This might be fun. How many here have see original GLO field books, not transcriptions called field notes, but the field books. I have and it's an interesting story in several ways.
Indian Reservation 3 mile method.
Field books show clearly all stations occupied with all measures with closures well within spec. It is a dependant resurvey.
Prior 1/16 GLO wood stakes found and held, no wait a minute, both plat and transcription ignore the field found evidence and use straight lines via math. Plat did not follow the field books.
All this passed to my client, now fee title deed in private name. Client is known throughout the world as a top tier hop producer and ships worldwide. He is not nearly as concerned with price. He want to sort it out so he can rearrange some internal lines that suits his ideas for future uses.
I think that is enough to get started. We'll get to the dusty attic as this develops.
Can divulge ROS info that someone with access to Survey&Maps in WA might set up a link to so you can all see one of the more interesting surveys I have done.
South of Yakima River, North of Railroad, West of and immediatly adjacent to HWY and Town of Mabton. PLS 18099 WA. That should be plenty to find it. I will go and see if I can find my copy in my archive in the mean time.
"All this passed to my client..."
Do you mean the field books passed to your client? Authenticated? And they disagree with the accepted record? Good Lord, that is fascinating.
Have fun with this one!
Don
> "All this passed to my client..."
>
> Do you mean the field books passed to your client?
Sorry, no. All title pasted to him with it's history.
Authenticated?
Indeed, the real deal GLO Books for this township and several others in the vicinity.
And they disagree with the accepted record? Good Lord, that is fascinating.
The official plat and the transcriptions show nothing of the allotment corner monuments found that they were supposed to honor that were clearly and properly documented in the field books.
And a teaser, the books were found in an attic in the same block as my offices. No one had touched them since at least WWII. When I asked for permission to enter the attic, no one could remember when anyone else had been up there.
T.P.
If you know the T S R, I can look up on DNR and post it. Sounds interesting!!!!
This is the best I can do from memory:
South of Yakima River, North of Railroad, West of and immediatly adjacent to HWY and Town of Mabton. PLS 18099 WA. Stephens Land Surveying for Hop Union. Mid 80's That should be plenty to find it.
Yup, that's it. Thank you very much Jerod.
Let me say this. If another surveyor had been in there before me and did something different, it would have been a very different survey for me. I was just the first to get there after the Govt. was through with it.
More on the field books. Local irrigation district formed and built canal 1909. At the same time GLO is doing lots of resurveys. Local irrigation district did their own surveys. Their plats got used for lots of settlement. They tended to apply base rules of standard sections to govt lot sections.
Anyway, at some time just after WWII the Irrigation District moved into the building that held the archive. The GLO books were in their possession along with many others of various sources and types, their own old books included. I can only spectulate they were placed there and every few years they would box up old files and add another box or two.
My questions at the Irr. Dist. office propmted a comment by someone? "Isn't there some old books up in the attic?" That's how I learned of them.
Oh, look over the survey and note how it identifies the subdivision corners/mons via a GLO code system seldom used or seen in use.
I followed best evidence of original mons in the field books. I could have ignored all that and followed the plat. I could have used the "proper" GLO procedure and DESTROYED THE BOOKS. I had options. The survey shows what I did.
Entering the attic archive
Upon hearing the comment at the Irr. Dist office, "Aren't there some old books up in the attic?" I asked and received permission to go have a looksee. Pull down the ceiling mounted foldout stairs. Step up and peak in. Some 60x30 foot full open attic, totally empty but for the stacks of books way over there in the corner. A 1/4" of dust blankets everything. Not the sleightest footprint showing anywhere.
I know of a certainty before going futher that one sneese and it will look like a herd of bufflo just went by. I entered and slowly step by step made my way back to the stacks. It was immediatly apparent that whoever built the stacks did so with great care. The books were alinged with each other to near perfection.
I carefully picked up a book with dust on top and set it aside. Next book dust free says, United States Reclamation Service, on the cover. Open that and first few pages show proper and complete index to contents. Date fits last GLO resurvey plat for my job.
I spent no more than 10 minutes, and left everything exactly as I found it. Despite my focused attempt not to raise dust, I came out with my nose full of it. I said nothing to the Irr people but, "I am going to call the Bureau of Surveys and Maps and expect one of their people will arrange to have a look. Thank you very much."
I called Dave Steel. He was our regional surveyor at Surveys and Maps at the time. Within a week he had entered the archive, indexed the books, made copies for me of the relevant info to my current survey and made the arrangement for the books to be placed in the archives in Olympia.