![]() ![]() Modern surveyors use metal tapes - and electronic distance measuring technology - rather than chains with links to measure distance This process would be repeated until returning to the point of beginning, with trees marked at each change in direction to define the boundary. The surveyor would use the compass to determine the change in angle to define the next bearing, and the chain would be pulled in that new direction the appropriate distance. The chain would be stretched the full length, then the poles moved to stretch the chain forward again until reaching the end of the line in that one direction. ![]() Assistants would cut a straight line through the woods and stretch a chain of a known length along that line, following the bearing determined by the surveyor. Surveyors would move away from a recognizable starting point, using a compass to determine the direction in which they were moving. ![]() Instead, surveyors were directed to define polygons that enclosed high-quality land for farming and excluded areas with poor soil. Other than town lots in places such as Williamsburg and Alexandria, Virginia landowners rarely purchased property defined by rectangles. A chain stretched out 10 times in one direction (600 feet) and once in the other direction (66 feet) would define a rectangle enclosing one acre. A chain stretched to its length 80 times would define the length of a mile. A Gunter chain was 66 feet long, and each of the 100 iron links in that chain was 66/100 of a foot (7.92 inches) in length. The units were traditional English measures, with land measured by the acre (43,560 square feet). Surveying in Virginia was not based on the metric system. Chains and compasses were used to mark lines from a starting point, typically a natural feature such as a large white oak tree. Source: Library of Congress, George Washington survey - Plat of survey for John Lindsey of 223 acres in Frederick County, Vaįrom colonial times, individual Virginia properties were surveyed according to the metes and bounds system. Simple rectangular metes and bounds survey in Shenandoah Valley, 1750 Surveying in Virginia Surveying in Virginia ![]()
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