Land Boundary Monuments, Past and Present (2 of 6)

The corner of townships and sections were originally specified to be marked with marked stones or marked square wood posts. Each corner marker was to be fully described in the field notes. If a stone were used, complete dimensions were given, as well as the material, and usually whether the stone was a rounded stone (boulder) or an angular stone. A typical early description might be "an 18" x 6" x 8" granite stone, set 10" in the ground, marked with 4 notches on the south edge and 3 notches on the east edge." The 3 notches tell us that the stone is three miles from the east township boundary, and the 4 notches tell us that the stone is four miles from the south township boundary -- that is, that the stone marks the northeast corner of section 16. PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING! The description calls for notches on edges! Notches are not grooves, which are cut on the flat face of the stone. Notches are cut on the edges, and the edges are aligned with the cardinal directions. If grooves are used, as they were on later surveys, the faces were aligned with the cardinal directions. This distinction is not always noted by inexperienced observers, and replacement stones with grooves can be mistaken for the original stones with notches. The stone was set with the large end in the ground for stability.

The stones marking the midpoint of the section line, or "quarter corner," were usually marked "1/4" on the west face of the stone on a north-south line of a standard section, and on the north face of the stone on an east-west line of a standard section. Traditionally the "four" was a closed four, with the vertical line of the "four" in line with the "one," with the figures separated by a horizontal line touching the top of the four and the bottom of the one. If the stone is marked on the east face or the south face, the quarter corner is meant to control the mid-section line in one direction only. I asked Mr. Roy Bandy, who started as a surveyor in about 1905 and surveyed with the General Land Office, how the marks were made. He said that they used either a chisel or a punch.

A square wood post was sometimes used as a monument at a section corner, and marked with notches in a similar fashion. I have seen only one intact post at a section corner, (northwest of Butte), and I am not certain that it was original. It is still possible to find the rotted base of a wood base, with the clearly defined outline of the post. Investigation and recovery of such a corner location should be undertaken with the greatest care, and only as a last resort, lest the public land survey corner position be lost forever. My opinion is that in cases where such a location is made, as soon as the cross-section is visible, the surveyor should leave the remains in place, and adequately reference this point with reference monuments set at right angles to the rotted post. I would not destroy the evidence by placing a monument at that exact point! If a metal can is placed over the remaining post section to assist in future recovery and to protect the remains, care should be taken that the can contains no scent that would encourage an animal to dig the can (and post) out (such as pet food cans). A few years ago I found a hub and tack that I had set in the sixties; I set a reference monument nearby on line, and decided to preserve the hub with a cat food can that had not been through a dishwasher. The next day I found the can and hub removed by (probably) a hungry skunk.

Monumentation of Mineral Claim Surveys in Montana
Ownership of public land was also transferred into private hands by granting patents to mining claims. These involved surveys for hard rock claims, placer claims, and mill sites, which could be some distance from the mining claims, but were used in the processing of the ore. The corner monuments of each of these were, in my experience, boulders or angular stones similar to those used for marking section corners. A hard rock survey (requiring the sinking of shafts for the recovery of ore), had the statutory requirement that there be two parallel end lines with connecting side lines (not necessarily parallel). This type of claim had four corners. The placer claim, with no restrictions on its shape, might have any number of corners. Each monument marking a corner was plainly marked with the corner number and the number of the mineral survey. Corner No. 4 of Mineral Survey No. 2676 would be marked in letters about 2 inches high "4-2676." Additionally, a cross would be cut on top of the monument -- a feature not seen on original section or quarter corner stones. You will occasionally find an in-place boulder of considerable size used as a corner marker, with the identifying numbers cut on the face or top, along with the cross for the exact point.

Monumentation of Homestead Entry Surveys in Montana
A third method for the disposition of the public lands in Montana was by patent of a homestead. Surveys of these parcels were performed after the turn of the century by cadastral surveyors employed by the U. S. Forest Service. The accuracy and monumentation of these surveys was excellent! The stones that I have found are considerably larger than any I have ever found on section or quarter corner stones. These may be thirty inches long and twelve inches wide, and would probably have required two men to place. As with placer claims, a homestead might have any number or corners. If an access was reserved though the parcel, the side lines of this strip were also monumented. The marking of the stones is very neat. The stone at Corner No. 8 of Homestead Entry Survey No. 883 would probably be marked
HES 8-883
and a cross would be cut on the top for the exact corner position.

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