Our team was contracted in March 2015 by an attorney representing the Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch in remote Oldham County, Texas. Our role was to serve as an expert consultant concerning a contested area with substantial oil and gas royalty implications. The project consisted of research and sketching, field surveying, computation, and communicating our findings to the client. We began by researching the original and amended surveys and field notes on file at the General Land Office of Texas (GLO). Detailed field sketches were prepared of a vast area covering dozens of sections of land, complete with the original surveyors’ notes.
Control was set at strategic locations around the subject area using OPUS solutions from 8-hour static sessions. Field surveying commenced by locating various original stone monuments set by surveyors in the 1800s. Field sketches were then revised and corrected to the located monuments and calculations were performed to aid in the location of remaining, pertinent survey monuments. The critical monuments were then located in the field. All findings were analyzed and our team successfully determined the location of the contested survey line.