a man with a measuring line in his hand.

Zechariah 2: 1

When he prepared the heavens, I was there:when he set a compass upon the face of thedepth.

Proverbs 8: 27

Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lordstood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with aplumbline in his hand.

And he brought me thither, and, behold, therewas a man, whose appearance was like theappearance of brass, with a line of flax in hishand, and measuring reed; and he stood in thegate:

Ezekiel 40: 3

He measured the east side with the measuringreed, five hundred reeds, with the measuringreed round about.

Ezekiel 42: 16

He measured the north side, five hundred reeds,with the measuring reed round about.

Ezekiel 42: 17

He measured the south side, five hundred reeds,with the measuring reed.

Ezekiel 42: 18

He turned about to the west side, and measuredfive hundred reeds with the measuring reed.

Ezekiel 42: 19

The reed was an instrument used in measuring,and, according to Ezekiel 40: 5, it was 6 cubitslong. In the first book of Samuel 14: 14, themeasurement of land was related to the area a teamof oxen could plow in a day. In some places, an acrewas the part of afield that could be seeded in barleyin a day. In Mesopotamia the meaning of acres, asused in Isaiah 5: 10, was about two-fifths of ourpresent acre.31

THE GROMAA surveying instrument called a groma was

found in the ruins of Pompeii. It was of the typeused by the Romans in dividing land to bedistributed to veterans. The groma had four arms,

2

set at 90 degrees to one another, with which thecorners of rectangular plots were established. TheRoman system of land subdivision was called agrocenturiatoland divided into hundreds.32 JuliusCaesar ruled Rome when agro centuriato wasintroduced. He died 44 years before the birth ofChrist, but the subdivision pattern created bydifferent land uses under this survey system is stillvisible from the air.33

ERATOSTHENESAbout 500 years before the birth of Christ, the

Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagorassuggested that the Earth might be spherical ratherthan flat. Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who lived from276 until 196 B.C., believed Pythagoras wascorrect. Erathosthenes was a learned man whobecame the head of the Alexandrian Library. Hisintellectual curiosity was aroused when he dis-covered that, at the peak of the summer solstice,the sun illuminated a deep vertical well in Syene.At noon, on the longest day of the year,Eratosthenes measured the angle of the shadowcast by a vertical wall in Alexandria. It was equal toone-fiftieth of a circle. He thought that Alexandriaand Syene were on a direct north-south line, and heknew the accepted distance between the two cities.Based upon his observations, his theory was thatthe distance between the cities was equal to one-fiftieth of the circumference of the Earth.

Eratosthenes came very close. He used units oflength called stadia, and, because of compen-sating errors, arrived at a distance of 24,662 miles.Since the Earth is not a perfect sphere, and sinceSyene and Alexandria are not exactly the distanceapart that he used, nor are they on a perfect north-south line, he was a little off in his estimationtheprecise figure is 24,899 miles.32

This was the first attempt to find the cir-cumference of the Earth by measuring the arc of ameridian. It was quite a feat in the advancement ofsurveying. The only thing wrong was that peoplecould not believe that the Earth was that large. Untilthe close of the 15th century, geographers wouldnot accept the findings of Eratosthenes. Instead,they used the calculations of Poseidonius (130 to51 B.C.) and came up with a circumference of18,000 miles.32

During the Middle Ages, the church used the18,000-mile figure to help convince people thatJerusalem was the center of the world. The maps ofthat period are narrow in concept. They are oftencalled 'T in 0" maps, due to their stylized depictionof what the church wanted the world to look like.27

DOMESDAY BOOKWhen William the Conqueror invaded England in

1066, he changed the existing manorial land tenuresystem to the feudalism of France.118 Under thisnew system, the lords of the manors paid a fixedsum to the king.

About 20 years later, William ordered a survey ofthe lands of England so that there might be a moreaccurate assessment of the sum he was to receive.The survey was completed and its results werepublished as the "Domesday Book." It was, in fact,a cadastral surveya description of the land, withthe names of the owners and the extent, nature,and value of their holdings.12

3

Parc//elII

Sun Rays

Eratosthenes' application of basic geometry in determining thecircumference of the Earth.

THE INCASDuring the 11th to 14th centuries, while

European Crusaders tried to free the Holy Landfrom the Muslims, the Incas in South America weresurveying land and constructing cities, pyramids,bridges, and an extensive system of roads.

Using methods unknown to us, they developedterraces on the hillsides for cultivation and builttremendous irrigation works. Though they had noiron or steel tools, there are canals they built thatcan still be traced for miles. At Cajamarca, a canalthat was cut in solid rock extended for more than amile. At one place they cut the canal in a zig-zagpattern; apparently, this was one of their methods

Facsimile of aT in 0 map showing the usual depiction of the world inthe Middle Ages. Jerusalem was shown at the center of the world,and the Asian location of Paradise gave us the phrase "to orient amap."

of controlling the flow of water. At Huandoval, theIncas built two canals that met and crossed, oneabove the other. There was once even a third canalbelow the other two.23

The ancient Inca fortress city of Machu Picchu,situated at 7,000 feet above sea level, near amountain top, was built of huge blocks of stone. Nocement was used in its construction, but the stoneswere so carefully fitted that some of the walls andstairs are still intact and are plainly visible in aerialphotographs.18

PORTUGUESE EXPLORATIONThe real beginning of European exploration took

place in the 15th century during the time of Prince

4

Henry the Navigator (A.D. 1394-1460). ThroughPrince Henry's farsighted effort, Portugal beganexploring the seas at least 50 years before the restof Europe.

One of the major factors in Portugal's expansionof travel to the unknown was the discovery of theAzores and the growth of the Portuguese settle-ment there. Christopher Columbus lived therewithhis wife's family, where his father-in-law taught himto use navigational and surveying instruments.Undoubtedly, it was in the Azores that Columbusfirst dreamed of sailing farther than man had sailedbefore.32

THE NEW WORLDShortly after Columbus' famous voyage, an

Italian navigator in the service of England, JohnCabot (Giovanni Caboto), discovered the coast ofNorth America in 1497. Soon after, Juan Ponce deLeon explored Florida and claimed it for Spain. In1519 Hernando Cortez began to explore andconquer Mexico, also on behalf of Spain. One yearlater, Ferdinand Magellan sailed through the straitthat bears his name and thus confirmed the theorythat the world was round.

During the next 20 years or so, Lower Californiaand the Gulf of California were found and explored.Coronado explored a large area north of the RioGrande and claimed it for Spain. The GrandCanyon was discovered by Don Garcia Lopez deGardenas, and Hernando de Soto began to explorethe Mississippi River.

On the evening of November 16, 1532, the lastInca king of Peru, Atahualpa, was ambushed andtaken prisoner by Francisco Pizarro. The Inca armywas overwhelmed and scattered. In3or4hours thestrength of the most powerful empire in the NewWorld was broken. The riches of Peru went toSpain, and a civilizationrecognized asremarkable even by those who destroyed itwasended.23

At about this same time, a 21-year-old publishernamed Gemma Frisius issued the first edition of"Cosmographia," written by Peter Apian. Thesecond edition, published in 1533, detailed asurveying method Frisius claimed was completelynew. It was a way of surveying a large area withoutdirect measurement. The idea was that if all anglesand the length of one side were known, the lengthsof the other two sides of a triangle could bedetermined on paper.

TRIANGULATIONAlthough the ancient Greeks probably

originated the idea of triangulation, Frisius was thefirst to publish it. Some 80 years later, the formulawas finally put to actual use. In 1615, a Dutchmathematician named Willebrord Snell, aprofessor at Leyden University, measured a baseline and used triangulation to determine the arc of ameridian.32

Most land surveyors in the early 17th century didnot have the training and background in

Chapter 2

COLONIAL AMERICAmathematics that Snell had. It was to compensatefor the fact that the geometrical devices used intriangulation were beyond their grasp that theplane table became popular. Surveyors of that timealso possessed the compass, chain, astrolabe,telescope, and a forerunner of the theodolite.32

AMERICAN COLONIESAbout 20 years after the first Spanish colony in

America was founded at St. Augustine, Florida, in1565, Sir Walter Raleigh asked the famousmathematician and surveyor Thomas Harriot toaccompany British naval commander Sir RichardGreynville to America. The voyage was successfuland Harriot surveyed parts of what was to becomethe State of Virginia.125

Jamestown, the first permanent English colonyin America, was founded by the Virginia Companyin 1607. About the time the Dutchman Snelldetermined a meridional arc by triangulation, theheadright system of land tenure was adopted inVirginia. Under this system, each person who paidhis own or someone else's transportation toAmerica from England was granted 50 acres ofland.1

In 1620 EIder William Brewster brought severalbooks to America with him on the Mayflower.Among them was a work on surveying. Althoughthere is no record of which book it was, AaronRathbone's "The Surveyor," which had beenpublished in London in 1616, was well thought of atthe time,125 and could possibly have been the bookBrewster brought to the New World.

