Here I am with another dumb question. Does this note say "SET R.W. H&T", with the S in SET somehow not showing? Or does it say something else? Would that mean "Set redwood hub and tag"? Here's a detail of the map, and the full map is attached.
Set, Right-of-Way, Hub & Tac
I vote for "SET REDWOOD HUB & TACK"
Definitely referring to setting a hub and tack where the road right-of-way meets the boundary line.
OP profile says California, which lends support to redwood.
That county has a decent online set of maps.
I would look for other maps by the same surveyor
Have you talked with a surveyor in that local area and asked? If you are a surveyor in that area, have you asked your counterparts who are more familiar with that area? Or maybe the County Surveyor?
The next map of this area is by another surveyor in the same firm (which is still in operation) in 1965. Between the 1963 and 1965 maps, Bear Creek Rd was constructed. (It is 6.5 miles of high-speed, engineered roadway necessitated by the construction of Briones Reservoir which flooded out a prior roadway.) See attached. I don't see any other notations of a R.W. H&T.
Another curiosity: Cronin, in 1963, set "2" O.D." monuments, but his partner, Cooper, set 1¼" I.P. meaning 1¼-inch nominal iron pipe which has an outside diameter of 1.66". 1½" iron pipe has an OD of 1.9". 2" iron pipe has an OD of 2⅜. Were 2" true-OD monuments in use in the 1960s, or was he using iron pipe and rounding off to 2"?
Not that it really matters. You go out there and see if you can find something, anything, and then you reverse engineer the description of what you find.
Undisturbed fir hubs have a half life of about a year in the PNW area. I once had the pleasure of finding the above ground portion of a reasonably intact 4x4 post - must have been cedar - that according to the record was about 80 yrs old at the time. In Contra Costa County a redwood hub may still be in decent shape after 60 years.
I see many monuments marked as RW or some form thereof indicating it was set were the right-of-way line intersects an existing defined boundary line. Have never encountered a case of "Set Pine H&T" or Oak or Fir or any other specific type of wood. Never. RW is very commonly used for right-of-way.
Considering the context of the 1963 survey:
- It shows the proposed new road,
- The monument is located at the edge of the new road's right of way,
- The surveyor, Cronin, set numerous 2" O.D. (presumably iron) monuments in that same survey,
- Hubs and tacks are typically used as temporary markers during construction, and
- Cronin's partner, Cooper replaced the H&T with an iron monument after the road was completed in 1965,
I'm going to go out on a limb and say R.W. means right-of-way, as Gary originally opined.
Regarding redwood, I have on my property, not far from this map, many fence posts dating from the mid-20th Century that are weathered but structurally sound. (Oak, on the other hand, has a half life of months.) However, redwood would be an odd choice for that single monument that was intended as temporary.
I contend right-of-way is abbreviated "R/W" (with the slash).
As for the "et", obviously meant to be set the red wood is probably not even worth contemplating 60 years later unless it was a decent sized post that withstood the test of time.
As for the OD of the pipe, your overthinking things. If you find a 1 3/4" pipe where a 2" pipe is called for and in a position that matches all other evidence found, are you going to reject it because it is off 1/4" in dia?
As for the "et", obviously meant to be set the red wood is probably not even worth contemplating 60 years later unless it was a decent sized post that withstood the test of time.
As for the OD of the pipe, your overthinking things. If you find a 1 3/4" pipe where a 2" pipe is called for and in a position that matches all other evidence found, are you going to reject it because it is off 1/4" in dia?
AMEN
Were 2" true-OD monuments in use in the 1960s, or was he using iron pipe and rounding off to 2"?
Well were they? I doubt it. (And there's no such thing as a 1¾ IPS.) And I'm just asking questions.
There is 2" hard copper tubing which has a true O.D. of 2". With a brazed cap, I imagine it would make a nice monument, with better corrosion resistance than iron. You could emboss the cap with your license number.
An inaccurate description of the monument is a minor defect. But if it were accompanied by other errors, it would contribute to an accumulation of doubt.
Aside from that nit, thank you all for your excellent answers.
ET: end of tangent
RW: Right of way
HT: hub and tack
In the Bay Area a redwood hub would have been set for a property corner. The abbreviation could be either one, but typically would be calling the type of monument.
If it was clear heart redwood, it should still exist in decent shape, if area has not been disturbed. I've found plenty over a 100 years old. I found one last week from the 1965 with tag still in it and great shape.
If it was conheart redwood, you may still find a portion of a hub or wood remnants in the soil.
Finding old hub evidence requires more of an archeological dig.
Good luck!
Here in Southern Nevada, it would be interpreted as: Extraterrestrial Highway Roadhouse With Habanero Tacos available here.
Common practice to set redwood hubs. It seems the surveyor was trying to differentiate between the 2" O.D. he set at another location. Also, it's implied the monument was set at the intersection of the right of way and property line per the map.