AMERICA'S SCHOOL TRUST LIBRARY · JUNIOR LAND DETECTIVE RECORD

Monmouth Elementary & School Section 16

Ash Creek Watershed, Polk County, Oregon • Township 8 South, Range 4/5 West, Section 16

SURVEY BIRTHDAY

1852

June 15, 1852

🌲 Step 1: The Land Today & Lidar

Laser ground scans [Lidar] reveal the historic shallow creek channel and wagon road traces connecting early farmsteads to the territorial road.

Soil: Deep, productive Willamette and Woodburn silt loams—some of the finest agricultural soils on earth.

✈️ Step 2: The 1936 Sky View

Prune drying barns and hop kilns dotted the surrounding farmland where modern subdivisions stand today.

Earliest biplane flight: 1936 aerial photography.

📐 Step 3: First Survey & Witness Trees

Surveyed by Butler Ives using a 66-foot iron chain.

Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana) (14 inches): 45 links (29.7 feet) blazed [Historical Example].
Oregon Ash (Fraxinus latifolia) (12 inches): 60 links (39.6 feet) blazed [Historical Example].

🏛️ Step 4: First Legal Patents & Schools

First Claim: Section 16 Congressional School Grant & Christian College Donation

School Trust Section: Section 16 & 36 perpetual public education endowment.

Letitia Carson Historical Note: Settled Benton County farm (1845–1856); successfully sued in Benton County court (1855–1856) winning $300 back wages and $1,200 for cattle; filed Douglas County homestead in 1868 and earned 1869 federal Homestead Patent ORRAA 008939 signed by President Ulysses S. Grant. Research by Dr. Bob Zybach / ORWW / OSU.

Student Detective: _________________________________

School / Class: _____________________ Date: _______________

Official Certified Land Record · kids.yourlandhistory.org