Monuments & Priority of Calls

Overview#

Monuments are the physical anchors of boundary law. While deeds speak in words and numbers -- bearings, distances, area -- monuments speak in physical reality. A stone set at a corner, a tree blazed along a line, an iron pipe driven into the ground -- these are the tangible evidence of the original surveyor's work.

The law gives monuments a privileged position in the hierarchy of boundary evidence because they represent the most direct evidence of where the original surveyor actually placed the boundary. Bearings can be misread, distances can be miscounted, and areas can be miscalculated. But a monument, when properly identified, is where it is -- and where it is, the boundary is.

"No rule in real estate law is more inflexible than that monuments control course and distance." -- Diehl v. Zanger, 39 Mich. 601 (1878)

This article examines the different types of monuments, the rules governing their use in boundary determination, and the procedures for dealing with monuments that are lost, obliterated, or in conflict.

What Constitutes a Monument#

A monument, in the legal sense, is any physical object or feature on the ground that marks or identifies a boundary corner, a boundary line, or a point referenced in the boundary description. The term is broader than many surveyors realize -- it encompasses not just the iron pipes and concrete markers that modern surveyors set, but any physical feature that the original description references as a boundary identifier.

To qualify as a monument for boundary purposes, an object must satisfy two fundamental requirements:

1. It must be called for in the deed, plat, field notes, or other boundary instrument
2. It can be identified as the same object referenced in the record

A found object that meets neither requirement -- an iron pipe of unknown origin, a stone with no documentary history -- is not a monument in the legal sense, regardless of how conveniently it happens to be located.

"A found monument with no written history of its placement has no legal or survey value indicating the boundary." -- Robillard & Wilson, Brown's Boundary Control and Legal Principles (7th Ed.), Ch. 2, Sec. 2.6

Natural Monuments#

Natural monuments are features that exist in nature independently of human activity. They are the highest-ranking type of monument because of their permanence, visibility, and difficulty of fabrication. Common natural monuments include:

Natural monuments control because they are the most reliable indicators of what the parties saw and understood when the boundary was created. When a deed was written in 1850 calling for "the large oak tree at the bend of the creek," both the grantor and grantee stood on the ground and looked at that tree. It was the physical reality they were describing.

"Courts have made the distinction that natural monuments control over all other forms of description." -- Robillard & Wilson, Brown's Boundary Control and Legal Principles (7th Ed.), Ch. 5

Limitations of Natural Monuments

Natural monuments are not infallible. They present several challenges:

• Trees die, fall, or are cut. A "witness tree" or "bearing tree" may no longer exist. However, stumps, root systems, and testimony about former tree locations may preserve the evidence.
• Watercourses move. Rivers migrate, lakes expand and contract, and shorelines erode. Water boundaries are inherently ambulatory (see the article on water boundaries).
• Identification can be uncertain. If a deed calls for "a large rock" and several large rocks exist in the vicinity, the monument is ambiguous.
• Scale matters. A mountain ridge is an excellent monument for a large parcel; it is useless for defining a 50-foot lot line.

Artificial Monuments#

Artificial monuments are objects placed by human hands to mark boundary corners or lines. They range from the most durable (concrete monuments with brass caps) to the most ephemeral (wooden stakes that decay within years).

Common Types

Requirements for Controlling Weight

An artificial monument controls the boundary only if:

1. It was set at the time of the original survey (or can be connected to the original survey through a clear chain of evidence)
2. It is called for in the description or plat
3. It is in its original position (undisturbed)
4. It can be positively identified as the monument referenced

If any of these conditions is not met, the monument's evidentiary value is diminished or eliminated. A monument that has been moved, even slightly, is no longer evidence of the original corner position -- it is evidence of where someone placed it after the fact.

Lost vs. Obliterated Monuments#

The distinction between a lost corner and an obliterated corner is one of the most important concepts in boundary retracement. The terms have specific legal meanings that differ from ordinary usage.

