Let’s Recognize the Surveyors!
Although the name of our organization is the “American Council of Engineering Companies,” we are not comprised of just engineering companies. Many of our member firms offer land surveying as a practice, or specialize entirely in land surveying and mapping services. The reason I mention this is that next week we will celebrate National Surveyors Week – the annual week-long celebration of the surveying profession. This year, National Surveyors Week takes place from March 15-21, 2020.
The theme for this year’s National Surveyors Week is communication, so even though I am not surveyor, I will attempt to contribute with this message. Education of the public is the number one goal of National Surveyors Week. The work surveyors perform for the benefit of the public often goes unrecognized and its important to share their knowledge. Many people likely do not realize it, but land survey is an important part of our society. Any land owner needs to accomplish it before proceeding to other necessary activities involving land, such as buying, selling, subdividing, mapping and construction.
Surveying is the science of mapping and measuring specific areas of the environment using mathematics and advanced technology and equipment. Land surveying has been around for thousands of years. To be more specific, based on historical records surveying has been used for over 6,000 years. Reports suggest that Stonehenge was constructed with the help of surveyors and employed peg and rope geometry.
Other important evidences of land surveying were reportedly found in ancient Egypt. Egyptians are said to have created a land ownership registry in relation to the importance of land boundaries for taxation purposes. Surveyors were already in existence even before the Great Pyramids were built and before the boundary markers of the overflows of Nile River were reassessed.
As for surveying being a profession, it was the Romans who first recognized surveying as an occupation. In fact, they gave dignity to the field. Land surveyors became in demand during the Roman Empire due to huge expansion and a steady building schedule.
In 1086, an important event took place. William the Conqueror ordered the Domesday Book, a record of landowners and the lands they owned and occupied. For this, the exact boundaries of personal properties were given more importance.
In addition, many prominent figures in the history of United States of America were surveyors, including:
George Washington – One of America’s most famous (and earliest) land surveyors. The young future President got his bright start at the age of 17 in 1749. It was not long until he was appointed to be the Surveyor General for Virginia. Washington actually played an essential role at this time, because surveying the land promoted expansion westward.
Daniel Boone – As an American pioneer and explorer from Kentucky, Daniel Boone resolved settler’s claims to land. The legend was known to have spent much of his time traveling around the American frontier. In spite of the fact that he had no formal schooling, Boone went on to become an expert tracker by the time he was a teenager. In the years following, he took to surveying.
Thomas Jefferson – George Washington wasn’t the only President to work as a surveyor. Thomas Jefferson was appointed to work as the Albermarle County surveyor in Virginia in 1773. He also promoted surveying by sending Lewis & Clark on their expedition to explore the land gained through the Louisiana Purchase.
William Clark & Meriwether Lewis – Lewis and Clark were tasked with some of the most intensive land surveying in American history. While Lewis had a reputation as more of a planner, Clark was an expert surveyor and mapmaker. Together, the partners traveled across the land then known as the Louisiana Purchase, making their way to Oregon to scout it out.
Henry David Thoreau – Though most might know of Thoreau as an author, he actually became a surveyor in the 1850s before he published his books. Being a surveyor allowed Thoreau to use his career to facilitate his hobby. Thoreau used his observations to journal his ideas.
Abraham Lincoln – The nation’s 16th President got his start as a self-educated man in Kentucky and later Indiana and Illinois. He worked as a storekeeper and postmaster in addition to surveying land and studying law at the same time.
Surveying tools and techniques have continued to develop over the years, with great strides in recent years. Today, 3D scanning and GPS technologies are prominent in the industry, although many basic surveying methods are still used. And the use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), has revolutionized the industry and greatly expanded the capabilities the surveying and mapping profession can provide to society.
In recognition of National Surveyors Week, on the morning of Thursday March 19th, Assembly Member Heath Flora (12th District) is going to present a resolution on the Assembly Floor to highlight the industry and recognize the contributions of surveying to our society. We encourage all of our land surveying professionals who are interested to be present at the State Capitol on the 19th to promote the industry.
Happy National Surveyors Week to all of our surveying professionals!
