Cadastral Surveying Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

3. MAKING CORNER

3.1. Introduction

-Corner can also be defined as: a point established on the ground or a point established by a
surveyor or by an agreement between adjacent property owners and refers to the physical
object or marker

-The “corners” of the public land surveys are those points that determine the boundaries of the
various subdivisions represented on the official plat

3.2. Monuments

The terms “corners and monument” are not interred changeable. A corner designates a point
established by surveys or agreements between adjacent property owners. Whereas, the term
monument indicates the object placed to mark the corner point on the surface of the earth. The
corner of the public land surveys is those points that determine the boundaries or the various
subdivisions represented on the official plat. “Monuments” of the public land survey have
included the deposit or some durable memorial, a marked wooden stake or post, a marked
stone, an iron post having an inscribed cap, a marked tablet set in solid rock or in a correct
block, a marked tree, a rock in place marked with a cross (X) at the exact corner point and
other special type of markers, some of which are more substantial; any these is termed as
“monument”. Monuments are classified as natural, artificial, record or legal. Natural
monuments are can be natural features such as rocks, trees springs and so on. Artificial
monuments are artificial objects such as iron pipes driven on the ground, posts or concrete or
stones, mounds or stone, wooden stacks with some more permanent material such as charcoal
or glass.

3.3. Terms related to monuments

 If the property line/ corner can be established without any difficulty / doubts,
monuments are said to be exist.

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 If the position of a monument is lost but can be re-established with the help of other
information (like witness corners or description given) monument is said to be
obliterated.

 If the position cannot be found it is called lost.

3.4. Blazing Trees

Definition: It is a mark chipped in the Bark of a tree to mark a route

- A blaze is a flat scar made with an axe at about a breast height

- Scare is a mark left after wound heeling

Blazing Trees are a means/ an aid for locating property lines and corner monuments in forest
areas. This practice of marking of trees was very common in the past but not very common
now days. It is a method done by removing the bark (outer layer of tree) and a small amount of
tree tissue and marking so that it can be identified for several decades. The trees are marked
with different shape/ symbols to assign different meanings as required.

Surveyors in different areas mark trees in different ways For Example:

I. To mark a tree by two hacks on the side of the tree nearest the boundaries along the
boundary line is to indicate that boundary is passing at a certain distance from that tree.
These two hacks are used to distinguish them from accidental marks from other causes.

II. If the tree is exactly on the boundary, some times called line tree/s, it is marked with
blaze and two hacks underneath.

Those trees that lie on the property line , called line trees, are marked on both sides, Though
blazing tree aid the surveyor to mark the property line, in cases like lumber operations, forest
fires and other causes it is often gets destroyed i.e. these is a chance of loosing such trees in
case of forest fire or lumber operations.

3.5. Types of Corners

The term corner has two meanings.

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 It refers to a fixed point on the ground by measurement along a line from another
established point by the intersection of established lines.

 It refers to the physical object or marker, which serves as a more or less permanent
monument at a given point.

The following are the three different kinds of corners.

3.5.1. Marking corners

A marking corner is the point established by the survey measurement as the actual location of
one corner of a rectangular piece of land. Such corners are designed by different terms,
depending on the location of each one in the system, such as quarter corner, section corner,
town ship corner or closing corner

3.5.2. Witness corners

 When a corner falls, it is impracticable to fix a corner like an unmeandered stream or lake,
within a marsh; a witness corner is established in a convents location nearby.

 These are placed preferably on the surveyed line leading to location of the regular.

 In addition, it is also established where the true point falls within the traveled limits of the
road, across marked stone is deposited below the road surface, and witness corner is placed
in a suitable location outside the road way.

 The witness explains the actual corner with in a known distance or direction from it.

3.5.3. Meander corner

- In the places of surveying of public lands, all navigable bodies of water and other
important rivers and lakes below the line of mean high water are segregated from the lands
open to private ownership.