New England settlers were granted tracts of 10 to100 acres by the general courts. The Englishofficials who made these "generous" grants could,on occasion, be even more lavish: they votedthemselves tracts of from 1,000 to 9,000 acres.1 Thesurveying of all these new tracts of land was vitallyimportant to the colonists.

COLONIAL SURVEYORSNathaniel Foote was one of the first American

colonial surveyors. He surveyed in Massachusettsbut left there in 1634, going by way of theConnecticut River, to settle Wethersfield, Connec-ticut. Foote laid out the town common and homelots. Later, he established the Hartford-Wethersfield boundary line.

Benjan:in Baunaker'sPENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, MARY-

LAND, AND VIRGINIAALMANAC,FOR THE

YEAR of our LORD'795;

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4 And Sold by JOHN FIS1IR, sWatoc;:cr.BALTJMOR:

8

In 1715, John Chandler surveyed more than10,000 acres of land, "adjoining to the saidTownship of Hadley on the North, on Connecticott[sic] river Westerly and on Springfield Southerly.The Lines are run by the needle of my instrument,allowing no variationProtracted by a scale of 200perch to an inch......133

Fifteen years later, during the summer of 1730,Timothy Dwight completed the survey of a plot ofland containing 200 acres, "adjoining to the SouthSide of Chickabey River on both sides of

p

Portrait of Benjamin Bannaker on the cover of his 1795 almanac.

Chickabey brook by order of the Great and GeneralCourt or Assembly of the Province of theMassachusetts Bay Begun and Held at SalemAugust 28, 1729......133

During the colonial period, Augustine Herrmansurveyed and made maps of Maryland and Virginia,Andries Hudde surveyed and mapped NewAmsterdam, and Solomon Saffrey and NathanielWoodward ran the boundary between RhodeIsland and Massachusetts. Even though theinstruments they used were rough and crude by

9subject of surveys and land lines was of greatimportance in the everyday life of the colonists.One of the people most admired in a colonialcommunity was the land surveyor, or theboundsgoer. Young boys often trailed along as

the surveyors ran their lines. Many of them learnedthe fundamentals of the skill as they walked beside

present standards, these men did a creditable jobof surveying, as did Daniel Leeds, surveyor generalof West Jersey Province (New Jersey), and QuakerSurveyor General Edward Penington of Penn-sylvania.125

In colonial times, many schoolmasters taughtevening classes so that those who could not attendschool during the day could receive an education.Surveying and navigation were said to be the mostpopular mathematical subjects taught. This mayhave been due to the fact that the bounds of a vastnew land were in the process of being marked. And,

A portrait of Andrew Ellicott

because the land grants were often unclear, the

the boundsgoer.6John Jenkins, Sr. (1728-85) and his son John,

Jr. (1751-1827) worked as a survey team. Inbetween fighting the Indians, they surveyed the

area in northeastern Pennsylvania known as theWyoming Valley.126 This rich anthracite region wasclaimed by both Pennsylvania and Connecticut.The Susquehanna Company was formed in 1753,in Connecticut, to develop and settle the valley.This settlement resulted in the Pennamite Wars.The military leader of the Connecticut settlers wasZebulon Butler. In 1778, during the AmericanRevolution, Loyalist Commander John Butler andsome Indian allies massacred the Connecticutsettlers. Perhaps this is why the land claim conflictwas finally decided in favor of Pennsylvania.

An engraved portrait of David Rittenhouse

10

Abraham Clark (1726-94) of New Jersey was asurveyor, but he is better remembered as a signerof the Declaration of Independence. Roger Sher-man (1721-93), also a signer, was a countysurveyor in Connecticut from 1745 to 1758. He wasthe only person who signed all four of thedocuments used in founding the United States ofAmerica: the Articles of Association (1774), theDeclaration of Independence (1776), the Articles ofConfederation (1781), and the Constitution(1787) 126

'I.

t - v

,_L' /Yl/d

c

Township 5, first range, Old Seven Ranges. Surveyed by Absalom Martin of New Jersey in 1786.

Joshua Fry, another colonial surveyor was bornin England and attended Oxford University. Inabout 1720, he emigrated to Virginia, and surveyedalong the Carolina border with the deputy surveyorof Virginia's Albemarle County, Peter Jefferson,Thomas Jefferson's father. (The Jeffersons includ-ed many men who were surveyors besides Peter.Peter's grandfather had also been a surveyor, andThomas Jefferson himself later became the sur-veyor of Albemarle County.32)

When Fry was professor of mathematics atWilliam and Mary College, he approved GeorgeWashington's registration as the surveyor of newly

11

created Culpepper County. George Washingtonwas just 17 years old when the registration wasapproved, but he was already an experiencedsurveyor. When only 16, he crossed the BlueMountains with veteran surveyor James Genn,surveying land for Lord Fairfax in 1747 and 1748.121

In the early 1750's, then-Colonel Joshua Fry ledthe Virginia militia against the French. He grew illwith fever and died in May 1754. LieutenantColonel George Washington was named hissuccessor. It was Washington's leadership duringthis campaign that made his name well known inthe Colonies.125

THE MASON-DIXON LINEThe Mason-Dixon Line became the boundary

representing the division between the Blue and theGray armies during the Civil War. Because it is theeast-west line separating Maryland and Penn-sylvania, with a part extending south and east todivide Maryland and Delaware, it is unclear why itwas given this place in history, for all three Statesfought on the Union side.116

The ConflictIts real place in history goes back much further.

In the middle of the 17th century, the rich land ofthe peninsula between the Chesapeake andDelaware Bays was claimed by both the Calvertfamily of Maryland and the Government of theNetherlands. When the Dutch were compelled toleave, the dispute was carried on by William Penn.The charters of Penn and Lord Baltimore wereopen to interpretation because of the vagueness ofthe documents. This caused quarrels so bitter thatthe disagreement continued for decades.

The DecisionAfter years of dispute, a compromise decision by

England's Court of Chancery awarded Marylandmost of the peninsula. Pennsylvania was to keepthe northeastern part, which later becameDelaware. The agreement was signed and the workof marking the boundaries was begun by localsurveyors in 1760.116

Although the entire episode lasted for more thana hundred years, Penn and Lord Baltimore weresuddenly anxious to settle it. When the work did notgo quickly enough to suit them, they decided tohire Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to get onwith it.29

Mason and DixonMason was 35 years old and held the post of

assistant astronomer at Greenwich Observatory inEngland. Dixon, an astronomer, mathematician,and surveyor, was 30.116 The two men reachedPhiladelphia in the middle of November 1763 andmet with the commissioners of Maryland andPennsylvania.29

In checking the work already completed, theyfound it accurate, so in January 1764, theyestablished their headquarters at the Harlan Farm.When the weather improved in the spring, the

12

surveyors went south from the Harlan Farm along ameridian. Distance measurements were taken asthey went along, by chain on level ground and bylevels on slopes. They set a post in a field on thefarm of Alexander Bryan and marked it "West ' Itmarked the latitude 15 miles south of the southpoint of Philadelphia. That post was the referencepoint for the parallel of latitude separating Penn-sylvania from Maryland.29

The large survey party set heavy boundarymarkers at 5-mile intervals. These stones had thePenn coat of arms on one side and the Calvert coatof arms on the other. Smaller stones, marked 'P'on one side and "M" on the opposite side, were alsoset along the line.116 The West Line, as Mason andDixon called the parallel between Pennsylvaniaand Maryland, extended from Delaware to thesummit of the Allegheny Mountains by the timethat the winter of 1766-67 grew cold.29

There was only Indian country west of theAlleghenies. Thus, the following spring, thesurveyors had to wait until an escort could beobtained from the Indians of the Six Nations tosafely carry on their work. All that spring andsummer they continued the survey By the end ofSeptember, the West Line reached theMonongahela River.

