Field Note Seminar Session 2

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Field Note SeminarSession 2
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BULLETIN 38

• It is stated on page vi that this is to be used
  as a guide to monuments placed between the years
  of 1871 to 1917.
• Bulletin 38 is essential for properly restoring
  monuments.
• As well the guide should be used to aide in
  recognizing secondary evidence.

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Using Bulletin 38 as a guide

• The index is listed in table form on page vii.
• By the time the township subdivision surveys
  reached the central and northern parts of the
  Province the style of monument had been basically
  settled on.
• By 1915 four pits and a mound with the iron post
  at the north corner of the mound had become the
  standard.
• To save on iron posts many or most quarter
  corners used wooden posts.

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Key Eras for Bulletin 38

• Monuments
• Prior to 1915

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• Early on it was discovered that on the open
  prairie wind had a tendency to move dirt from a
  mound back into the pits, so the dirt was
  scattered to prevent this.
• Different pit sizes and configurations were used.
  (See Bulletin 38).
• For a time a very thin iron post with a flattened
  top a a square metal plate held in place by a pin
  or wire was used. The plate was stamped with the
  location.

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• When neither iron posts nor wood was available,
  quarter section corners were often marked with
  only pits or pits and a mound in the bush.
• By the time the township subdivision surveys
  reached the central and northern parts of the
  Province the style of monument had been basically
  settled on.
• By 1915 four pits and a mound with the iron post
  at the north corner of the mound had become the
  standard.
• To save on iron posts many or most quarter
  corners used wooden posts.

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• Of course there were variations as mounds were
  not always constructed, in which case the iron
  post was placed at the point where lines through
  the centers of the four pits would intersect.
• At Township corners (NE 36 SE 1 on Correction
  Lines) a much larger iron post was often used.
  (50mm square top and 1.5m long)

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Section Corners
All pits were 1 ½ feet deep. All mounds were 2 ½
feet high If a mound was constructed the iron
post was placed at the north corner of the
mound. If no mound was constructed the iron post
was placed at the mid point between the 4 pits.
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Correction lines
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Monuments After 1915Section Corners
All mounds, pits and trenches are of the same
dimensions, whether they indicate township,
section, quarter section or any other
corners. The center of each of the four pits is 7
feet from the post, which is in the center of the
square formed by the pits. All pits are 1 ½ feet
deep, all mounds are 2 ½ feet high. The center of
the mound is 10 feet south of the post if
constructed.
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Witness Monuments
A witness trench is circular, of 6 feet inside
diameter. The trench proper is 2 feet wide and 1
foot deep. A witness mound is conical, 6 feet in
diameter and 2 ½ feet high. A witness posts
stands in the center of the circle formed by the
trench. The center of the mound is on the line
surveyed, and at a distance of 10 feet from the
post in the direction opposite the corner being
witnessed.
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Correction Lines
All pits are 1 ½ feet deep, all mounds are 2 ½
feet high. General Principal Place the mound on
the lands which it is intended to mark.
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Primary evidence after 1915

• Three Major changes Introduced
• Mound moved outside of the pits
• Standard Posts (Brass cap on pipe with base
  plate) used. (P. Pit M)
• All blind lines surveyed and monumented.

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Monuments At PresentSection Corners
Mp. Denotes Alberta marker post 6 feet in length
with an aluminium plaque (6 X 2.25) attached.
The markings on the plaque read Alberta Survey
Marker Do not Remove. Marker posts are set
firmly in the ground on the section line at a
uniform distance of 0.3 meters on both sides of
the standard post. In no case shall the marker
posts be placed within the government road
allowance.
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¼ Section Corner (N ¼)
Standard post denotes a brass tablet which is 8
centimetres in diameter marked with a crown and
the words Province of Alberta and mounted on a
base approved by the Director of Surveys.
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Correction Line
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Something to keep in mind.

• Because many prairie corners did not have mounds,
  or the placed monument was sometimes in the
  center of the mound, most fences were constructed
  starting at the center of the mound, or the
  center of the four pits.
• Many settlers carried this thought North and
  constructed their fences from the center of the
  mound not realizing that the iron post was
  actually some 3.53 or 1.08m further north.
• Keep this in mind. If a proportioned distance
  falls 1m north of a fence corner maybe that is in
  fact the correct location because the fence was
  originally built from the center of the mound and
  not the iron post.

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Something to keep in mind.

• There have been cases where the iron post which
  should be at the north corner of the mound has
  been moved to the center of the mound by someone.
  (Perhaps a landowner).
• Always confirm that the iron post is in fact in
  the correct position relative to the pits and
  mound.

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How Roman Numerals Work

• First the letters and their respective values
• I 1 (one)
• V 5 (five)
• X 10 (ten)
• L 50 (fifty)
• C 100 (one hundred)
• D 500 (five hundred)
• M 1000 (one thousand)

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• The letters should be arranged with the largest
  value to the one with the smallest value. Each
  letters value is added to the previous one.
• Only powers of ten ( I, X, C, M) may be repeated.
  A letter may not be repeated more than three
  times in a row.
• Due to this rule, certain numbers are written
  using subtraction. With this the letter having
  the smaller value is subtracted from the one with
  the larger value. The remainder is then added to
  the rest of the letters. For this again there are
  rules
• Only powers of ten ( I, X, C, M) may be
  subtracted.
• The smaller letter must be 1/5 or 1/10 the larger
  one.

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Examples of Roman Numerals

• SEC 20 TWP 35 RGE 21 W4M, the original post would
  be marked XX, XXXV, XX1, no meridian is marked
  on the post.
• SEC 25 TWP 71 RGE 30 W5M, the original post would
  be marked XXV, LXXI, XXX
• How would you write out the following?
• SEC 18 TWP 66 RGE 27 W4M?

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Exercise Bulletin 38

• Find Plan of Township 35, Range 21, west of the
  Fourth Meridian
• The following exercise will use bulletin 38 and
  the township plat to identify the types of
  monuments you would expect to find.

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(No Transcript)
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What would you expect to find at the NE of
section 36 had nothing been disturbed?
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What would you expect to find at the N1/4 of
section 29 had nothing been disturbed?
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What would you expect to find at the E 1/4of
section 10 had nothing been disturbed.
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Make a sketch of the monument you would expect to
find at the SE of section 6 had nothing been
disturbed.
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Make a sketch of the monument you would expect to
find at the NE of section 20 had nothing been
disturbed, what year was this monument erected?
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Make a sketch of the monument you would expect to
find at the SE of section 1, what year was this
monument erected?
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Make a sketch of the monument you would expect to
find at the NE of section 33, what year was this
monument erected?