The California Surveyor - CLSA

Mount Diablo
Surveyors
Historical Society
Editor's Note: The following is a reprint, with
permission, of some of the articles from the
First Edition of the Mount Diablo Surveyors
Historical Society Newsletter. Anyone interested
on joining the Historical Society or
wanting more information should contact
Don Marcott at the address below.
The Mount Diablo Surveyors
Historical Society and its
members from California and
Nevada invite you to join us in realizing
some very worthy objectives.
Our profession, born at the dawn of
civilization, has passed through 50
centuries nearly unchanged in purpose.
Sadly, most of our ancient history and
artifacts have been lost. If we fail to
preserve that which is left to us we will
surely be the poorer and forget who
we were and from whence we came.
Our Society was founded by members
of the profession to preserve the
past and the present for tomorrow. We
are a nonprofit corporation directed
by volunteers. The Society spends most
of its funds on the purchase and display
of rare and distinctive instruments,
maps and publications. The
Society is also approved by the IRS to
receive charitable donations of money,
grants and artifacts, as a nonprofit,
tax-exempt entity.
The Society needs and solicits your
support and participation to help track
the footsteps of the past. As a member
you are offered the opportunity to
participate in Society activities and
most important, you will be helping
to preserve the heritage of surveying
and mapping for your children
and grandchildren.
We have members who are acknowledged
experts in the preservation,
restoration and identification of
surveying artifacts. Any request for
information will be forwarded to them
so they may answer you directly.
By Herb Kilmer
Please join us today in this
important work!
Board of Directors:
Norman Payne
Eugene Phipps
Don Marcott
Myron Lewis
Kristy Davis
MOTTO: COLLECT, PRESERVE,
DISPLAY
Historical
Biographical Note
William J. Lewis (born in Chester
County, Penn., April 5, 1812) First
elected County Surveyor of Santa Clara
County, California, 1852-1855...
His father was a teacher of the
Quaker denomination, skilled in mathematics.
William inherited this skill and
became a Surveyor/Engineer and
worked for various railroads throughout
the eastern states until 1842, at
which time he then taught in Philadelphia
for six years.
In 1849 he came to California and
spent a short time mining in Tuolumne
County, finally settling in Santa Clara
County where he farmed a small tract
near San Jose with Captain Winslow
and Mr. Hathaway. In 1850 he opened
a surveying/engineering office in San
Jose and from 1852-1855 served the
County as its surveyor. His surveys
were accurate, impartial and his maps
neat and reliable.
In 1855 he accepted the office of City
Surveyor in San Francisco and subsequently
surveyed the line of the San
Francisco-San Jose Railroad, Benicia-
Marysville Railroad, Western Pacific
Line from San Jose to Sacramento and
the San Jose-Gilroy Extension. In
1853 he was also a U.S. Deputy Surveyor
and in this capacity also
surveyed many large ranches and
Mexican Grants, among them the
famous 'Panoche Grande'. From 1867-
1870 he was Chief Engineer for the
construction of the San Francisco
Seawall. A Proud Heritage!
Next issue: A copy of his report to
the Mayor and Council of Placerville
for a railroad to Sacramento.
Past Activities
The Society displays surveying
artifacts for the general public. For
the past two years we have displayed
at the annual Living History Days,
at the San Jose Historical Museum.
The museum strives continually to
provide programs of educational
benefit to the community. We plan
to continue to participate.
To commemorate National Surveyors
Week and Surveyors Week in Santa
Clara County, during March and
April, 1991, we displayed surveying
equipment, historical maps, old photographs
and artifacts at the County
Government Center in San Jose.
In March, 1991, the community also
saw our display at the Pioneer/
Settlers Days Celebration held at
Evergreen Junior College in San Jose.
It was a very well received one-day
showing.
FRESNO: In January 1991 and January
1992, we displayed at the 30th and
31st Annual Surveying and Engineering
Conference sponsored by
California State University, Fresno...
a smashing success!
NEVADA: In March, 1992, still
another display was set up at the
California Land Surveyors Association
and Nevada Association of Land
Surveyors joint conference in Sparks...
We're EVERYWHERE!!!
Membership Invitation
The Mount Diablo Surveyors Historical
Society (MDSHS) is created to
enrich the general public by collecting,
preserving and displaying the
knowledge, technology and artifacts
of the land surveying profession.
Any person who has an interest in
our purpose is eligible for membership.
For more information contact:
Mount Diablo Surveyors
Historical Society
5042 Amethyst Court
San Jose, CA 95136-2601
Attn: Don Marcott, Secy/Treas Q
Fall 1992 The California Surveyor 27