Because the Shawnee and Delaware Indiansheld the land beyond the Monongahela, 26 ofMason and Dixon's men quit the day the surveyorscrossed the river. Nonetheless, the surveyors wenton until they had crossed a "war path" and reachedthe top of a great dividing ridge. The terminationpoint was noted in Mason's diary on October 18,1767: "See on top of very lofty ridge ... at 233miles 17 chains 48 links from the Post marked Westin Mr. Bryan's field, we set up a Post marked W onthe West side and heaped around it earth andstone......29 Mason and his quiet Quaker co-worker Dixon handed the completed boundarymap to the commissioners on January 29, 1768.

The ResultThe survey project had lasted 4 years and was

the largest surveying accomplishment in ColonialAmerica. The Mason-Dixon Line is probably thebest known boundary in this country, even if for thewrong reason. The survey cost just $75,000 andwas amazingly accurate. An elaborate resurveyjust a few years ago showed a difference in latitudeof only 2.3 seconds.116

THE TRANSITIONSome of the early American surveyors do not

really fit into either the colonial period or the periodfollowing the Revolutionary War. The Ritten housebrothers, for example, were surveyors during bothtimes.

The Rittenhouse BrothersTo David arid Benjamin Rittenhouse must go a

large share of the credit for elevating the colonialart of surveying to the far more scientific art itbecame as the United States emerged as a na-tion 126

David Rittenhouse was born at Paper Mill Run,near Germantown outside Philadelphia, in April1732.29 Pictures of him, such as the portrait byCharles Willson Peale, show him as an adult withlong hair, a thoughtful face, deep-set eyes, andwearing the garb of an 18th-century Philadelphiagentleman. In his earlier years, however, he was anobscure young country Quaker. He grew up on hisfather's farm and became a farmer himself. Later,he made clocks and surveying instruments that heused in his jobs as a local surveyor. DavidRittenhouse taught himself how to do these usefulthings; he had always been a brilliant and curious-minded person who, in spite of the limitedschooling available to Pennsylvania farm boys ofhis time, mastered astronomy, mathematics, andNewton's "Principia." Rittenhouse was thedesigner and maker of the first magnetic declina-tion arc for a surveyor's compass, and he was thefirst American to put a spider web, for cross hairs,atthefocus of a telescope. He calculated the transitof Venus in 1769 and observed it with instrumentshe had designed and built. When his observationswere reported, David Rittenhouse became aninternationally famous astronomer. Soon he mov-ed to Philadelphia.

His first surveying job of any note was aboundary survey for William Penn. He laid out the12-mile radius around Newcastle, Delaware, whichformed the part of the boundary that Mason andDixon found so accurate that they incorporated itinto their own survey.29 This work was done withinstruments Rittenhouse had made for himself,several years before he achieved a reputation.6Over a period of years, David Rittenhouse surveyed

Chapter 3

THE BEGINNING OFTHE RECTANGULAR SURVEYS

13

boundaries for more than half of the ThirteenOriginal States. His younger brother Benjamin wasalso a surveyora very fine one. Both David andBenjamin were known for making the finest ofsurveying instruments.126

In 1796, by order of Congress, BenjaminRittenhouse made a surveyor's chain. Afterward,this chain was used as the standard of the UnitedStates Land Office.29 The respect accorded theRittenhouse brothers was evidenced by the 1815"Instructions for Deputy Surveyors," issued bySurveyor General Edward Tiff in. These instruc-tions required both "a good compass ofRittenhouse construction," and the adjustment "bythe standard chain," of "a two pole chain of 50links." Several of the surveying instruments madeby the Rittenhouse brothers today are part ofvaluable museum collections. Among them are twosurveyor's compasses made for GeorgeWashington.

In 1792, Washington appointed DavidRittenhouse as first director of the Mint. AlthoughDavid Rittenhouse died in 1796, streets, a citysquare, a social club, parks, a school, and ascientific body all bear his name, and the clocksmade by him probably are still keeping accuratetime.

Andrew PorterAndrew Porter, a soldier in the Revolutionary

Army, was also a surveyor noted for his precise andexcellent work. Both he and David Rittenhouseserved as commissioners on the survey of theVirginia-Pennsylvania boundary in 1784-85. In1800, Andrew Porter was sent to do the survey tosettle the Wyoming Valley conflict. He became thesurveyor general of Pennsylvania 9 years later.126

Robert ErskineRobert Erskine was born in Scotland and

educated there as a surveyor and engineer. Helived in England until about 1771. Then Erskine wasmade manager of the holdings of the AmericanIron Company in the northern part of New Jersey.He was about 36 years old when he arrived inAmerica.

A few years later when the 13 Colonies declaredtheir independence from England, Erskine not only

remained in America, he joined the militia. WhenGeorge Washington heard about Erskine's survey-ing background, he asked him to serve asgeographer of the Continental Army. Erskineaccepted the job, subsequently surveying andmaking topographic maps of the Hudson-Highlands region. These maps were used in thesuccessful American campaign to keep NewEngland from being cut off from the other Coloniesand to defend the area and keep the Americans incontrol. Unfortunately, Robert Erskine did not liveto see the new republic established that he hadhelped to bring into being.

Simeon De WittIn 1778 General James Clinton recommendedhis nephew, Simeon De Witt, to George

Washington because of the young man's excep-tional ability as a surveyor and cartographer. DeWitt soon became the assistant to Washington'schief geographer, Colonel Robert Erskine, whomhe succeeded in 1780. De Witt was attached toWashington's headquarters and served in thecampaigns that led to the surrender of Cornwallisat Yorktown in 1781.

In May 1784, De Witt was named surveyorgeneral of New Yorka position he held for thefollowing 50 years.

LAND BOUNTIESAbout 1 month after the Declaration of In-

dependence was signed, the Continental Congressoffered deserters from the British Army, includingthe Hessian mercenaries, American citizenshipand 50 acres of public land. A little over a monthafter that, an act was passed that promised landbounties for naval and military services during theRevolutionary War. Though there was no "PublicDomain" and the very existence of the UnitedStates was still at issue when the bounties wereoffered, land warrants were later issued toveterans. More than 2.5 million acres of public landin the old Northwest Territory (Ohio) was reservedas a "military district."1

STATE LAND CLAIMSThe Thirteen Original States, including land that

is now the States of Maine, Vermont, Tennessee,West Virginia, and Kentucky, were never a part ofthe Public Domain of the United States. Kentuckyand Tennessee were formed out of territory onceclaimed by Virginia and North Carolina, respec-

14

tively. Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820,and Vermont was the subject of conflicting claimsof its neighboring States until it became a State in1791.34 West Virginia was separated from Virginiaand became a State in 1863, by act of Congress. Allof these States kept title to the unappropriated,vacant lands inside their borders.34

Even before the preliminary peace treaty wassigned at the close of the Revolutionary War, theCongress was faced with debts, expenses, conflic-ting colonial claims to western lands, no money,and the duty of providing a financial policy and aplan for settlement. All of these matters had to beresolved if this new country was to survive.

Seven of the Colonies claimed jurisdiction overportions of the vast, unoccupied, somewhatnebulous area called "the western lands." No onewas able to state, with any conviction, just wherethe colonial boundaries lay. The six Colonies thathad no charter claim to this land felt that, as it hadbeen won by common effort, it should be held incommon. The new National Government, lookingupon the lands as revenue-producing assets,agreed.

STATE CESSIONSNew York unconditionally ceded all of her

western land claimsto Congress in 1780. Followingthis, Virginia and Connecticut gave up control overOhio, but Congress permitted them to retain title tocertain areas. Massachusetts preceded Connec-ticut in giving up her claim. South Carolinarelinquished her claims in 1787, North Carolina in1790. Georgia held out the longest. In reading theconditions of her cession,19 it is apparent that herinability to cope with the Indians and settle the landwithout the aid of the Federal Government waslargely responsible for Georgia finally grantingdeed of cession in 1802.

The most complicated of the State claims wasdisposed of with Virginia's cession. This put thenew Government in the awkward position of beingmuch too poor to maintain a capital, but in chargeof a vast Public Domain. Congress had agreed thatthe land should be disposed of for the commonbenefit of the United States.9 Benefit could bederived in either of two ways: (1) the landasmuch of it as possiblecould be sold for thehighest possible price; or (2) it could be surveyed,and pioneers could be encouraged to buy andsettle the land, making it possible to hold it againstforeign claims and Indians.

