Section Line Roads, Oklahoma

"and there is no better evidence to the contrary"
That means do the digging first and do the research first and do all the other things first...and do the double proportioning last if there are no roads because in my opinion, roads are more evidence than a mathematical solution. A double proportioning mathematical solution would most certainly put the corner somewhere that it wasn't.

...and check it with GLO first too.

From the 2009 Manuual:

"6-41. It is not intended to disturb satisfactory local conditions with respect to roads, fences, and other evidence of use or occupancy. The surveyor has no authority to change a property right that has been acquired legally, nor accept the location of roads, fences and other use or occupancy as prima facie evidence of the original survey. Something is needed in support of these locations. This will come from whatever intervening record there may be, the testimony of individuals who may be acquainted with the facts, and the coupling of these things to the original survey.
In many cases due care has been exercised to place the property fences and other evidence of use or occupancy on the lines of legal subdivision and locate the public roads on the section or subdivision-of-section lines. These are matters of particular interest to the adjoining owners, and it is a reasonable presumption that care and good faith would be exercised with regard to the evidence of the original survey in existence at the time. Obviously, the burden of proof to the contrary must be borne by the party claiming differently. In many cases there are subsurface marks in roadways, such as deposits of a marked stone or other durable material, that are important evidence of the exact position of a corner if the proof can be verified. Also, knowledge regarding the construction of a purported property line fence, or other use or occupancy line can be obtained from long time landowners and community members and could provide positive evidence as to location in conformity with the good faith location rule."

Remember, you are looking for the best available evidence of the corner.

The -2009- Manual governs BLM surveyors, federal surveyors. So when looking for rules of law, the new 2009 BLM Manual does not have jurisdiction over the position of old Oklahoma section lines. HOWEVER, what is written in that book does a whole lot of good for explaining the theories and concepts of the old laws that DO have jurisdiction. I just caught something... a "whole lot" of good; haha!

Hound,
In Oklahoma there are plenty of section corner locations where the monuments have long since gone but the county roads and fences remain as witness to the monument's location.

Some county surveyors in days past used to bury the stone deeper during county road construction, some just got raked out by the mold-board.

Using only the road and fence location to relocate an obliterated corner would be risky. The location of the improvements could corroborate re-establishment of a corner by proportionment from other corners however.

Here's a good example in Section 21 17N 6E:

The south line has a severe PI as you can see. The original notes (1873 I believe)called for a 1/4 corner set at 40 ch. on a true line between the opposing section corners. If you reset a corner proportioned to those notes, it winds up in Mr. Schmidt's house.

BUT a Dependent Resurvey a few years later recovered all three monuments and the 1/4 corner was found undisturbed over 100 links south of the true line.

None of the original monuments remain. But the old fences and the county road reflect explicitly what the Dependent Resurvey found in 1876.

Sometimes the fences tell us a story. Sometimes they don't. Hopefully you're a diligent enough surveyor to find some other evidence to back a location up.

However, there are times there may not be any other evidence. You'll notice the quote form the Manual states that the burden of proof is on the disbeliever.

Based on these facts, the circuit court properly focused its analysis on what constitutes the best evidence available to establish the boundary line. The best evidence of the boundary line in the present case is, as the circuit court found, the long occupation of the properties by the parties to the present case, their neighbors and their predecessors in title. According to the record, for more than a century the center line of Henn Road has been honored as the boundary between the properties by not only the parties in this suit (and their predecessors in interest), but also generally throughout the surrounding area and by the government Northrop v. Opperman, 2011 WI 5, 52 (Wisc.2011)

Hello canutland,

Thanks for getting back to me, I mean that a "whole lot"....I agree with you that natural monuments, monuments in the ground and evidence of usage/occupation should hold more weight than mathematical solutions. I could have framed the question better to put emphasis on the fact that you had to rely on something like a Section Line road or a topo call.In any event I appreciate your input.

Thanks,rlshound

Hello Brian,

Thanks for getting back to me. I could have framed the question better to put emphasis on the fact that you had to rely on something like a Section Line road or a topo call to gain collateral evidence. I believe in preparation and research so that once out in the field you can search thoroughly. In any event I appreciate your input.Have a good week end.

rlshound

Thanks linebender...

Hello paden cash,

Thanks for taking the time, a great illustration. I could have framed that question better to show that one had to rely on something like a Section Line road or topo call to help prove your or the monuments position. Was that one of your project? I respect the research part of what we do and know how important it is and to answer your question yes I try to find every piece of evidence possible.Thanks again for your insight.

rlshound