Bob Vollmer: Following the Footsteps

Bob Vollmer: Following the Footsteps. . , The work of a DNR land surveyor is connected to the work of the first surveyors who walked the property in the 1800s, but uses today's technology, Land surveyors locate the elevation and position of property points. Distances and angles are used to create property maps and boundaries that determine legal ownership., "…when you go out to a property, you follow the footsteps of the original surveyor." , --Bob Vollmer, "I think the first thing you should understand is how this country was formed. Everybody went west and the first people out there were the surveyors." , --Bob Vollmer, Surveyor Bob Vollmer, pictured in 2017, was born in 1917. He was still working at the age of 100. For over 50 years as a DNR surveyor, he established the boundaries for properties such as this nature preserve, to protect the property from encroachment., "…you could spend a week just calculating one curve. Today you take your GPS out there and 'POW!', you have your answer in seconds." , --Bob Vollmer, Surveyor Crew, Turkey Run State Park, The tools of the trade changed radically during Bob's tenure. Initially, 80% of his time was spent clearing vegetation to allow a clear line of sight. Now, his primary physical labor is carrying his tripod and equipment., Image: Nat'l Park Service, public domain, Image courtesy of Indiana Historical Society, In 1785, the Land Ordinance replaced an archaic surveying system with a system using fixed north-south and east-west lines. This system established the townships and sections that we have today. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 authorized the settlement of the Indiana Territory., Survey notes from this location taken on Monday, December 6, 1819. , December 6th, 1819, North of the Old Indian Boundary" , "A. B. Oak 30 inches diameter" , "Uneven poor land W. and B. Oak. Ungth [Undergrowth] Dogwood and Sassafras" , The early 1800s surveyors in the Indiana Territory wrote vivid descriptions of the landscape they encountered. Today, those notes are still used to determine management plans for Indiana's protected lands. , Images courtesy of Indiana State Archives and Records Administration, Survey notes from the preserve taken on Thursday, November 6, 2008, by Bob Vollmer, This sign honors Bob and his decades of work for the DNR., [Sidebar:] , The 10 O'Clock Line Nature Preserve was named for an 1809 land treaty between General William Henry Harrison and Miami Chief Little Turtle. The treaty's northern boundary crosses the preserve. According to tradition, the Miami did not trust the surveyor's equipment. A spear was thrown into the ground at 10 o'clock, and the shadow it cast became the treaty's boundary line.