The Early Government Land Survey in the Puget Sound Area
The General Land Office (GLO) mapped the Puget Lowland between about 1850 and 1890 as part of their cadastral survey of the United States and its territories for the Public Land Survey System that began soon after the Revolutionary War. Because the survey in the Puget Sound area was prior to, or in the earliest stages of, Euro-American settlement, the plat maps and field notes are a unique resource for characterizing the historical environment.
More Information and Data Sources
For a review of public land surveys in reconstructing historical environments, see Whitney and DeCant (2001); for Puget Sound rivers and estuaries, see Collins et al. (2003) and Collins and Sheikh (2005a).
For a history of the survey and a compilation of instructions given to surveyors, indispensable in interpreting plat maps and field notes, see White (1991).
Field notes for the Puget Sound area survey are available from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Portland, from individual county offices, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, and libraries including the University of Washington library.
The Washington DNR and BLM have made available scanned originals (not georeferenced) of GLO plat maps and survey notes for Washington (may not work in browsers other than MS InternetExplorer). See Washington's Public Land Survey Office for more information.
References
White, C. A., 1991. A history of the rectangular survey system. U. S. GPO, Washington, D. C. USC&GS (U. S. Coast & Geodetic Survey). 1891. Annual report of the superintendent.
Whitney, G. G. and J. DeCant. 2001. Government Land Office survey and other early land surveys. In D. Egan and E. A. Howell (eds.) The Historical Ecology Handbook, a Restorationist's Guide to Reference Ecosystems. Island Press, pp. 147-172.