[.ca] Chaining Oregon (ISBN 0939923203)

The Territory of Oregon's Original Land Surveyors:
This Book is of unusual interest to me because forty and more years ago I did a lot of surveying in the mythical State of Jefferson. North of the 42nd parallel I had to live with the work described by Kay Atwood. The political environment surrounding this initial survey work on the Willamette Meridian was news to me. I must say that the Surveyors General for the Oregon Territory met these challenges much better than the General Land Office south of the 42nd parallel some 20 and more years later. I would have been interested in some of the details of the surveying at that time. Atwood describes the sun compass used by these original surveyors and has an illustration of a magnetic compass. How were the two instruments utilized during periods of rain and overcast? How did Butler Ives know when he reached the 42nd parallel, the territorial boundary? As part of the story of the original land survey, Atwood includes considerable local history. For me, this was a most enjoyable read.

Amazing look into the lives and struggles of these unsung pioneers:
Chaining Oregon: Surveying the Public Lands of the Pacific Northwest, 1851-1855 is a scholarly, in-depth history of the early federal surveyors of the Pacific Northwest, who labored for the US General Land Office between 1851 and 1855, and the impact their work had on America's overall work to settle the valleys and mountains of what would eventually become the states of Oregon and Washington. A handful of black-and-white images, including reproductions of early surveyor maps, enhance this amazing look into the lives and struggles of these unsung pioneers. Highly recommended, especially for college library American History shelves.