Land Boundary Monuments
One of the most important aspects of a land survey is the marking of corners and boundaries.
The objects used to mark such landmarks are called monuments.
Monuments are typically placed on a tract of land at the first survey, often when the land was originally subdivided to be sold as individual lots.
Over the years they may be replaced as the original survey markers go missing or are destroyed, or as that plot of land is subdivided into even smaller pieces.
The objects used for land surveying monuments are actually quite important.
While the actual boundary or corner cannot be destroyed, the object marking its location can be, leading to confusion or an incorrect location later on.
Land surveying markers should be designed to be as permanent as possible to aid in later surveys or land development projects.
These land surveying landmarks can be of great interest to future surveyors or landowners, and can often mitigate the need for a survey to settle a dispute in future years.
By locating these monuments the original property line can be reconstructed.
Most land surveys, even those dating back centuries, recorded the material of these monuments.
Examples from decades past include a gun barrel, a cedar post, and stones.
Typically, corners of townships or sections were marked with either an etched stone or a marked wooden post.
Special notches in the sides of the post or stone could be used to tell how many miles the monument was located from the boundary of the township in any direction.
Iron pipes with a bras cap, or aluminum monuments, gas pipes, and other metal poles are also common choices for surveying monuments.
Dimensions and materials should be described in minute details within the land survey records.
However, it is important to note that field descriptions, particularly during the nineteenth century, sometimes do not match up with the physical monuments.
Today, stones are more frequently found intact than the original wooden posts, which have rotted away with time, although the base may still be found, rotted away in the ground.
Bearing trees were also occasionally used.
These were large trees on the property, which were carefully measured from the property lines.
Then the bark would be peeled away from a section on the side of the tree, with identifying information inscribed onto this area.
The problem with such trees is that they may die of natural causes or be cut by loggers long before their inscription is needed by surveyors or landowners.
In many cases, state regulations prescribe exactly how the boundaries should be marked.
These regulations often go into extraordinary detail about how the monument should be constructed and how it should be marked.
These instructions can help future land surveyors decode the original survey monuments to reconstruct the boundary lines.
Monuments should have three characteristics, no matter which type of land they are used to mark.
They should be durable, such as metal, stone, or concrete.
They should be readily identifiable as a survey monument even by the general public.
They should include identifying information as to the surveyor and the particular corner marked by the monument.
In fact, these three characteristics are often included as part of the state law regarding land surveyor monument.
Unfortunately, many monuments do not last as long as they are meant to.
Bulldozing, the laying of water or sewer lines, and other property developments may disrupt the original monument, either destroying it or moving its location.
Often they may be taken as souvenirs from those hunting for old tools, arrowheads, and other artifacts.
This is especially true when the land surveying monument is placed on old farmland or any other area where searchers may find it and think it is a suitable artifact for their collection.
Land boundary monuments should never be taken from their original location; it is possible for them to still serve a purpose even decades or centuries after the original survey that resulted in their placement.
The objects used to mark such landmarks are called monuments.
Monuments are typically placed on a tract of land at the first survey, often when the land was originally subdivided to be sold as individual lots.
Over the years they may be replaced as the original survey markers go missing or are destroyed, or as that plot of land is subdivided into even smaller pieces.
The objects used for land surveying monuments are actually quite important.
While the actual boundary or corner cannot be destroyed, the object marking its location can be, leading to confusion or an incorrect location later on.
Land surveying markers should be designed to be as permanent as possible to aid in later surveys or land development projects.
These land surveying landmarks can be of great interest to future surveyors or landowners, and can often mitigate the need for a survey to settle a dispute in future years.
By locating these monuments the original property line can be reconstructed.
Most land surveys, even those dating back centuries, recorded the material of these monuments.
Examples from decades past include a gun barrel, a cedar post, and stones.
Typically, corners of townships or sections were marked with either an etched stone or a marked wooden post.
Special notches in the sides of the post or stone could be used to tell how many miles the monument was located from the boundary of the township in any direction.
Iron pipes with a bras cap, or aluminum monuments, gas pipes, and other metal poles are also common choices for surveying monuments.
Dimensions and materials should be described in minute details within the land survey records.
However, it is important to note that field descriptions, particularly during the nineteenth century, sometimes do not match up with the physical monuments.
Today, stones are more frequently found intact than the original wooden posts, which have rotted away with time, although the base may still be found, rotted away in the ground.
Bearing trees were also occasionally used.
These were large trees on the property, which were carefully measured from the property lines.
Then the bark would be peeled away from a section on the side of the tree, with identifying information inscribed onto this area.
The problem with such trees is that they may die of natural causes or be cut by loggers long before their inscription is needed by surveyors or landowners.
In many cases, state regulations prescribe exactly how the boundaries should be marked.
These regulations often go into extraordinary detail about how the monument should be constructed and how it should be marked.
These instructions can help future land surveyors decode the original survey monuments to reconstruct the boundary lines.
Monuments should have three characteristics, no matter which type of land they are used to mark.
They should be durable, such as metal, stone, or concrete.
They should be readily identifiable as a survey monument even by the general public.
They should include identifying information as to the surveyor and the particular corner marked by the monument.
In fact, these three characteristics are often included as part of the state law regarding land surveyor monument.
Unfortunately, many monuments do not last as long as they are meant to.
Bulldozing, the laying of water or sewer lines, and other property developments may disrupt the original monument, either destroying it or moving its location.
Often they may be taken as souvenirs from those hunting for old tools, arrowheads, and other artifacts.
This is especially true when the land surveying monument is placed on old farmland or any other area where searchers may find it and think it is a suitable artifact for their collection.
Land boundary monuments should never be taken from their original location; it is possible for them to still serve a purpose even decades or centuries after the original survey that resulted in their placement.
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