Obliterated Corner

An obliterated corner is one where the monument has been destroyed or removed, but whose position can be recovered from other evidence. The physical mark is gone, but its location can be determined from:

• Witness marks, bearing trees, or reference monuments
• Measurements from other found corners
• Testimony of persons who saw the monument before its destruction
• Accessory evidence (fence corners, occupation lines, improvements placed in reference to the corner)

When a corner is obliterated, the surveyor restores it to its original position based on the best available evidence. The corner is not "re-established" -- it is "restored." The distinction matters: restoration returns the corner to its proven original position; re-establishment might place it at a computed position that differs from the original.

Lost Corner

A lost corner is one where the monument has been destroyed and whose position cannot be recovered from any evidence. No witness marks exist, no measurements from found corners can pinpoint the location, and no testimony or occupation evidence places it with any certainty.

When a corner is truly lost, the surveyor must resort to proportionate methods to re-establish it. In the PLSS context, this means distributing excess or deficiency proportionally between found original corners. In metes and bounds contexts, proportioning is less standardized but follows the same general principle of distributing error equitably.

"The retracing surveyor must be able to locate and then make a nexus of the ground evidence to the written evidence." -- Robillard & Wilson, Brown's Boundary Control and Legal Principles (7th Ed.), Ch. 2, Principle 4

The practical consequence of the lost/obliterated distinction is significant. An obliterated corner, once its position is recovered, has the same authority as a found original monument. A lost corner, re-established by proportion, is a computed position -- defensible but inherently less certain.

The Doctrine of Monuments Controlling#

The principle that monuments control courses and distances is among the most deeply established rules in American boundary law. Its logic is straightforward: the monument is where the surveyor actually stood and placed a mark; the bearing and distance are merely the measurements used to describe the relationship between marks. Measurements are subject to error; the placement of the monument is not.

"All lines marked and surveyed, when positively identified, identify the true intended boundaries of the parcel and as such will control over less certain elements in the description." -- Robillard & Wilson, Brown's Boundary Control and Legal Principles (7th Ed.), Ch. 5, Sec. 5.21

How the Doctrine Works in Practice

Consider a deed that reads: "N 45 E, 300.00 feet to an iron pipe." The surveyor finds the iron pipe at N 44 30 E, 293.50 feet from the preceding corner. Under the doctrine, the iron pipe controls. The boundary corner is at the pipe, not at the point 300.00 feet along a bearing of N 45 E.

The reasoning is that the surveyor who created the original boundary walked to the location, set the pipe, then measured the bearing and distance back to the previous corner. The pipe is the primary evidence; the measurements are secondary.

When Monuments Can Be Disregarded

Monuments are not absolute. Courts have recognized several circumstances under which a monument may be disregarded:

1. The monument has been moved or disturbed. A monument not in its original position is no longer evidence of the original corner. It may be evidence of where someone moved it to, but not of the boundary.

2. The monument cannot be authenticated. An iron pipe found in the ground with no documentary connection to the original survey has no legal weight as a boundary monument. It is simply a piece of metal.

3. The monument is inconsistent with clear intent. If the totality of the evidence -- the deed language, the plat, the surrounding conveyances, the acts of the parties -- clearly shows that the monument was placed in error, the intent may override the monument.

4. The monument was set after the original survey. A monument placed by a subsequent surveyor, unless it can be connected to the original corner position, is the opinion of that subsequent surveyor -- not evidence of the original boundary.

5. Gross discrepancy suggesting error. If a monument is found so far from the described position that it is unreasonable to conclude it was placed by the original surveyor, it may be disregarded. However, this exception is applied cautiously, because even large discrepancies can reflect genuine original placement.

Testimony About Monuments#

When a monument cannot be found, testimony about its former location becomes critical. Such testimony may come from:

• The original surveyor (if still alive and competent)
• Landowners who observed the monument before it was destroyed
• Subsequent surveyors who found and recorded the monument in earlier retracements
• Neighbors and long-term residents familiar with the boundary

Testimony about monuments is admissible as evidence, but its weight depends on:

• The witness's opportunity to observe (did they actually see the monument?)
• The specificity of the testimony (can they describe it and locate it precisely?)
• Corroboration (does other evidence support the testimony?)
• Time elapsed (how long ago was the observation?)

