Measuring our past!

The following article ran in the Hearld Star on Sunday, August 3rd as a History in the Hills article by Fort Steuben Director, Paul Zuros. Enjoy reading about our new Surveying Museum!

When someone comes to Historic Fort Steuben, they will have a lot to see. Their first stop will be the visitor center where one could visit our display area to see many historical collections in addition to a model of the Fort. Visitors can also stop at our museum shop as well to browse local books, gifts, and souvenirs.  When entering the Fort, one can visit 9 buildings that are set up to show what life was like for the soldiers and surveyors that occupied it in the 1780s. Some of the buildings historically were used for the same use, such as the fact that there were two buildings reserved for officers and surveyors, also, the same is true for the four blockhouses at each corner of the fort. When we began the reconstruction of the structure beginning in 1989, it was thought that it was unnecessary to have several buildings portraying the same thing, so in duplicate buildings we show different things. For example, instead of showing two buildings as the officer’s quarters, we show one in that capacity and the other is what we call historian hall. That building shows the work of the archeologists who have been digging at the fort site since 1978. Of the four blockhouses, one is for storage, one shows the enlisted men’s quarters, and the other is a frontier camp, showing what it was like to camp out in the wilderness as a surveyor. Finally, in the last blockhouse we have recently developed a museum dedicated to the history of surveying.

   The Mike Besch Museum of Surveying was a collaboration between Historic Fort Steuben, the Professional Land Surveyors of Ohio, and Ann Besch, Surveying Advisor of the University of Akron Surveying and Mapping Program. Ann’s husband, the late Thomas “Mike” Besch was a surveyor and historian who portrayed Thomas Hutchins, first and only Geographer of the United States, and was also part of the University of Akron’s Surveying and Mapping Program. With funds from the America 250-Ohio Commission, The Esther Simmons Trust, The Ohio Society of Professional Surveyors in addition to individual donors, the museum is now a reality. It opened in June of last year, but we have continually worked on the content to get it to where it is today.

   The museum explains the history of surveying from the early days to how surveying is done today. What makes our fort and our museum unique is that Fort Steuben was a fort built to protect surveyors and encourage the completion of the new survey of the first seven ranges of the Northwest Territory.

   Growing up in West Virginia, we did not learn about Ohio History or how important the land survey was to the expansion of the US. The land survey that started right here in our area would be the basis of how all land would be measured and surveyed west of the river. What makes this unique is that in Ohio land would be measured in a grid system beginning at what was called the point of beginning, a point on the map at East Liverpool that began a line called the Geographers Line, a east-west running line which formed the northern boundary of the first seven ranges of the Northwest Territory. This line was dictated by legislation that was passed in the Land Ordinance of 1785. The land ordinance also dictated how the land was to be surveyed, in this case it would be broken up into ranges, the north south sections running from the geographer’s line down to the river. Within the ranges, there were townships that were six square miles. Depending on the range, there could be up to 16 townships in a range. Within each township there were 36 one-mile square sections. These one-mile square sections contained 640 acres and in the earliest years of the land sales of the seven ranges this was the minimum purchase at a dollar and acre. In each township, the federal government held back three sections for their use, and for future sales, and held two additional sections for churches and a school in the township.

   The thought of surveyors going out and making these measurements in the wilderness is a unimaginable feat given the terrain of the wilderness at that time. Basically, the equipment at minimum that was used for the survey was a compass, pole, iron rods to mark land, and a Gunter chain.  The Gunter chain was invented in 1620 and was used to measure land. One would stretch the chain out between points to measure distance. One length of chain was 66 feet long or 22 yards, and each chain had 100 links that were 7.92 inches long. Using the Gunter chain, one could also measure in rods and poles as well. Often one will find on old maps and land descriptions these terms as related to distance. Rod and pole seem to be used interchangeably being 16.5 feet long or 5.5 yards. One Gunter chain would equal 4 rods. One mile would be 80 chains. This means that a survey team had to pick up and lay down the Gunter chain 80 times in a straight line to measure one mile. With trees, creeks, rocks, and other topography, this would have been a very time-consuming task. In addition, the surveyors were also tasked with describing the land on which they were working with the idea that most people who would be purchasing this land either at auction or at the land offices that would be established to sell this land by 1800, would not have the chance to see the land before purchasing. To a prospective buyer, these descriptions were invaluable. Because of the surveyors, we have a pretty complete picture of the flora and fauna of our region in the last quarter of the 18^th century.

   The survey of the seven ranges was an incredible accomplishment, and it allowed the opening of the west for settlement. It also provided much needed capital as the land was sold for the federal government as funds were at a minimum at this moment in history. Thanks to the surveyors, we also have a snapshot of what the land looked like in pre-settlement Ohio too. All of this happened at Historic Fort Steuben, and we hope visitors to the Mike Besch Museum of Surveying will come away with how important it all is to our local history, history of Ohio, and our national history as well.