JEFFERSON'S REPORTThis was the situation in the spring of 1784, when

the Continental Congress appointed a committeeto develop a plan for locating and selling thewestern lands. Thomas Jefferson was the chair-man of the committee, and the report delivered toCongress that year is in his handwriting.28

Nearly a year went by before anything more wasdone. Jefferson's report was read and reread.Another committee was appointed, this time with amember from each State. Jefferson had gone toEurope, so William Grayson took his place as therepresentative from Virginia. This committeeamended the first report; notably, township sizewas reduced from 10 miles square to 7 milessquare.9

Congress, at that point, did some amending of itsown. It reduced township size to 6 miles square.The portion of Jefferson's report calling for surveysbefore sales, and for the lines of these surveys to berun and marked due north and south with otherlines crossing these at right angles, was retained.

1785 LAND ORDINANCEThe first land ordinance, the 1785 Land Or-

dinance, which was approved by the ContinentalCongress on May 20, incorporated theseprovisions. It also included the remarkable provi-sion that, in each township, section 16 would besetaside for the maintenance of public schools. Underthe terms of this ordinance, the plats of thetownships were to be subdivided into lots 1 milesquare "in the same direction as the external lines,and numbered from 1 to 36; always beginning thesucceeding range of lots with the number next tothat with which the preceding one con-cluded......

In the surveys executed under the 1785 LandOrdinance, and in some other areas in Ohio,sections are numbered from ito 36, with section 1in the southeast corner of each township. In theseareas, the numbers run from south to north in eachrange of sections. In 1796, the system of number-ing sections was changed to the system now used,with section number 1 in the northeast corner ofthe township.

The Canadian system of land subdivision is insome ways patterned upon that of the UnitedStates, but section number 1 is in the southeastcorner of their townships.11 Both American andCanadian section numbers run in opposite direc-

15

The chain is the unit of linear measurement for thesurvey of the public lands as prescribed by law. Allreturns of measurement in the rectangular system aremade in the true horizontal distance in links, chains,and miles. The only exceptions to this rule are specialrequirements for measurement in feet in mineralsurveys and townsite surveys.

Linear Measurement

1 Chain = 100 links or 66 feet1 Mile = 80 chains or 5,280 feet

Area Measurement

1 Acre = 10 square chains or43,560 square feet

1 Square Mile = 640 acres

tions in alternate lines. The Greeks have a word-boustrophedoflicfor this style of writing. Itsliteral translation is "turning like oxen in plowing."

THE GEOGRAPHERUnder the terms of the 1785 Land Ordinance,

Congress was to appoint surveyors, one from eachState, to serve under the direction of thegeographer of the United States. The geographerwas empowered to give oaths to the surveyorsappointed to serve under his instructions. Theywere to swear to do their duty faithfully. Thechainmen on the survey crews took a similaroath.

Under the 1785 Ordinance the surveyors wereinstructed to measure their lines with a chain, markthem "with chaps on the trees," describe themexactly upon a plat upon which they were to note"at their proper distances, all mines, salt springs,salt licks, mill seats, that shall come to hisknowledge; and all water courses, mountains, andother remarkable and permanent things over ornear which lines shall pass, and also the quality ofthe land."

Thomas Hutchins, named as geographer of theUnited States in July 1781, was chosen to direct thesurveys under the Land Ordinance of 1785.Hutchins was born in Monmouth County, NewJersey. When he was little more than a boy, he went

y(

Areas in Ohio where Lots were numberedin accordance with the Ordinance of 1785

to the frontierthe "western country," serving attimes with the Pennsylvania Colonial Troops. Itwas during these years that he acquired aneducation in surveying and engineering.

Hutchins was Colonei Henry Bouquet's assistantin 1764, when Bouquet directed the course of amilitary expedition against the Indians. An accountof the conflict, the "Historical Account of Bou-quet's Expedition Against the Ohio Indians in1764," contains a plan for frontier settlement. The

16

25

I

L

plan very closely resembles the system of landsubdivision adopted by the United States. Unfor-tunately, no author is given credit for the plan, as itis not in the main text of the account.11

Some authorities give Bouquet credit for theplan. He was a Swiss who had served in Hollandand in Sardinia. Because there was, during the 17thcentury, a limited system of rectangular survey inHolland,33 this is held as evidence that he was theauthor.3 Other authorities are equally certain that

0 50 100

SCALE 1t4 MILES

THE RECTANGULAR SURVEY SYSTEM

The U.S. rectangular system of surveys isa marvel of simplicity. Because of the system and the cadastral surveyors whotransferred it from a plan on paper to regular lines upon the land, the swift and orderly settlement of a vast public domainbecame a reality.

Separate large pieces of the Public Domain are, in themselves, huge survey areas. There are 31 principal meridiansandbase lines In the contiguous United States and 5 in Alaska. At the intersection of these two lines Is the initial point of eachof the survey areas. Some of the principal meridians are numbered and the rest have proper names. The numbered onesgo only to the Sixth Principal Meridan. Most of the other (named) meridians give a clue as to the area they govern: forexample, the Boise Meridian, the New Mexico Principal Meridian, and the Humboldt Meridian. Townships are numberednorth or south of the base line. A line or column of townships Is called a range, and they are numbered east or west of theprincipal meridian.

At the beginning of the use of the rectangular system, no provision was made for the convergence of meridians or theiimitation of accumulated error. At a later time standard parallels and guide meridians were included in the plan. Betweenthe standard parallels the excess or deficiency of measurement caused by convergency and accumulated error in eachtownship is placed in the sections lyIng against the north and west township boundaries. Each of the other sectionstheoreticaiiy contains 640 acres.

Each 6-mile-square township Is divided into 1-mile-square sections numbered from ito 36. The section numbers run inopposite directions In alternate lines, beginning with section number 1 In the northeast corner of the township. Thesenumbered sections may be further divided into aliquot parts, and thus described and identlf led. The southeast quarter ofthe southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of sectIon 5, Township 2 North, Range 3 West, of the Boise Meridian,describes just one parcel of land. The description even tells the initiated how many acres are being described. The familiarBLM abbreviation for this particular 10 acres is SESESE1/4 sec. 5, T. 2 N., R. 3 W., Boise Mer., Idaho.

Land, and the hope of sharing in its ownership, provided an attraction strong enough to bring millions of people to thiscountry. The straightforward system of cadastral surveying and land identification added to the attraction. By its adoptionthe United States, for the most part, avoided the disputes, litigation, and bloodshed inherent in a metes and boundssystem.

17

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Thomas Hutchins was the originator of the plan.11They cite the fact that he was in the habit of keepingrecords of his travels and his work, and that he hadbeen employed to lay out plans for a number ofmilitary posts. Military establishments had longbeen laid out in a rectangular manner.

Hutchins served as a British officer at Fort Pitt.He made exploratory journeys from there north toLake Erie and overland to Lake Michigan and theupper Wabash Valley. His expeditions also tookhim down the Ohio River and to the Mississippi.Hutchins compiled a general map of the West as aresult of these travels, which established him as aauthority on the area.

By the time the Revolutionary War was declared,Hutchins had attained the rank of captain of the60th Foot or Royal American Regiment of theBritish Army. He was in London atthe beginning ofthe war, and the British, quite naturally, planned toput his experience to their use. After all, he was theBritish Army's leading expert on the Americanfrontier.

The British, however, had forgotten one veryimportant fact: Hutchins was an American.Because he refused to fight against otherAmericans, he was imprisoned in August 1779.When he was released in February 1780, Hutchinscontacted Benjamin Franklin, who was in France atthe time. Through Franklin, arrangements weremade for Hutchins to travel to South Carolinawhere he joined the American forces underNathanael Greene. In May 1781, Congress ap-pointed him geographer of the southern army andthe following July he was given the title ofgeographer of the United States.

Two years later, Hutchins was commissioned bythe State of Pennsylvania to extend the survey fromthe western end of the Mason-Dixon Line to thepoint that was to be the southwest corner of theState, and from there to survey the west boundaryof Pennsylvania north to the Ohio River. The linewas to be the boundary between PennsylvaniaandVirginia, so Virginia also appointed surveyorsAndrew Ellicott and Joseph Neville.82 There were,in fact, three men from each State on this particular

19

survey. The two others from Pennsylvania wereDavid Rittenhouse and Andrew Porter.13

Point of BeginningThe survey marking the southern boundary of

Pennsylvania was completed in 1784. Before thesurvey of the western boundary began the follow-ing year, Hutchins was told his services asgeographer would be needed. Thus, the 1785 LandOrdinance was passed. It called for the survey ofthe public lands to begin". . . on the River Ohio ata point that should be found to be due north fromthe western terminus of a line which has been runas the southern boundary of the State of Penn-sylvania."

