Surveyors have known for centuries that almost any monument they set to mark a particular location can be easily moved, destroyed or become buried and difficult to find. To make it easier to either find or reset a monument, surveyors make measurements from a monument to other nearby objects and record them in their field notes. The process is usually called “tying out a monument” or “making ties”.
The first U. S. Government Surveyors who surveyed the Section and Township lines used to establish most of the initial property lines in Minnesota made extensive use of this technique. Since the most common objects available on the early frontier were usually trees, these surveyors were given rather extensive instructions on how to use these trees to tie out their new monuments.
If possible, they were instructed to make ties to two trees at each quarter corner (the monuments set midway on each side of a one mile square section) and four trees at each section corner. They were told to select the hardiest trees available and to “blaze” each tree so that future surveyors could easily find them. Blazing a tree simply means cutting off a small portion of a tree’s bark in order to create a visible scar on the tree. The underlying wood was usually scribed with a section and township numbers to help identify the location. These trees were called “bearing trees”.
Today we call them “original bearing trees” to distinguish them from other ties later surveyors make to mark the same monument. If an original survey monument is missing, these trees are often the strongest possible evidence we can find to justify the correct location of a corner.
In southeast Minnesota the first Government Surveys were conducted in the early 1850’s. The monuments these surveyors used to mark their corners were usually wood posts. Needless to say most of these wood posts have long since either rotted away or been replaced by a fence corner post or a more permanent monument.
Given that it has been nearly 160 years since these first surveys were conducted, many people would assume that all these original bearing trees would have long since disappeared. Surprisingly this is not always the case. We and other surveyors have found dozens of these trees throughout the area and continue to be amazed by how many continue to exist.
Below are some examples of a few of the trees we have found.
The first U. S. Government Surveyors who surveyed the Section and Township lines used to establish most of the initial property lines in Minnesota made extensive use of this technique. Since the most common objects available on the early frontier were usually trees, these surveyors were given rather extensive instructions on how to use these trees to tie out their new monuments.
If possible, they were instructed to make ties to two trees at each quarter corner (the monuments set midway on each side of a one mile square section) and four trees at each section corner. They were told to select the hardiest trees available and to “blaze” each tree so that future surveyors could easily find them. Blazing a tree simply means cutting off a small portion of a tree’s bark in order to create a visible scar on the tree. The underlying wood was usually scribed with a section and township numbers to help identify the location. These trees were called “bearing trees”.
Today we call them “original bearing trees” to distinguish them from other ties later surveyors make to mark the same monument. If an original survey monument is missing, these trees are often the strongest possible evidence we can find to justify the correct location of a corner.
In southeast Minnesota the first Government Surveys were conducted in the early 1850’s. The monuments these surveyors used to mark their corners were usually wood posts. Needless to say most of these wood posts have long since either rotted away or been replaced by a fence corner post or a more permanent monument.
Given that it has been nearly 160 years since these first surveys were conducted, many people would assume that all these original bearing trees would have long since disappeared. Surprisingly this is not always the case. We and other surveyors have found dozens of these trees throughout the area and continue to be amazed by how many continue to exist.
Below are some examples of a few of the trees we have found.
This tree was found recently. It is a 32 inch Bur Oak that was found on a steep hillside near the West Quarter Corner of Section 21, Township 104 North, Range 6 West. This point is located on the political boundary line between Houston and Money Creek Townships in Houston County. We are still waiting for the County Surveyor to bore the tree and help verify its age. But the tree is obviously very old and a measurement from it to the intersection of some very old fence lines at the occupied West Quarter Corner fit within about a foot of the recorded measurements. Sanford L. Peck’s rather difficult to read field notes for this Corner are here (Bur Oak, 18 inches diameter bears South 55 degrees East, 316 Links (208.56 feet)).
This tree was an interesting find. It is a 33 inch Bur Oak that was found near the West Quarter Corner of Section 23, Township 105 North, Range 5 West in New Hartford Township, Winona County. If you look closely you will see a small stone protruding out of the left side of the tree pointing in the direction of the Quarter Corner. The stone is located right about where the Daniel Corbin, the original surveyor, would have blazed the tree. It appears that as the tree grew around the blaze mark, someone may have placed the stone in the scar to help identify it. Daniel Corbin’s notes for this Corner are here (Bur Oak, 10 inches diameter bears North 74 degrees East, 82 Links (54.12 feet)).
Of course live trees are relatively rare finds. More commonly we find stumps. This stump was once a cedar tree that was probably struck by lightning many years ago. You can see what is left of the top of the tree lying behind the stump. This was found near the Northeast Corner of Section 25, Township 104 North, Range 6 West. This Corner is located on the political boundary line between Houston and Mound Prairie Townships in Houston County. In this case we also found a four foot high iron bar marking the Section Corner. William Ashley Jones’ field notes for this Corner are here (Red Cedar, 12 inches diameter, bears North 43 degrees East, 265 links (174.9 feet)).
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