4CU in Deep Doo-Doo

[Airstream25]

The NBC 10PM news on April 21 reported that the Indians have no intention of moving their monument nor of posting any notice that its current location is bogus.

[Shacksman]

Last year the County told me that a computer survey showed that I didn't own half my backyard. The piece they now owned is landlocked, floodplane,with no use or access except from my yard. They wanted me to pay them $6700 for the piece. I told them to keep it and let me know when they will be out to mow the grass as I would do my side at the same time!

[Gene]

About 15 years ago, the County Surveyor in Jefferson Co., Colorado, decided to try out his satellite maping system and a lot of people in the mountains (where surveys are kind of strange to start with) were then told their houses, or part of their houses, or their driveway, were on someone else's property.

This did not go down well. I don't remember how it was resolved for those people though he never was allowed to do it again.

This may have been around the time the County Commissioners built a pretty new county building that bore a vague resemblance to a famous building in India. Everyone immediately called it the Taj Mahal. For the first time in anyone's memory the Democrats won the next election. I don't know if this was connected to the surveys, but it was a bad time for the other party.

Beware the GPS!

Gene

[casarodante]

Originally Posted by soldiermedic

All those people with pictures of them in all four states have to go back now and take new pictures.

A ploy by the tourism departments of the four states in question remains to be seen.

Steve

Well at least I have thought this was pretty cool for 40 years...

[tnxpat]

I am new to the fourms, and Airstream for that matter, but I have been a land surveyor for a long time. I did hear about the corner being "off" before I read this post, but I have not done much research yet, not sure if I will. One thing about surveying is that as we remeasure things, we find differences with past measurements all the time. That does not mean that a different measurement always leads to a different boundary location. In most cases the location of the monument has precidence over a call to a specific distance or bearing. I do not know the details of this particular case, but calling it 'off' may not be appropriate. Wat caught my eye was the initial post refering to 'lowly surveyors'. I just couldn't pass that up. As for my airstream, 2008 16' CCD that I have yet to see in person. 57 days until I go pick it up!

[Ken J]

Umm its "off" by 2.5 miles - thats a oops

Actually what I heard is when it was originally surveyed back in the 1800's, instruments were not as accurate as they are now...

But 2 1/2 miles??

Ken J.

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by Ken J

Umm its "off" by 2.5 miles - thats a oops

Actually what I heard is when it was originally surveyed back in the 1800's, instruments were not as accurate as they are now...

But 2 1/2 miles??

Ken J.

Ken,

Have you ever seen a surveyors chain from the 1800's? I am surprised that they got any accurate measurements.

Slideshow: Chapter 13: Surveying Chain

Bill

[Gene]

Some of those early surveys, despite primitive instruments, were amazingly accurate. The surveyor does matter. George Washington was a surveyor among a few other things.

Gene

[tnxpat]

Thank you Gene. I do agree that they did a very good job with what they had. I am often amazed at how tight I find old work.
Greg

[Journalist]

I've done some "recreational" surveying in my lifetime.(Never done it for a living, but I own the equipment and I know how to use it) You may be surprised just how accurate doing it the old fashioned way really is. On more than one occasion, I have started driving down a replacement corner stake and driven it right into the top of the old one that I thought was long gone. Keep in mind, that's after measuring over several hundred feet, sometimes a couple of thousand, from established markers.
Two and a half miles is a pretty big mistake, but theres no telling how far they had to measure to get there.

[Harry W]

I feel better now. The four corners location is a little off, like the Four Corners Unit.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by Harry W

I feel better now. The four corners location is a little off, like the Four Corners Unit.

Maybe we should change the flag to the Almost Four Corners Unit

[Ken J]

Now we must consider these folks had more interest in hanging out in some of the wild west towns like Silverton than they did being out in the middle of nowhere -

Ken J.

[Gene]

After drinking the way through winter in Silverton, only to be 2 1/2 miles off is pretty amazing. They had to walk further to be so wrong too.

Gene

[SilverPal]

Does this mean I have to go back to everyone I sent this photo to at Christmas time 2006 and tell them...."Oops! Just kidding!"