California Surveyors Forums

The only reference I have for Mr. Stewart is a 1959 plot plan for improvements at the St. Jerome's Parish Parochial Elementary School in El Cerrito, California (Bay Area). He did a fantastic job setting monuments around, and inside, the block that contains the school, 33 total as a matter of fact! Only trouble is he shows no found monuments at all.

We have an old, somewhat hard to read paper copy of his plot plan. The SF Archdiocese said they have no files or maps. His RE No. does not show up on the Board's website. Google didn't help either. I thought I would post up to see if anyone has heard of him or knows where his records might be. A long shot, I know, but worth a try.

His map is well done with lots of information and we checked within a couple of hundreths to all of his points. Anyone so conscientious, you'd think they would have tied into some local control.

Just curious. Did the school exist prior to the survey?

Yes, the school building is shown on his topo/RofS map. I think it was done in preparation for some expansion of their facilities. What's odd is that his RE number does not show up when you do a license inquiry on the Board's website. Even if it is not currently valid, it should show deceased, or inactive, or something.

On the Board's website, for older licensees, they do not show up on the License look up. Look further down the page to the "Numerical List of Licenses" and you will find him here by number.

Thanks for the tip. I found him: George E. Stewart.

Is it possible he just placed monuments by occupation?

Sort of. It is an odd-shaped block with lots from an old tract map. Some of the lots being reconfigured or combined. His geometry pretty much follows that on the tract map so my guess is that he fit that geometry inside the existing curb, gutter, and sidewalk.

So, instead of the more normal splitting of existing curbs to develop street centerlines, then offsetting to get the R/W lines, he simply used the improvements surrounding his own block only, ignoring the curbs on the opposite sides of the streets.

Which is all well and good, as long as you don't try fitting the results up against the other surrounding blocks.