contact information
Jeffrey W. Austin, LS
J.W. Austin Associates LLC
P.O. Box 111
10865 River Pine Rd.
Minocqua, WI 54548
(715) 356-2559 Voice/FAX
jeff@resurvey.org
Visit us off of Rustic Road 58, just five miles West of Minocqua!
section subdivision
Did you know?
To legally survey a 40 acre tract such as the NW1/4 of the SE1/4 shown below requires a survey of almost the entire section!
Consider the minimum steps that are necessary:
- Recover original government corners 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8. These are corners established by the General Land Office during the mid to late 1800's. This is without question the most important and many times the most time consuming aspect of a survey. In northern Wisconsin, the original surveys are approaching 150 years old with the evidence of these surveys becoming increasingly difficult to recover.
- Establish the center of the section (A) which is the intersection of straight lines between points 4 and 8, and between points 6 and 2.
- Establish 1/16 corners B, C, D and E. For example: B being exactly midway between A and 2, etc.
- Establish the SE 1/16 corner (F) which is the intersection of straight lines between points B and D, and between points C and E.
The above steps are those necessary to mathematically locate the four corners of the NW1/4 of the SE1/4 according to state and federal statutes. Beyond this, the surveyor is many times faced with marking the lines of the parcel (1 mile), and preparing the necessary documentation to file or record the results of the survey with the appropriate county office.
The General Land Office Survey
While the majority of General Land Office surveys were executed with reasonable care, there are exceptions that result in distances, directions and areas that vary wildly from those found on the official plats and field notes.
The following image is that of the original township plat prepared as a result of the General Land Office survey of Township 36 North, Range 10 East of the Fourth Principal Meridian, Wisconsin.
What follows is a resurvey of the same section by former Oneida County Surveyor D.H. Vaughan in 1906.
As indicated by the resurvey, our NW1/4 of the SE1/4 looks more like a diamond than the rectangle intended by the government. For this landowner to assume his or her boundaries are cardinal and 1320 ft. in length could easily result in improvements off of the intended property.
While this is an extreme example, there are other aspects of the Public Land Survey System that are beyond common knowledge that could result in a similar situation.
A survey by an experienced, qualified surveyor is always a wise choice.
Conceptual guidance provided by the Alaska Society of Professional Land Surveyors.