Original Monuments vs. Replacement Monuments#

A monument set by the original surveyor at the time of the original survey is an original monument and has the highest evidentiary value. A monument set by a subsequent surveyor to mark the same corner is a replacement monument or reference monument.

The replacement monument has value only to the extent that it can be proven to be at the same location as the original. If a subsequent surveyor found the original monument, verified its position, and set a more durable replacement at the same point, the replacement has strong evidentiary value. But if the subsequent surveyor computed a position and set a monument there without finding the original, the replacement is merely that surveyor's opinion of where the corner should be.

Witness Marks and Accessories#

In addition to the monument itself, many original surveys include witness marks (also called bearing trees, witness trees, or accessories) -- objects near the corner that provide secondary evidence of the corner's location. In PLSS surveys, the original instructions required the surveyor to record bearing trees and other accessories in the field notes.

Witness marks serve two purposes:

1. Corroboration -- they confirm the position of the monument when found
2. Recovery -- they allow the corner to be re-established if the monument is destroyed

Common types of witness marks include:

When the original monument is gone but witness marks survive, the corner is obliterated (not lost) because its position can be recovered from the witness evidence.

Practical Guidelines for the Retracing Surveyor#

When dealing with monuments in a retracement, the surveyor should follow these practical guidelines:

1. Search thoroughly. Before concluding a monument is lost, exhaust all search methods -- metal detection, probing, digging, interviewing neighbors, reviewing prior survey plats.

2. Document everything. Record the condition, material, size, depth, and position of every monument found. Photograph it in place before disturbing it.

3. Connect to the record. For every found monument, determine whether it is the one called for in the description. If a deed calls for a "2-inch iron pipe," and you find a 5/8-inch rebar with a plastic cap stamped "Smith PLS 1234," that is not the deed monument -- it is a later surveyor's mark.

4. Consider the totality. Do not rely on a single monument in isolation. Evaluate its position relative to all other evidence -- adjoiners, bearing and distance, occupation, and neighboring surveys.

5. Classify correctly. Is the corner found, obliterated, or lost? The classification determines the procedure.

6. Report your reasoning. A professional boundary opinion should explain which monuments were found, which were obliterated and restored, and which were lost and re-established, along with the evidence and reasoning supporting each determination.

Key Takeaways#

• A monument is any physical object on the ground that marks a boundary, provided it is called for in the record and can be identified.
• Natural monuments (rivers, ridges, trees, rocks) rank highest because of their permanence and visibility. Artificial monuments (iron pipes, stakes, concrete) rank below natural but above courses and distances.
• Monuments control courses and distances -- this is one of the most fundamental and inflexible rules in boundary law.
• An obliterated corner is one whose monument is gone but whose position can be recovered from evidence. A lost corner is one whose position cannot be recovered and must be re-established by proportionate methods.
• Monuments can be disregarded only in limited circumstances: when moved, unauthenticated, inconsistent with clear intent, set after the original survey, or grossly discrepant.
• A monument must have a documentary connection to the original survey to be given controlling weight. A found object with no history is not a boundary monument.
• The retracing surveyor must search thoroughly, document meticulously, and reason carefully when dealing with monuments.

References#

1. Robillard, W.G. & Wilson, D.A. Brown's Boundary Control and Legal Principles (7th Ed.). John Wiley & Sons, 2014. Chapters 2, 5, 10, 12.
2. Robillard, W.G. & Wilson, D.A. Evidence and Procedures for Boundary Location (6th Ed.). John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Chapters 5--7, 11.
3. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. Manual of Surveying Instructions (2009). Chapters 5--7.
4. Diehl v. Zanger, 39 Mich. 601 (1878).
5. Cragin v. Powell, 128 U.S. 691 (1888).
6. Clark, F.E. Law of Surveying and Boundaries (6th Ed.). Lexis Law Publishing, 1999.