Survey Monuments are set to be durable, recoverable boundary markers. In California, modern survey monuments are required to be durable and have a surveyor’s last name and license number. Most surveyors today set iron pipe or rebar monuments when the corner marker is being set in a location comprised of dirt. Manufactured caps (either plastic or metal) are typically then placed on top of the rod. At corner locations where concrete or other hardscape is encountered, a wider number of choices are made to set a permanent monument.

As you go further back into history, surveyors and homeowners set a wider variety of monuments. Land conveyances were performed and the monuments used to mark the lands being bought and sold were frequently items laying around the property, or even items built on the property. Vehicle components, scrap metal, or stone piles might be used to denote the boundaries of a property.

What follows is a non-comprehensive gallery of found monuments. The vast majority of the images provided are from the personal practice of Kyle Brook, however the goal is to include photos from other contributors.

How do you know if you found a monument?

The only way to be sure is to hire a surveyor.