Four boundary surveyorsDavid Rittenhouseand Andrew Porter, who had been commissionedby Pennsylvania, and Andrew Ellicott and JosephNeville, who surveyed for Virginiaestablishedthis point on August 20, 1785.26 Following theirarrival on the south bank of the Ohio, near themouth of Mill Creek, Andrew Porter noted theevent:130

This morning continued the Vista over the hill onthe south side of the River and set a stake on it bythe signals, about two miles in front of theInstrument, brought the Instrument forward andfixed it on a high post, opened the Vista down tothe River, and set a stake on the flat, the northside of the River.

The Geographer's LineHutchins, as geographer of the United States,

was to "personally attend to the running of" a linewestward from the newly established "point ofbeginning." This line extends the width of theSeven Ranges-42 milesand is known as theGeographer's Line. Later surveys show it to beabout 1,500 feet south of its intended position atthe western end.13 Even so, it was the first linesurveyed under the rectangular system of theUnited States. It was the start of the mostmagnificent cadastral survey project in history.

THE CAPITALOn the last day of April 1789, George

Washington became President of the United Statesunder the new constitution. This was just 2 daysafter the death of Thomas Hutchins, the manresponsible for the survey that had undoubtedlybeen the most significant project under theConfederation. Now, however, there was anotherproject to think about. This Nation was, at last, tohave a Constitutional Capitalthe City ofWashington.

Jefferson and Hamilton made a political agree-ment to move the capital to Philadelphia from NewYork in 1790, where it was to remain for 10 years.Following that, the capital was to be situated in the10-mile-square tract of Federal land near the placewhere the Anacostia River joins the Potomac River.

THE ELLICOTTSIn February 1791, Secretary of State Jefferson, at

President Washington's suggestion, asked AndrewEllicott to go "by the first stage to the FederalTerritory on the Potomac for the purpose ofmaking a survey of it."124 It is not surprising thatAndrew Ellicott was the surveyor designated to dothis important work. At the time he was perhaps themost highly regarded surveyor in the UnitedStates. Moreover, he and his brothers had lived notfar from the chosen site for almost 20 years. in1770, Ellicott's father and two uncles had settled onthe Patapsco River, some 10 miles east ofBaltimore, and had built Ellicott's Mills. The townthat grew up around that mill is today calledEllicott City.

Andrew was only 16 years old, Joseph, Jr., was10, and Benjamin just 5 when they left BucksCounty, Pennsylvania, where they were born.These Quaker boys were exceptionally good atmathematics, and all three of them becamesurveyors. They knew and admired the Ritten-house brothers, and Andrew had studied under ahighly respected Irish mathematics professor,Robert Patterson, in Pennsylvania.127 In spite of aboyhood filled with gentle Quaker teaching, tall,large-framed Andrew joined the Elk Ridge Bat-talion of the militia and fought with it through theRevolutionary War. He attained the rank of major, atitle by which he was recognized the rest of his life.

Chapter 4

THE ELLICOTTS AND BENJAMIN BANNEKERSoon after the war, he was appointed by Virginia

as a member of the survey to continue thewestward Mason-Dixon Line, survey of which hadbeen stopped by unfriendly Indians in 1767. In thefollowing years he surveyed other boundary lines,6including the meridian northward from the pointof beginning on the north bank of the Ohio River.This Ohio-Pennsylvania boundary is calledEllicott's Line.30 The line along the 31st parallel,which will be discussed later, is called Ellicott'SLine of Demarcation.

As Major Ellicott worked on the survey of theFederal Territory, Jefferson contacted thetempestuous, fiery-tempered Frenchman andAmerican Revolutionary War veteran, PierreCharles L'Enfant, ". . . to have drawings of theparticular grounds most likely to be approved forthe site of the Federal Town andbuildings . . . connecting the whole with certainfixed points on the map Mr. Eliicott is preparing."124

BENJAMIN BANNEKER

Benjamin Banneker, a brilliant surveyor-astronomer, was also hired to work on thepreliminary survey of the capital site. Banneker, ablack man, was a friend of the Ellicott brothers andtheir cousin, George Ellicott. His mother Mary wasthe oldest daughter of a white indentured servantnamed Molly Welsh and a Negro slave namedBanneker (or Bannaker) whom she purchased,freed, and married. Ban neker's father Robert wasfrom Guinea, and he, too, had been a slave.5Benjamin Banneker was born free, because the lawsaid he was to follow the status of his mulattomother instead of that of his freedman father.Perhaps this law is the reason that Robert hadtaken Mary's name when they were married.

Even when Benjamin Banneker was very young,people were impressed by his many interests andby the speed and ease with which he learned. Forexample, he was able to read by the time he was 4years old.22 When Banneker was 6, probably in thelate 1730's, his father bought a large farm about 10miles from Baltimore, Maryland. Banneker attend-ed the school of a Quaker farmer, along with theother young people in the area. He soon surpassedthe other students in mathematics, and amazedthose who knew him with his unusual gifts. A tradergave him a watch, and from drawings made from it,

21

Banneker actually constructed a clock. Its frameand movements were made entirely of wood. It wasthe first instrument of its type ever made inAmerica.22 Even though his clock was the wonderof the community, Banneker remained a farmeruntil he was well past 50 years old.5

When the Ellicotts moved to Maryland, Ban nekerhelped in the construction of their mills. Thewonderful wooden clock came to their attention,and they were pleased to help Banneker acquirethe knowledge for which he hungered. TheEllicotts loaned him books, tools, and in-struments.6 More than that, they gave him theirfriendship. All of them, but George perhaps most ofall, encouraged Banneker to pursue his studies.

Banneker learned surveying and developed adedicated interest in astronomy. He spent manynights studying the stars and their courses, and hebecame adept with his borrowed instruments. Helearned to calculate ephemerides and finishedcomputing data for his first almanac in the spring of1790. Banneker, then nearly 60 years old, wasdisappointed because it was not published im-mediately. Due to the Ellicotts' interest, thealmanac came to the attention of the PennsylvaniaSociety for the Abolition of Slavery, and, eventuallythis led to its publication.5

According to an account by Silvio A. Bedini in"Early American Scientific Instruments and TheirMakers,"6 Benjamin Banneker, while assistingEllicott in surveying the City of Washington,"completed his almanac and gave it to GeorgeEllicott, Andrew's cousin, as a subject of possibleinterest. Apparently George Ellicott turned it overto the Honorable James McHenry of Baltimore,who in turned [sic] submitted it to the firm ofGoddard & Angell, who published it......

According to another account, also by Silvio A.Bedini, titled "Benjamin Banneker and the Surveyof the District of Columbia, 1791,"5 after Bannekercompleted his work as scientific assistant to MajorEllicott during the preliminary survey of theFederal Territory, he returned home. Hethensettowork finishing his calculations for 1792. Bannekerhad begun collecting dataforthis almanac while hewas still working on the survey of the City ofWashington, but he finished it in Baltimore County.In June 1791, Elias Ellicott, George's brother, sentword to James Pemberton in Philadelphia thatBanneker's ephemeris was ready to be printed.

Banneker's place in history is firmly secured bythe fact that he made the observations andcalculations needed in the survey of the 10-milesquare in which our Nation's capital is situated.Adding to his stature is the fact that six of the

22

ephemerides calculated by this largely self-taughtblack farmer were published, over a period ofyears, in nearly 30 different editions.5

L'ENFANT'S PLANThe L'Enfant-El-Iicott team made rapid headway

on the survey and plans for the capital. Joseph andBenjamin Ellicott joined their brother on theproject in late spring in 1791. Under L'Enfant,broad avenues took graceful shape, and the plansbegan to show a more and more beautiful city.When L'Enfant submitted his plans for approval byCongress, however, they were, mainly because ofhis demands, refused. L'Enfant then resigned andwould not allow the plans to be used at all.124

In March 1792, Andrew Ellicott was placed incharge of finishing the capital survey. He revisedand redrew L'Enfant's plan for the city. It wasaccepted by Congress, and the final minor pointsof the project were completed by Major Ellicott'sassistants.

