Life of Wry

Somewhere in the annals of Yolo County history, a certain land surveyor will have left his mark. There is more than a little pride in the fact that land boundary maps the county over (and not just Yolo) bear Jim’s seal. I don’t know Jim’s full body of survey work, but know it’s significant and lasting. Pretty cool!

We were driving back from the Sac Airport this morning* and Jim pointed out a line of orange-painted survey stakes on a piece of county property north/east of I-5. He surveyed it last week and the stakes were still there.

Look carefully…

Jim often remarks on one of the many benefits of his work….. tromping around in fields, or up and down mountains, on beautiful days, all by himself. He loves it.

Did a bit of googling about other famous surveyors … and found this. Jim’s in good company!

1. George Washington

One of America’s most famous (and earliest) land surveyors is George Washington himself. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Benjamin Banneker

As a self-taught African-American mathematician and surveyor, Benjamin Banneker was remarkably successful. In 1789, Washington even appointed Banneker to be part of the team surveying the future site of Washington, D.C. The project took about two years.

6. Abraham Lincoln

The nation’s 16th president got his start as a self-educated man in Kentucky. He worked as a storekeeper and postmaster in addition to surveying land and studying law at the same time. It is clear that Lincoln was a man with a great deal of talent and many skills, seeing how much time he spent participating in different types of work before he became president.

7 & 8. 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.

~~

(*) we finally signed up for TSA-pre. Yay us.