The history of land surveying traces back to the separation of farm tracts and the flooding of the Nile River in Egypt. As the river would flood every year, there grew a need for markers to delineate the individual parcels. Stones were placed and geometric schemes devised so that if the river washed the markers away, they could be easily replaced.

As societies and forms of government became more complex, the need to divide parcels of land became more prevalent. In the early Eighteen Hundreds, our American government devised a system to divide the lands west of the original 13 colonies. This idea was more clearly defined in the form of the sectionalized land system, which remains in use today. This system allows for sections, townships and ranges. Each section is one mile square and 640 acres in area. Each township, measuring six miles by six miles, possesses 36 sections of land. As townships were created north and south, ranges were identified east and west.

After the Revolutionary War, our leaders used this method to sell forty acre-minimum tracts to affluent citizens as a way to rebuild the Treasury. In order to control the use of these smaller parcels, zoning was created. The zoning plan controlled land use so as to prevent the construction of, for example, a saloon next to a church; a brothel next to a school; or a heavy manufacturing plant next to a single-family residence.

Soon, a method of recording deeds and residential subdivisions was devised. Public records departments known as Register of Deeds or Clerk of Courts were created in courthouses throughout the nation. Abstracts of Title ( a history of each transaction with proper names and dates) were authored by attorneys. Abstracts of Title eventually became obsolete, being replaced by insurance documents known as "Title Insurance".

As lending institutions became more and more involved in the sale of land, property surveys became part of all real estate closings. Banking establishments must protect their investment by planning for a default in the mortgage. When they assume ownership of defaulted property and resell, they need to minimize complications. Boundary surveys provide protection against such complications, such as encroachments by neighbors over property lines, inadequate access to and from public streets, and unsettled property liens.

The purchase of a home or commercial real estate is a huge investment, and a boundary survey becomes a very inexpensive way for both owner and lender to insure the property title. Red Stake Surveyors, Inc. is proud to assist you with all of your land survey needs.