- The individual states are sovereignty over such bodies of water.

- The traverse run approximately following the margins of the permanent body of water is
called meander line.

- The process of establishing such lines is called meandering.

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- As the meander line is extended, it is intersected by any of the rectangular sub division line
a meander corner is established.

- Meander lines are not bounders but lines run to locate the water bounders approximately.

- Although the official plates show fractional lots as bounded in part by meander line, it is
established principle that ownership does not stop at such bounders.

3.6. Corner Markers

An essential element of public land survey is the establishment of makers on the ground of
township section and quarter section corners.

 These marked should be based on local materials available in the area.

Example: - Stones, wood, iron, brass, etc.

 In timbered areas, parts of the most resistant types of wood, charred to minimize decay
are used.

 In the areas stones are used

 In plane areas where neither of these materials is available, small pits are dug and
filled with.

 Since 1910, a uniform marker consisting of an iron pipe topped with brass cap was
used as corners marker.

 Iron and brass are chosen for their ability to with stand corrosion and be legible for
hundred years or more.

 A pile of stone is usually placed around the iron post to assist its location.

 Where the corner falls within the trunk of a living tree which is too large to be
removed readily the tree becomes the corner monument.

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3.7. Corner Accessories

When a corner is referred by direction and distance to some other more or less permanent
object nearby and the operation becomes a matter of record, it is possible to relocate the corner
with respect to the object.

The recorded measurement of these kinds called connection and the object thus located is
called corner accessory.

The character of the accessories should fall with in the following groups.

1. Bearing trees or other natural object such as notable cliffs and holders, permanent
improvement, and reference monuments.

2. Mounds of stone.

3. Pits and memorials.

When the bearing object is of rock formation, the point to which measurements is taken it
indicated by across. These corner accessories are given specified markings and careful
discretions are entered in field notes.

3.8. Restoration of lost corners

- Lands are monument with the established corners. So that there always will be physical
evidence of their location. It is a matter of common experiences that many corner marks
become obliterated with progress of time.

- An obliterated is one at whose point there are no remaining trace of the monument or its
accessories, but whose location has been perpetuated, of the point for which may be
recovered beyond reasonable doubt by the acts and testimony of the interested land
owners, competent surveyors, other qualified local authorities, or witnesses, or by some
acceptable record evidence.

- An important duty of the surveyor, in the location of property lines or the further sub
definition of lands, is to examine all available evidence and identity of the official corners
if they exist.

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- Should a reach of this kind result in failure; the surveyor is to employ a process of field
measurement that will result in the obliterated corner being restored to its most probable
original location.

- A corner is said to exist when its location, within reasonable accuracy can be determined
beyond reasonable doubts either by means of original monument, by means of original
accessories to which connections were made at the time of the original survey, by the
expert test many of the surveyors who may have identified the original corner and record
connections to other accessories, or even by land owners who have indisputable
knowledge or the exact location of the original monument.

- If the original location of the corner cannot be determined beyond reasonable doubt, a
corner said to be LOST.

- If the monument of an existing corner cannot be found, then corner is said to be

OBLITERATED, but it is not necessarily lost.

3.9. Monuments, Bearings, Distances and area

Among the factors involved in relocating the boundaries are:

1. Existing monuments

2. Adjacent boundaries

3. Bearings

4. Distances and areas

- In considering the relative importance of these items in re-establishing property

boundaries, natural monuments are given the greatest importance.

- Artificial monuments are given the highest importance.

- This is because the natural objects (strings, streams, ridge lines, and lakes) offer a great
degree of permanence.

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- Since the owner can practically see the monuments, hence they will agree upon the
boundary, than directions and distances. In other words monuments are more important
than directions and distances.

- When the corners are lost or obliterated, bearing and Distances alone cannot help in
reestablishment of land boundaries. Land area is given the least importance. Unless the
area is ok chief importance in deed.

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