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It is believed that "Surveying" or "Geomatics" as
our profession is sometimes referred too has its
roots in ancient civilization beginning with the
Egyptians and Ancient Babylonians. Evidence
and artifacts related to the science of surveying
begin to appear some time around 2500 B.C. in
ancient Babylonia. Many historians refer to
Land Surveying as the second-oldest profession.
There are many references to surveying in the Bible
and various known writings throughout history
stretching from biblical times to modern day.
Surveying in the New World has its roots planted
alongside the footprints of the first explorers of
the North American continent. These explorers
employed their knowledge of mapping and measuring
immediately upon arrival in the New World as a
significant part of their mission. In the late
17th century William and Mary College was the
predominant school of higher learning about the art
and science of Land Surveying. In the years to
come many prominent men would be educated in the
finer points of accuracy and precision and the
importance of both in the pursuit of an appointment
or licensure in Land Surveying. George
Washington and Thomas Jefferson are two of the
notable personalities that found land surveying a
worthy vocation. In fact, our history here in
America is rich with individuals that studied and
practiced land surveying before being elevated
to higher stature in our history books.
Meriwether Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, James Cook,
Henry David Thoreau and Daniel Boone are just a few
notables.
A Land Surveyors' purpose is measuring and mapping
the physical world. We are experts at the art
of measuring and the science of data analysis.
This expertise is important because of the
assistance provided by Land Surveyors to a variety
of clients in the construction industry, real
estate industry and governmental agencies. Our
duties and the scope of the land surveying
profession is far more reaching than most people,
even in related professions understand. This
is not a statement intended to assert the importance
of our profession as much as to explain the
often-time misunderstood nature of what it is that
we in the land surveying community do for a living.
Land Surveying in its purest form is a exercise in
historical reverence. The cardinal rule in
land surveying is to "walk in the footsteps of our
predecessors". We pride ourselves in
respecting the intent of an original survey and the
purpose of that survey. We appreciate the
importance and the value of the land that we are
measuring and mapping to the individual that holds
title to that land. We understand that
throughout history property is that item which
individuals and countries alike strive to acquire
and to protect. We are collectively charged
with protecting the public from damages that arise
when boundaries and property corners are not
perpetuated with the proper amount of care regarding
the intent and positioning of those boundaries.
Ironically, measurements and the tools we use to
collect measurements that we ultimately use to
depict a tract of land are secondary in a land
surveyors mind where re-monumenting a boundary is
concerned. This is because the true measure of
the intent of a boundary often lies in the results
of the original surveyor in the physical world, as
opposed to the bearing and distances written on a
sheet of paper. What is important to the land
surveyor is the positioning of that boundary in the
real world especially if a number has been
transcribed incorrectly. The reason is simply
one of acceptance. When a tract of real estate
is divided and granted or sold to another party,
that party receiving the land has accepted the
boundaries as those monumented in the physical
world. This is not to diminish the value of
the writings pertaining to the transfer of title,
but rather a recognition that sometimes errors are
made in either measurement or the recording of the
information pertaining to those measurements that
can often lead to misrepresentation of the original
intentions of the individual that first allowed the
real estate to be subdivided from the parent tract.
It is with this mindset that we practice our
profession.
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