In 1793, Pennsylvania commissioned AndrewEllicott, already gray-haired at the age of 39, tolocate a road and lay out the towns of Erie, Warren,and Franklin. It was a large and difficult task, butthe major finished it by the fall of 1796. At aboutthis time, Joseph Ellicott was working on surveysfor the Holland Land Company in the western partof New York. These surveys were of subsequentvalue when people started talking about buildingthe Erie Canal. Joseph also laid out a city he calledNew Amsterdam, which is now Buffalo, NewYork. 127

ELLICOTT'S LINE OF DEMARCATIONPresident George Washington personally ap-

pointed Major Ellicott to work with the Spanishsurveyors in running and marking the boundaryline between the Mississippi Territory and SpanishFlorida, which was determined by the treaty datedOctober 27, 1 7956 The boundary was to be latitude31 N. A marker was set where the 31st parallel ofnorth latitude intersected the Mississippi River, inwhat is now Mobile County, Alabama.

Ellicott's Stone, as it is called, is sandstone andmeasures some 2 feet wide. It is about 8 inchesthick and stands 2 feet abovethe ground. "U.S. Lat.31, 1799" is cut deeply into its north side; the southside reads, "Domino de SM. Carlos IV, Lat. 31,1799."115 Even though the stone was placed as apart of a boundary survey, it was also the basis formany other surveys in the southern part ofAlabama. Some of the distance measurementswere, later, found long,77 but as shown by the U.S.

Coast and Geodetic Survey marker set in Ellicott'sStone at a later time, the survey was reasonablyaccurate. The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Surveyvalues on it read: Lat. 300 59' 51.463" and Long. 8801' 21.076".115

OTHER BOUNDARY SURVEYSThe Georgia-North Carolina boundary was a

controversial one. The dispute over it was settled in1810, when Major Ellicott determined the 35thdegree of north latitude.29 Georgia had hired him todo the survey, and, using either Rittenhouseinstruments or those made by himself or his

23

brothers, he did his usual fine and accurate job,with the result that his survey added land to NorthCarolina. This was not at all the information thatGeorgia wanted, so, consequently, Ellicott wasnever paid for his work.127

Andrew Ellicott's last surveying project was thelong-disputed international boundary along the45th parallel. In 1817, he was asked to locate aportion of this U.S.-Canadian boundary in accor-dance with article 5 of the Treaty of Ghent. In orderto do so, he was granted leave from the UnitedStates Military Academy at West Point to whichPresident Madison had appointed him professor ofmathematics in 1815. Major Ellicott held thisprofessorial post until his death in 1820.6

LAND SUBDIVISION IN OHIOOhio has oftenand accuratelybeen called

the proving ground of the rectangular system. Thepublic land surveys there were affected by severaldifferent factors, all of which make the relativelocation of Ohio townships difficult to determine.

First, there were two large tracts of land in Ohioto which the United States had no claimVirginia'sMilitary Reserve and Connecticut's WesternReserve and Firelands. These two tracts weresurveyed according to the laws of the States thatclaimed them. Two other sizeable tracts of Ohioland were sold to large companies of speculatorsshortly after the rectangular system was adopted.These tracts were surveyed by the companies thathad purchased them, sometimes according to theirown rules.

AN UNPERFECTED SYSTEMMost important, the rectangular system itself had

not yet been perfected. No basic framework existedso that the relative location of townships could beascertained with ease. No plan had been for-mulated for the eventual expansion of the surverys.Also, there was no provision for eliminating thebasic conflict brought about by the law, whichcalled for the surveys to be both rectangular andhave sides running in the cardinal directions. Thiswas, obviously, an impossible requirement on aplanet where meridians converge as they near thepoles. These basic imperfections in the LandOrdinance of 1785 were not resolved when theLand Act of 1796 was passed. In addition, whereasboth the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Land Actof 1796 assumed that townships and ranges wouldbe numbered, neither of them provided a plan forthat numbering. For some unknown reason,however, the system of numbering sectionsadopted under the Ordinance of 1785 was changedby the Land Act of 1796.

SURVEYS WITH NO INITIAL POINTFOR TOWNSHIP IDENTIFICATION

The west boundary of Pennsylvania served asthe first reference meridian for the public landsurveys and the Ohio River as the base from whichtownships were numbered. A number of otherreference meridians and bases were also used in

Chapter 5

THE PROVING GROUND

25

Ohio to govern certain areas for the purpose of thedisposal of the land. As a result, there are eightpublic land surveysseven in Ohio and one inIndianathat have no initial point as an origin ofboth township and range numbers.137

THE OHIO RIVER SURVEY AREAThe survey of the Seven Ranges began in 1785.

There, townships are numbered northward fromthe Ohio River, and ranges are numbered westwardfrom the Ohio-Pennsylvania boundary. Sectionsare numbered progressively northward insuccessive tiers starting at the southeast corner ofeach township. The lands west of the SevenRanges, east of the Scioto River, and south of theU.S. Military Tract, were surveyed in a somewhatuncoordinated manner, but nevertheless in moreor less the same way as the Seven Ranges; that is,townships are numbered northward from the OhioRiver and ranges are numbered westward from thewest boundary of Pennsylvania in continuation ofthe numbering within the Seven Ranges. Becausethis area was surveyed in 1798 and 1799, however,sections are numbered according to the plan set

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26

System used underOrdinance of May 20, 1785

Act of May 18, 1796

System used in Canad&sDominion, or public, lands.The dimensions of Canadiantownships usually differ fromthose of the United Statesdue fo their provision forroadways between or withinsections.

36 30 24 18 12 635 2923 17 II 534 28 22 16 10 433 27 21 15 9 332 26 20 14 8 231 25 19 13 7 I

6543217 8 9 10 II 12

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position for the State boundary as claimed byMichigan. When the State boundary was finallyestablished the public land surveys were closedupon that boundary. The lands originally surveyedunder the Michigan Meridian and situated south of

forth by the Land Act of 1796. The lands north ofthe Seven Ranges and the U.S. Military Tract andsouth of Connecticut's Western Reserve weresurveyed during 1799 in the same manner as thosewest of the Seven Ranges. All of this area, includingthe Seven Ranges, is called the Ohio River Surveyarea.

THE U.S. MILITARY SURVEYUnder the provisions of a Congressional act

passed on June 1, 1796, the United States MilitaryTract was surveyed into 5-mile-square townships.The ranges in this survey area are designated byprogressive numbers west from the west boundaryof the Seven Ranges. Townships are numberednorthward from the south boundary of the militarytract. According to the terms of the Act of March 1,1800, 50 quarter townships of land that stillremained unclaimed at that time, together withunclaimed fractional quarter townships, weresubdivided into lots of 100 acres each and reservedto satisfy military warrants. The remainder of thelands in this survey area was surveyed into sectionsof 640 acres each and offered for sale on the samebasis as other public lands. Each of thesetownships, however, contains only 25 sections.These sections are numbered according to thepresent plan.

WEST OF THE GREAT MIAMI RIVERIn 1798, the survey of the public lands lying west

of the Great Miami River in Ohio was begun. In ittownships are numbered northward from the GreatMiami River, and ranges are numbered eastwardfrom the meridian surveyed north from the mouthof the Great Miami, now the Ohio-Indiana boun-dary. In this area, which is bounded on the north bythe Greeneville Treaty Line, sections are numberedaccording to the revised plan.

OHIO RIVER BASEINDIANAThe Ohio River Base survey area in Indiana is the

only one outside of Ohio that has no initial point asan origin of numbering both townships and ranges.In this areaknown as the Gore of Indianatownships are numbered north from the Ohio Riverand ranges are numbered west from the Ohio-Indiana boundary and its projection south. Thesurvey of this area was started in 1799 and in itsections are numbered according to the revisedplan.

27

SCIOTO RIVER BASEThe Scioto River Base survey in Ohio was also

surveyed in 1799. Townships in this area arenumbered north from the Scioto River and rangesare numbered west from west boundary of Penn-sylvania.

MUSKINGUM RIVER SURVEYThe Muskingum River Survey area was surveyed

in 1800. Its range is numbered 10 and its townshipsare numbered 1 and 2.

BETWEEN THE MIAMI RIVERS,NORTH OF SYMMES PURCHASE

The public land area known as Between theMiami Rivers, north of Symmes Purchase, wassurveyed beginning in 1802 in continuation of theplan adopted by Symmes in the survey of his tract.In this area, contrary to all other public landsurveys, townships are numbered east from theGreat Miami River and ranges are numbered northfrom the Ohio River, in continuation of Symmes'numbering. The sections are numbered accordingto the same plan as those in the Seven Ranges.

