The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 38, No. 4
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had made sure to pay attention to previously recorded
instruments, or maybe there was something else, such as
an unrecorded rural subdivision!
The most puzzling result of the research is a record of
survey, filed some 30 years previously, just after the
recording act passed in Oregon. It happens to fall in the
southwest quarter of the same section and it too is a ten-
acre tract though nearly one-half mile away from the parcel
you’re researching. You recognize the name of the land
surveyor that recorded the map. His name leaves a sinking
feeling in your stomach. From personal experience, you
know this gentleman was a timber cruiser by trade and
worked for a large industrial forestry company in the
heyday of the Oregon logging industry. He had a reputed
history of borrowing equipment from his employer,
primarily consisting of a staff compass and chain! It’s a
scary thought, but hey, back in the day when this survey
was done, logged over rural land was being auctioned to
recover back taxes to the tune of $1.50 per acre, so doing a
“top notch” survey apparently wasn’t warranted considering
the value of the real estate.
As a courtesy, the following morning and armed with
your research, you make a call to the fenceline surveyor to
let him know what you’re doing and to find out if he has
any misgivings. He completely understands and seems a bit
relieved to be shed (apparently) of the highly annoying
client. You tell him that you still haven’t accepted the job
and ask if he would, as a courtesy, not disclose the fact that
the two of you have talked about his former client and her
situation.
The meeting with the hostile neighbor
You arrive a few minutes early, project folder tucked under
your arm. The hostile neighbor is sitting in an old rocker
on the porch waiting for your arrival, requisite hound lying
comfortably at his feet. After the customary introductions,
you notice this person also has a folder lying beside his
rocker. You get right down to business and offer to show him
the research you’ve completed so far and to characterize
the problem from the context of his neighbor who is trying
to retain your services. His response is an odd smile and a
gleam in his eye, one that you’ve seen before, that “I know
something you don’t” look, as if he’s about to perform some
feat of magic that will surely leave you speechless. He’s very
interested in the copy of the work map made by the
fenceline surveyor (as he hasn’t seen it), particularly with
regard to the found iron pipes noted thereon.
“I told that surveyor that I had some information which
might prove valuable to him, but he just looked at me like I
was from another planet! Let me show you what I was
perfectly willing to share.” He bends over and extracts a
yellowed sheet of paper from the folder lying on the porch.
Unfolding it, you can see it’s an old, blue-line reproduction
of a survey map. Upon closer inspection, two things catch
your eye. First, it is definitely a copy of a subdivision plat.
Though primitive, it shows iron pipes set at the corners of
each ten-acre tract within the section (type and size are
omitted, but there is a symbol noted in the legend for set
monuments, and that symbol is drawn in at every parcel
corner). Second, you immediately notice
that the bearings and distances match
those shown on the recorded deeds! The
damning evidence is the surveyor's seal.
It’s the same surveyor whose stamp was
on the old record of survey you’d
already found, the old timber cruiser
who has a historical reputation of not
doing very high quality work!
Trying your best not to disclose your
excitement at seeing this map, you ask
the hostile neighbor if you can borrow it
to make a copy for your records and for
recording with the County Surveyor. Of
course, he’s reluctant to do so, but you tell him that had
this map been a part of the public record prior to the
adjoining purchase by his new Californian neighbor, this
whole situation may have been avoided. That seems to get
his attention. You promise to get the map back to him the
following afternoon, shake hands and leave, thinking that
you may have gained yet another modicum of respect for
your professional standing from an unexpected corner of
the state!
After recording this map with the County Surveyor, you
call the potential client from California and explain to her
that your research has uncovered some interesting infor
mation that you feel compelled to share and could you meet
to discuss the situation considering your results. Naturally,
you’ve galvanized her interest and she wants to meet as
soon as possible. You set up a meeting for the following
afternoon.
…back in the day when this survey was
done, logged over rural land was being
auctioned to recover back taxes to the tune
of $1.50 per acre, so doing a “top notch”
survey apparently wasn’t warranted
considering the value of the real estate.
