Title & Boundary Surveys
Section Corner Remonumentation
What is Remonumentation?
In the mid 1800’s, the Federal Government hired Federal Deputy Surveyors to set survey monuments every half-mile, creating sections of land. This established the Public Land Survey System in Minnesota. Copies of the field notes and plats were turned over to the State of Minnesota and currently reside in the Secretary of State’s Office. Additional copies of the field notes and plats were turned over to each county as their offices were established. The State passed laws that said that each county may perpetuate the corner monuments of the Public Land Survey System. The perpetuation of these original government corners is termed “remonumentation”. Since the original monuments set by the Federal Deputy Surveyors were charred stakes or wood posts, it falls to today’s surveyors to perpetuate them by replacing them with more durable objects. The goal now is to have durable magnetic cast iron monuments in place at all government corners. In rural areas, government section corner monuments control most land boundaries. Many counties maintain these monuments at public expense.
What is a Certificate of Location?
Currently, when a land surveyor locates or establishes a government corner, he or she files a Certificate of Location with the County Recorder’s Office, which is required per Minnesota State Statute 160.15. The front side of the Certificate of Locations have a graphic depiction of the government corner. The back side of the Certificate of Location includes that statement of evidence, which will track the history of the government corner. Depending on the size of the county, there could be anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 original government corners set.
What are the Benefits of knowing where Section Corner Monuments are?
- Land owners benefit
- All legal descriptions are tied to section corners
- Multiple parcels are tied to the same section corner
- Section lines are more clearly identified
- Location of monuments is known
- Preserve property rights
- Eliminates title problems
- Reduces the cost of future boundary surveys
- Accurate parcel areas for tax assessing
- Corners can be used to establish a good base map for GIS
- Corners have GPS coordinates so they can be easily re-established
- Benefits surveyors and engineers working on projects
- Right-of-way plats
- Easements
- Preservation of over one hundred years of survey history
Browse to our other Surveying services:
Boundary Surveys, Both Rural and Urban
Right-of–Way and Easement Acquisition Surveys