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Digitizing & Analyzing Indiana’s PLSS Notes & Plats

Digitizing & Analyzing Indiana’s PLSS Notes & Plats. by Clayton J. Hogston, PE / PS. Land Ordinance of 1785. Established the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) as a way to sell land in the Northwest Territories to pioneer farmers, thus raising funds to pay off the Revolutionary War debt.

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Digitizing & Analyzing Indiana’s PLSS Notes & Plats

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  1. Digitizing & Analyzing Indiana’s PLSS Notes & Plats by Clayton J. Hogston, PE / PS

  2. Land Ordinance of 1785 Established the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) as a way to sell land in the Northwest Territories to pioneer farmers, thus raising funds to pay off the Revolutionary War debt.

  3. Need for Record Access Indiana Code 865 IAC 1-12-30(d)(1)(A): Section corner perpetuation If PLSS corner is not monumented and referenced by County Surveyor, or location is believed to be in error, then surveyor’s are required (in part) to obtain copies of the “original public land survey field notes and plat or transcribed copies of the same.”

  4. Availability of Records Field Survey Set Originally written by the Surveyor Available at the State Archives (30%) Federal Set Transcribed by the GLO Available at the National Archives State Set Transcribed by the GLO Available at the State Archives County Set Transcribed by the State Auditor Available at the County Surveyor’s Office

  5. Benefits of Digitized Records Easy access Travel to government offices not required Available when government offices closed Less time required searching for record Preservation Protection from fire, storms, mold… Statewide studies Forestation, drainage courses… Historical studies Indian treaties, reservations… Genealogy Reduced costs Several distribution channels

  6. Federal Set From the National Archives located in College Park, Maryland. Microfilm Notes: 26 rolls of film 3 volumes / roll 500 pages / volume Plats: 6 rolls of film 915 maps / roll Total records 37,100 note pages 5,500 plat maps

  7. Note Indexing Indiana’s 73 survey books were divided into 5 Series. A – Gore 3 Volumes B – Southeast 2 Volumes C – Southwest 5 Volumes D – Northeast 38 Volumes E – Northwest 25 Volumes

  8. Image Resolution Determine scan resolution by working backwards from the desired image size and resolution. Paper page: 8.5” x 14” @ 400 dpi Microfilm page: 0.52” x 0.88” Minimum resolution required: 8.5” / 0.52” = 16.35 ratio, 16.35 x 400 dpi = 6,540 dpi Scan at 9,600 dpi: 9,600 dpi / 16.35 ~ 600 dpi

  9. Image File Naming Retaining a connection with the physical records, note filenames include: the Series the Volume the Page Tying to the same location as the notes, plat map filenames include: the Series the Volume the Map Examples: EV03P213.pdf (a note page file) EV03M017.pdf (a plat map file)

  10. Image File Organization 42,600 Records separated into about 1,100 subdirectories, each containing all the files that relate to one specific Township. Subdirectory contents: Plat maps Patent / sales maps Partial maps Note page index Note pages

  11. Example Survey project near Natchez, Indiana, and owner’s deed mentions the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W.

  12. Example Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W. Locate subdirectory

  13. Example Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W. Locate subdirectory Find plat map

  14. Example Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W. Locate subdirectory Find plat map View plat map

  15. Example Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W. Locate subdirectory Find plat map View plat map Close view / return

  16. Example Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W. Locate subdirectory Find plat map View plat map Close view / return Find note page index

  17. Example Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W. Locate subdirectory Find plat map View plat map Close view / return Find note page index View note page index

  18. Example Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W. Locate subdirectory Find plat map View plat map Close view / return Find note page index View note page index Close view / return

  19. Example Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W. Locate subdirectory Find plat map View plat map Close view / return Find note page index View note page index Close view / return Find note page

  20. Example Lookup plat and notes for the East line of Section 11 in T2N-R3W. Locate subdirectory Find plat map View plat map Close view / return Find note page index View note page index Close view / return Find note page View note page

  21. Image Enhancements Range of ink contrast

  22. Image Enhancements Plat map

  23. Image Enhancements Benefits of dual monitors (20” & 17”)

  24. Time Estimates Initial scanning: 2.5 Minutes / note page & 5 Minutes / plat map = 1,550 Hours for notes & 460 Hours for plats Organize, enhance, review and manage final images: 7.5 Minutes / note page & 10 Minutes / plat map = 4,640 Hours for notes & 915 Hours for plats Total time for project ~ 7,565 hours (almost 4 years) 42,600 images x 1 second each ~ 12 hours 42,600 images x 1 minute each ~ 710 hours

  25. Distribution Channels CDs, DVDs, Flash Drives, Internet…

  26. Analyzing Notes Are there differences among the 4 sets of PLSS notes? Township selection criteria Notes from all 4 PLSS sets must be available. Township must lie within the County boundaries. Ink must be dense enough to see clearly. Handwriting must be relatively legible.

  27. Analyzing Notes Survey notes for T21N-R4W Field Survey completed on 5-10-1822 by Surveyor. Federal set certified on 11-04-1842 by GLO. State set certified on 11-01-1849 by GLO. County set certified on 4-03-1861 by Auditor.

  28. Analyzing Notes 4 Sets compared (20” monitor).

  29. Analyzing Notes Example of a copy error:

  30. Analyzing Notes Complied transcription (17” monitor). Use a simple format with modern symbols and don’t abbreviate words: “ (inches) ° (degrees) Ø (diameter) Show conflicting data in footnotes, color coded for each set: Original (O) Federal (F) State (S) County (C)

  31. Analyzing Notes Results of study: T21N-R4W contains 28 data conflicts. Total number of errors by set: Original 3 Federal 9 State 16 County 21

  32. Current Project Status Digitizing Indiana’s PLSS (Federal set):  Develop processing plan  Scan Microfilm  Review for quality  Sort Note pages  Rename Note pages  Sort Plat maps Rename Plat maps  Develop Photoshop process Apply Photoshop process Merge Notes / Plat maps Convert final images Deliver final images

  33. IndianaMap – PLSS Records http://demo.maps.indiana.edu/index.html?URLLayers=Reference_PLSS_Townships

  34. IndianaMap – PLSS Records Listing of Plat and Field Note files

  35. Contact Info: Clayton J. Hogston, PE / PS CHogston25@gmail.com

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