PLSO The Oregon Surveyor Mar/Apr 2019

Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org 13 About the Author Joseph D. Fenicle, PLS is the Chief Surveyor at the Office of the Fulton County Engineer in Wauseon, Ohio. Joe also owns Angular By Nature, LLC a company specializing in Continuing Professional Development for Surveyors and Engineers as well as offering Land Surveying Services across Ohio and Michigan. Joe lives outside of Sand Creek, Michigan on his own active farm with his wife and three young boys. Joe also climbed Skinner Butte in the rain during the 2019 Annual Conference and stood where Gannett did in 1894 overlooking the City of Eugene. This baseline was run along a tangent of the former Oregon and California Rail- road from Eugene and through Irving, Oregon. The monument at the observa- tory was simply listed as a “transit pier.” With knowledge that the observatory was destined to be destroyed the USGS set two marble reference stones to per- petuate the position of the transit pier. They then tied these new monuments into the control network by triangulation measurements. Samuel Stinson Gannett was at the in- fancy of his career with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at this time. At 33 years old he was 12 years into his 52 year career with the USGS. Samuel was born in Augusta, Maine and lived with his uncle and cousin in Bath, Maine while at- tending Bowdin College. His cousin was Henry Gannett who would end up being the Chief Geographer of the USGS. Both Sam and Henry would become 2 of the original 33 founders of the National Geo- graphic Society. Sam became known as the “State Line Boundary Retracement Specialist” and was called upon by the Supreme Court to survey multiple disput- ed State lines. His most famous would be the 100thMeridian Survey between Texas and Oklahoma, the Deakin’s Line between Maryland and West Virginia and his last survey to demarcate the line between New Hampshire and Vermont. Others in- clude Idaho/Washington, Idaho/Montana, Ohio/Michigan, Wisconsin/Minnesota, Arkansas/Mississippi amongst others. Sam passed away at the age of 77 on Au- gust 5, 1939 inWashington D.C. where he lived his whole life. The Astronomical Observatory at the Uni- versity of Oregonon the East endof Skinner Butte was at one time the shining star of Eugene. Unfortunately it also became the eyesore. Its demise is unfortunate but the purpose it served for the control network of the USGS will never be forgotten. The work of Samuel Stinson Gannett and his phenomenal career with the USGS shall be remembered and honored, as shall be the rich history of the observatory itself. This memory shall also include Warren Williams, Eugene Skinner, Doctor Thom- as Shelton, The City of Eugene and the entire area of Southwest Oregon. Today, upon a personal visit to the site, nothing exists other than a parking lot on top of the butte and a beautiful view of the val- ley below, the same view Samuel Stinson Gannett would havemarveled uponwhen he was there in May of 1984.  x References: The Call Number. University of Oregon, April 1955. The Old Observatory: University of Oregon. Mitch Stepanovich, December 1977. Sixteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey 1894–95. Charles D. Walcott. Washington DC, 1896. Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey 1896–1897. Charles D. Walcott. Washington DC, 1897. Shelton--McMurphey House and Grounds. National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, November 15, 1988. Featured Article