Oldest Survey Monument in Your Home County

Mason-Dixon Stone. I can't remember the date. It is either 1824 or 1826.

> Some of you in Colonial areas should have some much, much older ones that you have actually used, not just seen.

I think there is a large poplar tree (still partially alive and HUGE) in my county that has been called for since the 1830's, maybe even before. We have a few set stone monuments around, but I'm not sure of the ages.

Good question.

Carl

> Mason-Dixon Stone. I can't remember the date. It is either 1824 or 1826.

Neil,

I've been to the the one on "Brown's Hill", at least I think that's what it's called. Is it that one?

Carl

Delaware River

Between PA and NJ.

Paul in PA

Were the GLO corners in Kansas originally stones? In a lot of older PLSS areas the original corners were post and mound, and were later perpetuated with stones. I don't suppose anyone will find a post and mound of that age.

Delaware River

Paul, in what year did it officially become what we recognize as a survey monument?

Bill93

We have both. There is no rhyme or reason as to which was placed. Stones would have been much easier to come by in the grassland areas than substantial, enduring species of wood. Most in my county were a stake and pits, but, there were quite a few limestone or sandstone set as well. Most of our section lines have had roads developed along them making the finding of stones much easier than stakes and pits.

I haven't found anything particularly old in Sacramento County which is a valley county. I have found old monuments in other Counties but not here. I don't work very much in my home county anymore.

The swamp and overflowed land surveys in Southern Sacramento County would be roughly 1860s but the stakes they set are mostly buried by levees or replaced by fence corners.

This County is mostly covered by those and Rancho Grants which were resurveyed by the GLO around the mid 19th century. Most of the work I did was in urban areas where the original corners are in the middle of major street intersections now. There probably is an old monument lurking out there, I just haven't had the opportunity to look for it.

Delaware River 1682

James II to William Penn.

Paul in PA

In a county where I practiced, witness tree from 1817 and remains of the original (I believe) wood post under a stone pile. Found it when excavating to set an aluminum monument.

This witness corner located in the Mojave Desert was set on the edge of adrainage course by Henry Washington in 1850. It is located at the edge of an area that is used for camping. I don't understand how it survived unmolested all these years.

This point was set also by Henry Washington in 1850 to mark a line point on the Township line as it entered rough mountains. The "X" on the side of the boulder is located left of the site pole and below the flagging. In the desert, the GLO surveyed the areas that were usable and just stopped at the edge of the mountains. Much later, they filled in the township lines, and even later completed the section lines.

For some reason, the mid elevations of the Sierra Nevada mountains tend to have better monument survival plus the GLO Surveyors did better quality work. I have found evidence that dates to the original 1873 Surveys plus out in the Desert 1850s evidence. One 1930s GLO resurvey still had the original 1850s post next to the "new" GLO monument.

I have never heard of anyone finding pre-1840s (Mexican era) monuments. The Mexicans were pretty informal about how they monumented things.

1700's easy

> > Mason-Dixon Stone. I can't remember the date. It is either 1824 or 1826.
>
> Neil,
>
> I've been to the the one on "Brown's Hill", at least I think that's what it's called. Is it that one?
>
> Carl

I have heard of Brown's Hill, but I am not sure where it is. The two that I saw with my own eyes would be just north of Morgantown, west of the Cheat River and east of the Mon River just outside of the town of Point Marion (or Point Misery as most who have ever been there call it). We have done work further east near Lake O'Woods, WV where there were monuments, but I did not see them as the other field crew did that work.

> > > Mason-Dixon Stone. I can't remember the date. It is either 1824 or 1826.
> >
> > Neil,
> >
> > I've been to the the one on "Brown's Hill", at least I think that's what it's called. Is it that one?
> >
> > Carl
>
> I have heard of Brown's Hill, but I am not sure where it is. The two that I saw with my own eyes would be just north of Morgantown, west of the Cheat River and east of the Mon River just outside of the town of Point Marion (or Point Misery as most who have ever been there call it). We have done work further east near Lake O'Woods, WV where there were monuments, but I did not see them as the other field crew did that work.

The one I have been to is at N39°43'16.0" W80°10'42.4" It's about 3 miles due west of the I-79 and the WV/PA state line. It's about 3100' north of the Rt. 7/Buckeye Road intx. I went there in about 1992 with my classmates from Glenville State College. We didn't survey to the monument.

Probably this one. Hawaii's land division was formalized in the 1860's, so there probably aren't many "official" property corners or triangulation stations that predate that.

This is a trig station "Transit of Venus" in Waimea town, with the 0 Northing and 0 Easting coordinates that the entire area is based on.

My home county was established in 1820. Working from that point forward, the oldest one I recall off the top of my head and am confident is the original undisturbed monument is a stone that is on the KY/TN state line. It is called out in deeds dating back the adjoining county records prior to the establishment of my home county. It is witnessed by a variety of farm implements.

Most mineral surveys here in Ak date around the late 1890's thru the teens ... oldest one I recall was an 1897 1/4 corner...have to dig around for pics.

-JD-

Here is a pic of it: