The surveys of Arizona

On race weekends, it is the Hillside seating on turn four of Phoenix International Raceway. During the festivities, a few people climb to the top of the hill and probably wonder about the origins of the concrete cross that rests there. Fewer still appreciate that this point could have been along the border of Mexico and the United States, and signifies the point where almost all private parcels of land in Arizona are surveyed from. In late 1851, a group of surveyors climbed the hill, undoubtedly admired the view of the pristine Salt River Valley, and built a circular monument with an eight foot base made of rocks lying nearby. The monument tapered upward eight feet to a four foot diameter on top. A center wooden pole, six feet high was marked “United States and Mexico Boundary Commission, 1851.” The monument was set by Andrew B. Gray, United States surveyor and Lieutenant A. W. Whipple leading a large survey crew. The monument was set to fulfill the agreement known as the Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty of 1785. In January of 1867, William Pierce again climbed the hill with his 7 member survey crew. His crew crossed the Gila River that was over 200 feet wide and 3 to 4 feet deep to get to the point that would become the intersection of 115th Avenue and Baseline Road. His field notes indicate “I proceeded to perpetuate this corner (the center of the monument) as follows: I squared the post and marked it as a TP (township) corner.” Pierce had a contract for the first rectangular survey in what would become Arizona. His job was to set up township lines for the rectangular division of the land into 36 square mile townships so that they ultimately could be sold to settlers. His contract was “for the survey of certain lands in Arizona for the sum not to exceed seventy-five hundred dollars.” Pierce’s first order of business was to establish a line 36 miles to the east, or 6 townships. Much of this would later become Baseline Road, named after the baseline they were establishing for future surveyors. Pierce and his crew were able to establish this line in five days using rudimentary equipment including a solar compass, a chain of 33 feet made up of 50 links and a covered wagon and horses as transportation. They had to measure levelly over uneven terrain, had to cross the flowing rivers, and had to cut there way through the brush and obstacles they encountered. Their efforts took them from 115th Avenue to Power Road in five days. Pierce described the area: “Salt River, at this season of the year is a large stream…which renders it especially valuable for irrigation. I consider this valley…as containing some of the best agricultural land I have yet seen in the Territory, and would recommend that it be subdivided at an early day.” Pierce probably could never imagine the thriving metropolis that would occupy the land some 140 years later as he chained across Phoenix, established in 1870, Tempe, established in 1870, and finally Mesa, established in 1878. Pierce then returned to the initial point and began a survey of the Prime Meridian for Arizona, a line that was to run 96 miles, or 16 Townships, north of the Initial Point. For the next few weeks, Pierce worked carefully to set up the backbone of the structure that would be used to establish the greater Phoenix area. In late February of 1867, Pierce asked for and received a release from his contract due to an expected Indian uprising and fearing for the safety of his survey crew. Over the years, the Initial Point fell in disrepair through age and vandalism. Even though more than 62 million acres of Arizona had been surveyed from this point, it was largely forgotten. In 1984, a statewide group of surveyors took it onto themselves to refurbish the monument as it appears today. In trying to reflect on the history of this truly remarkable point, they placed a plaque on the monument that reads “Dedicated to all land owners in Arizona by the Arizona Professional Land Surveyors.”