I was wondering if anyone knew the history of the symbols we use as section corners, and how far back they have been in use.
Given the triangles involved I almost wonder if it goes clear back to cuneiform?
Wow! That's heavy. I guess it's from the Egyptians. Don't forget about the triangle symbols we use for traverse points.
I have done some researching in my local area (PNW), and have come up with the following:
Section corners in the style of an "iron cross" or "pinwheel" are not actually as old as I thought.
beginning around 1908, there were standard "Plat for R/W" forms that showed the section lines in a 1:400 scale and had predrawn little curved arrows at the corners and 1/4 corners as distance tie arrows. In the age of hand drafting, this would have been a pretty efficient time saver.
Around 1917 it first appears in the style of modern usage, likely just a stylized version of the distance arrows from the decade before.
This doesn't appear on private surveys in my area clear until the 1950's.
Personally, I have never adopted the usage of any symbol other than whatever is used for that type of monument. If it's a found 1/2" iron bar, that is what appears. The corner is labeled as to what it is, i.e. Northeast Corner Section 16 or Northeast Corner of Northeast Quarter of Section 16.
We use that symbol and then list the CP&F of that corner.
CP&F = ?
Corner perpetuation and filing record. I think other states have these but they're simply called corner records.
Ah. Thank you for the clarification. We have the LSRR. Land Survey Reference Report for Government corners. Not sure who invented the term.
Ah. Thank you for the clarification. We have the LSRR. Land Survey Reference Report for Government corners. Not sure who invented the term.
You meant an LCR?
Please excuse my response to this post. I was off-base because I didn't fully comprehend the question. Symbology is a relevant part of our profession. Incidentally, does anybody know why we use a triangle with a dot in the middle of it to represent a traverse point?
I've always assumed that it was because of the association between survey control and the classical geodetic method of triangulation used to establish it.