TWELVE-MILE SQUARE RESERVEThe last public land survey area to have no initial

point as a basis for township identification wassurveyed in 1805. It is the Twelve-Mile-SquareReserve and it has no range number. Its townshipsare simply numbered 1 through 4137

NORTHWESTERN OHIOThe intersection of a base line with the First

Principal Meridian was adopted in 1819 as theinitial point for public land surveys in northwesternOhio. Public land surveys in this part of Ohio wereexecuted along the lines of the present plan.

CONFLICT WITH MICHIGANAs if all this were notenough, Michigan and Ohio

could not agree on the position of their commonboundary. The question was not resolved untilMichigan was admitted as a State in 1837. Longbefore that time, the surveys in the southernportion of the area governed by the MichiganMeridian had been executed and extended to the

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28

The private survey of the Symmes Purchase(shaded area) was the basis of a unique Ohiopublic land survey. In the "Between the MiamiRivers" survey area, townships are numberedeastward from the Great Miami River andranges are numbered northward.

Bctse Ltne,1819Connect icut bJetern Reserve

be Lin1199

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the State line continue to be governed by theMichigan Meridian although they are administeredwithin the State of Ohio.138

THE SEVEN RANGES1785

In the summer of 1785 the first United StatesGovernment survey party, under the direction ofThomas Hutchins, met at Pittsburgh whereteamsters, horses, and supplies had beengathered. Although there were to have been 13surveyorsone from each Stateonly 8 actuallybegan the survey. They were Edward Dowse ofNew Hampshire, Benjamin Tupper ofMassachusetts, Isaac Sherman of Connecticut,Absalom Martin of New Jersey, William W. Morrisof New York, Alexander Parker of Virginia, James

I

29

.Point of Begiflfl&flgof the RectanguLarSjstem of Surveys,

; 1785

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SCALE N MILES

oi.Iuo LAtJD5 SUBDI'JI5IOIJ

Simpson of Maryland, and Robert Johnston ofGeorgia.

Hutchins and the rest of the party moveddownstream from Pittsburgh and set up camp atthe mouth of Beaver Creek, near the point ofbeginning.113 On the last day of September,starting at the initial point, Hutchins personallysupervised the start of the first east-west linetheGeographer's Line. Yet on October 8, 1785, aftersurveying just 4 miles of the Geographer's Line,Hutchins stopped work for the season. He reportedthat the work had been halted due to "disagreeableintelligence concerning the Indians."131

1786

Apparently the intelligence concerning theIndians was more agreeable by the followingspring, because Major Winthrop Sargent tried to

25 0

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30

FiR1 RANGESwvcyed by4bsa/orn Ma,tin

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get an appointment as a surveyor at that time.Sargent was from Massachusetts and had been adistinguished artillery officer in the RevolutionaryWar. He, along with many other soldiers, hadsuffered financial reverses while he had been in theservice of his country. Some of these veteransjoined together in organizing the Ohio Company ofAssociates, which planned settlement in thewestern country. Sargent was elected secretary ofthe group.102General Henry Knox, then Secretary of War, was

an old army friend of his, so Sargent went to himabout securing the appointment. Knox told himthat the appointments had been made, but thatthey might need more surveyors. Knox andHutchins agreed that Sargent would be a good manto have along. Hutchins had heard that thesurveyor for North Carolina might not be able toaccept. He advised Sargent to try for the vacancy,should it occur.By June 11, 1786, Knox was sure there would be at

least one vacancy and wrote to Sargent suggestingthat a man already in the area would have the bestchance of getting the job. Sargent took the hint andstarted west toward Fort Mcintosh. While he wason his way to the fort, he was elected by Congressas the surveyor from New Hampshire, to replaceEdward Dowse, who had resigned.

Sargent's DiaryFor the next few months, Sargent kept a diary. He

began it on June 18, as he left Boston, and heended it upon his return from the field, just beforeChristmas 1786. John Mathews, later to becomeSargent's assistant, also kept a log. They wereunusual in this respect because few of thesurveyors there or on later surveys took the time tokeep a record other than their field notes.On his trip west, Sargent stopped in Philadelphia

long enough to visit and dine with BenjaminFranklin. Though he enjoyed this social encounter,he did not seem to be too happy with the rest ofPennsylvania. In Pittsburgh, which was then a townof about 80 long huts, he stayed "at Smith's Tavernwhich tho' as good as any Place is bad enough andvery extravagant."Beyond Pittsburgh, Sargent traveled with Major

John F. Hamtramck, commander of Fort McIntosh.The day after their arrival, Sargent crossed the riverand reached the surveyor's camp opposite themouth of Little Beaver Creek,102 where all of theother surveyors were assembled. They drew lots tosee who would survey which range. In August1786, 6 miles due west of the point of beginning,

31

Absalom Martin of NewJersey started south on thesurvey of the first range.101 He had drawn lotnumber one and thereby gained a small measure offame. Sargent drew number five.102Danger from Indian attack was discussed, and the

other surveyors were not as optimistic as Hutchins.They requested troops to protect them. Hutchinsarranged for military escort from Fort Harmarbecause he did not want another time like his firstattempt.Sargent was detained in camp because his

supplies had not arrived on schedule. While hewaited, three of his Revolutionary War friendsstopped to visit. They were on their way down riverto Fort Harmar, but they spent the evening sittingaround the campfire talking over old adventuresand speculating about the future. One of theirtopics of conversation was their hope of findingpeace and justice in their new homes in the westerncountry and their desire that, in these homes, "theveteran soldier and honest man should find aRetreat from ingratitude......These words expressed some of the bitterness

Sargent and other Revolutionary War veterans feltbecause of the reverses they had suffered duringthe war and the neglect with which they and theirproblems had been treated in the Eastern Statesafter the war was over.Because his supplies had not yet arrived and it

appeared that there would be several days beforework could begin, Sargent went with his friends ontheir trip to Fort Harmar. They went by river. Theweather was fine and the land they saw along theirway was rich and level, yet not wet nor too low.Sargent's diary tells that he could picture cattlegrazing in the luxuriant meadows. The trees alongthe banks of the river were majestic oaks andwalnuts. Hickory and maple trees of huge propor-tions were also noted. During the time (July 23 toAugust 2) that he spent at Fort Harmar, Sargentmade several excursions into the surroundingarea. His diary indicates his appreciation of thecountry.On his trip from Fort Harmar back to his own

camp, Sargent noted the farms of several squatterson the north shore of the river. He resented theirpresence in an area he would have liked for theOhio Company settlement and referred to them as"lawless banditti." Later, Sargent was to find thatthis attitude was one the squatters did not findparticularly endearing as they consideredthemselves adventurous pioneers.Sargent's days of rest, with time for exploring the

country, came to an end when the chainmen,packers, and horses reached camp. The pay forthe

packers was a "half Joe" each per month and 30shillings per head for the horses. (A half Joe was aPortuguese gold coin which was equivalent toabout $8.)The survey work actually began on September 2,

1786. Dense swamps and thick undergrowth madeprogress slow. In many places the only way to getthrough was to cut a line every rod of the distance.There were not enough men and their instrumentslacked modern refinement. These first surveys didhave inaccuracies but, considering the odds themen worked against, they were very well doneindeed.In reaching his own rangethe fifthSargent

spoke of the others. The first range was "tolerablygood but a little broken"; the next was "fine lands,by no means high, but level"; for the third, "extremebad-broken and some very high hills." The fourthrange he called "good lands." His range lay beyondthese others and was covered with thick under-brush.At times no more than 2 miles a day could be made

with the surveying. For this work the surveyorreceived, including all expenses, $2 per mile. WhenSargent had run the east-west line of his range, hewas asked to run Simpson's on the sixth range.Sargent completed it and returned to work on thefifth range.About this time a rumor of the presence of a large

band of Shawnee Indians was being circulated.The report caused Hutchins and the surveyors withhim to return to camp. Sargent did not believe thereport; he had not seen any Indians, and even ifthere were any, he could not see that he shouldbehave any differently than when he was in thearmy and exposed to danger every day. He and hiscrew stayed on the job, and he wrote a letter toHamtramck asking if there were any truth to thewhole thing. The last line of the letter tells of hisplan to go West until he received and answer.Fortunately the rumor, this time, was false.Before the end of September, the rumors of Indian

hostilities were becoming alarming. Sargent andhis crew returned to the camp at the mouth of LittleBeaver Creek. Hutchins called all the mentogether there to consult with them about the work.Sargent was of the opinion that, since they had notbeen attacked, they should not have stopped theirwork. He was certain it would be taken as a sign ofweakness by the Indians.Hutchins told the assembled survey crews that he

thought four ranges should be completed. Workbeyond/that range he left up to a vote of thesurveyors. They voted that it was too dangerous to

32

go beyond the fourth range. Sargent did not agree.He also did not agree with the manner in whichHutchins had handled the situation. His diary entryon September 28 shows his annoyance.

For my part, I would prefer to receive and obeyorder, rather than decide for myself and I amsorry to find Mr. Hutchins, who is our principalso fond of council and so wanting in decision.He is good character, a worthy man, but standsin need of confidence in himselfwhich wesurveyors have all very sensibly felt, and whichhas sometimes involved us in disagreeablealtercations and disputes about modes andforms and the more essential of our duties.

Isaac Sherman, third range surveyor, andEbenezer Sproat, fourth range surveyor, had theoption of returning to their work. Sargent asked fora similar privilege. Hutchins refused to order him toresume surveying but agreed to let him continue ifhe chose to do so. Sargent requested a militaryescort and went back to the field. The men werebecoming worried, but Sargent was not to beturned aside. He wanted to finish the south line tothe river and take the meanders of the Ohio. Thiswould allow the sale of one range more thanHutchins had planned.To accomplish his goal, Sargent hired more men.

One of them was John Mathews, a well-educatedNew England schoolteacher who had not beenable to find a teaching job. As was true of many ofthe men on early survey crews, he was attracted bythe idea of adventure on the frontier. He became achainman in a party now numbering 36 men. Themarch from camp back to the survey area was aslow one, but by the middle of October they wereagain at work.Sometimes Sargent found the escort of troopers

more trouble than it was worth. The men were notwell equipped for the work and lacked properclothing. Sargent sympathized with them andwould have dismissed them except for the fact thathis hunter became convinced that Indians werenearby.When all the horses, except one sick one, were

stolen, it became apparent that the hunter wasright. Without the horses the work became far moreexhausting. Then the weather turned bad and themen began hinting that they had done all thesurveying they wanted to do for one season. EvenSargent started to feel apprehensive. So hecompleted the seventh township in range 5 in earlyNovember and returned to the surveyors' camp.Hutchins then wanted Sargent to finish the range.This made Sargent even more critical of Hutchins.

Survey HaltedBefore Sargent could return to the field,

however, General Richard Butler, superintendentof Indian Affairs, sent word that the Indians haddemanded that the surveyors halt their work. As thebad weather would have made the survey extreme-ly expensive even if there had been no Indianthreat, Hutchins decided to comply with theIndians' wishes. On November14, 1786, the surveywas stopped for the year. Hutchins reported toCongress that four ranges and seven townships inthe fifth range had been completed. About 800,000acres had been surveyed and were ready for sale asa result of the work that season.

The surveyors, including Sargent, sent a memoto Congress asking for a provision to pay them fortheir expenses in the past and to increase their payin the future. They said that they would take a partof this in land. Sargent's actual expenses were$250, and his pay, at $2 per mile, was only $120.

33

Although Sargent had felt that his efforts werenot appreciated by Hutchins, a comment Hutchinswrote showed quite the opposite. In it he spoke ofthe fact that Sargent had exerted himself to the bestof his abilities for the "Public Good" and that hehad lamented being unable to finish his range.When Sargent wrote to Hutchins the followingyear, offering his services to complete the fifthrange, there were enough surveyors already atwork and it was not necessary for him to cross themountains to finish his work.

After the Ordinance 011787 encouraging masssettlement was passed, Sargent was electedsecretary of the territory northwest of the OhioRiver. He was acting governor much of the timeduring the 10 years he served in this office. He leftthe old Northwest Territory in 1798 after acceptingan appointment as governor of the just-organizedMississippi Territory.102

CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY FORMANAGEMENT OF THE PUBLIC LANDS

Inevitably, in a new democracy, questions doarise concerning who has proper authoritythelocal, State, or National Government. Asbackground for these conflicts, recall that theAmerican colonists developed town and countygovernments based predominately on a sharedEnglish heritage and their needs as a frontierpeople. However, as time passed, conflicts arosebetween the Colonies and England. In 1774, inorder to establish unity of action in regard to theircommon grievances against English colonialpolicy, the colonists convened the First Continen-tal Congress.

COLONIAL INDEPENDENCEThis first step toward the creation of the Union

was followed by the Declaration of Independence.Signed on July 4, 1776, this document made theThirteen Colonies the Thirteen Original States.However, each State remained completelysovereign until the need for unified action duringthe Revolutionary War led to the adoption of theArticles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. In1777, these were submitted to the States forratification, which was completed in 1781, formingthe United States of America.

Although a semblance of National Governmentexisted at that point, there were weaknesses in thearrangement. Foremost was the fact that there wasno national executive branch or judiciary. TheConfederation had no power to regulate interstateand foreign commerce, and this lack soon led toserious economic conflicts between the States. Toremedy these inherent weaknesses, a con-stitutional convention met in 1787 for the purposeof forming "a more perfect Union." Congresssubmitted the Constitution to the States forratification on September 28, 1787, and, on March4, 1789, it became legally operative as the "Con-stitution of the United States."

Authority for congressional disposition andmanagement of the public lands and resources isderived from Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 of theU.S. Constitution. The clause states that Congressshall have the power "to dispose of and make allneedful rules and regulations respecting theterritory or other property belonging to the UnitedStates. . .

." This congressional power has beenheld to be without limitation.

During the first year of the new constitutionalform of government, Congress allowed the Land

Chapter 6

35

Ordinance of 1785 to expire, although it reenacted(with some modification) the Northwest Ordinanceof 1787.

LAND LAW UNDER THE CONSTITUTIONThe Land Act of 1796, entitled 'An Act providing

for the Sale of the lands of the United States, in theterritory north-west of the river Ohio and above themouth of the Kentucky river," was the first new landlaw to take effect under the Constitution. Survey-ing, as authorized under the law, was confined tothree areasnorth of the Seven Ranges, west ofthe Seven Ranges, and west of the SymmesPurchase. Yet, in spite of these limitations, theLand Act of 1796 became the legal basis of allsubsequent United States public land surveys.

Although it restated the basic principles of theLand Ordinance of 1785frequently in terms verymuch like those of the earlier ordinancethe LandAct of 1796 did make some changes. Under the newlaw, the geographer, who had died in 1789, was tobe replaced by a surveyor general who was to"engage a sufficient number of skillful surveyors,"without reference to States, and proceed with thesurveying.

Of particular interest to surveyors were the half-dozen words in the new law that called for north-south lines to be "run according to the truemeridian." These few words restored an importantprovision of the Land Ordinance of 1785, whichhad been repealed as a convenience to thesurveyors of the Seven Ranges.

The new law set the surveyor general's salary at$2,000 per year and raised the pay of deputysurveyors for their labors from $2 to $3 per mile ofline surveyed. The system of numbering sectionswas changed to the present system. Alternatesection lines were to be traced in the field inalternate townships, thus forming 2-mile squareson the ground. Corners were to be set 1 mile aparton these lines, giving each section three cornersthat were actually set in the field. Under the LandOrdinance of 1785, the corners had been establish-ed by the surveyors along the township lines only,and the section (lot) lines were added on paper inthe office.

Five-Mile TownshipsOn June 1, 1796, Congress approved "An Act

regulating the grants of land appropriated for

Military services, and for the Society of the UnitedBrethren for propagating the Gospel among theHeathen?' This act provided for a special surveythatdid not conform with the general principles setforth in the Land Act. Under its provisions, thesurveyor general was to "cause the said tracts to bedivided into townships five-miles square, byrunning, marking, and numbering the exterior linesof the said townships, and marking corners in thesaid lines, at the distance of two and one half milesfrom each other, in the manner directed......Thisact applied to the lands in the United States MilitaryDistrict, although the State of Connecticut usedthe same plan in its Western Reserve.

Appointment of the Surveyor GeneralThe appointment of a surveyor general was the

first priority under the 1796 land law. PresidentWashington selected Simeon De Witt, who hadshared Thomas Hutchins' title of geographer to theUnited States during the Revoluntionary War. DeWitt, who was satisfied in his post as the surveyorgeneral of New York State, declined the appoint-ment. Thus, on October 1, 1796, Washingtonappointed Rufus Putnam as the first surveyorgeneral of the United States.

It was a good choice. Putnam had been amongthose championing the settlement of the Ohiocountry for years. Only a short while before hebecame surveyor general, he had been namedsuperintend