A surveyor who made his mark on the nation

Written By Debra Oakes

Surveyors have special reason to celebrate President’s Day, since Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and even Teddy Roosevelt all had surveying and map-making in their backgrounds. Jefferson’s surveying experience was ideal training for his presidency, enabling him to see the need for the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) and seize the opportunity to add the Louisiana Purchase (827,000 square miles) to the territory of the United States.

By the mid-1800s, the westward expansion was continuing unabated, despite land being inhabited by indigenous peoples as well as claimed by other countries. The U.S. Government was focused on adding territory and finding ways to connect the West with the rest of the country, even as the nation seemed to be splitting apart.

It was during this tumultuous time that surveyors played a key role in defining the borders of the growing nation.

The Mexican-American Conflict

Inaccurate map used for setting the border between Mexico and the U.S. for the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

In 1845, the U.S. annexed the territory called Texas that was also claimed by Mexico. War broke out and after two years of fighting, Mexico ceded present-day California, Nevada, and Utah as well as parts of present-day Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

The U.S. agreed to pay $15 million for the physical damage of the war and assumed $3.25 million of debt already owed by the Mexican government to U.S. citizens. Mexico relinquished its claims on Texas and accepted the Rio Grande as its northern border with the United States. As part of the agreement (known as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo) a U.S./Mexican commission was formed to physically establish the border.

Andrew Belcher Gray was appointed as the chief surveyor of the U.S./Mexican commission under the authority of Commissioner John Bartlett, who was negotiating the details of the transfer of lands and codifying the border.

Accurate Texas / Mexico border map created by Andrew Gray but credited to William Emory

Gray was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1820 to the son of the British Consul. He began surveying as a teenager and helped Capt. Andrew Talcott in the survey of the Mississippi River delta. He joined the Texas Navy in 1839, but, apparently disenchanted, he left the navy. In 1839 and 1840 he served the Republic of Texas and General Memucan Hunt in surveying the United States-Texas boundary. He also surveyed the copper-rich Keweenaw Peninsula, part of Michigan that protrudes into Lake Superior.

Old maps aren’t necessarily good maps

Map depicting US Territorial Acquisitions, including the Gadsden Purchase.

It turns out that during the boundary negotiations with Mexico, Bartlett was working from a 25-year-old map that was inaccurate. Rather than basing his agreement on the land surveyed by Andrew Gray, Bartlett used the map and consequently gave away the Rio Grande's Mesilla Valley (located in present-day West Texas and New Mexico).

Map of New Sand Diego and surrounding area by Andrew Gray originally created in 1850.

Gray had recognized this valley as strategically important for the future construction of a railroad and was infuriated by the omission. He refused to sign the negotiated document which required the signature of the Chief Surveyor. Bartlett solved the problem by removing Gray and replacing him with surveyor William Emory. To this day, the surveys Gray conducted, including the territory from the Rio Grande down the Gila River to its junction to the Colorado River, and all the way across southern California to the Pacific Ocean in what is now San Diego are credited to Emory, rather than Gray.

Ironically, the Mesilla Valley ultimately ended up as part of the United States when President Pierce sent James Gadsden to purchase additional land from Mexico and in 1853 the Gadsden Purchase was completed.

New San Diego

Gray’s expertise was soon employed by another president. In 1849, he was appointed chief surveyor of the U.S. Boundary Commission by President James K. Polk. As soon as he arrived in San Diego, he immediately surveyed the shoreline around the bay.

At that time, the town of San Diego was located more than a mile from navigable water. During his survey, Gray realized that a site closer to the bay would make a much better site for a city. Plus, it offered perfect topography for future railroad lines.

Gray proposed the idea to several local investors and with their backing, he founded the New Town of San Diego, where he built a cottage. Unfortunately, the timing of the project was wrong. In 1851, a financial depression hit, and on-going problems with existing inhabitants of the area caused the town to fail – but not permanently. After the end of the Civil War, people moved back into New San Diego and established a thriving city that we now know simply as San Diego.

Gray continued working as a surveyor in the southwest, and in 1852, Gray was recruited by the Texas Western Railroad to lead a survey from San Antonio to the Colorado River and into California – clearly he hadn’t given up on his idea of a southern transcontinental railroad. He eventually settled in Tucson, Arizona (ironically, part of the Gadsden purchase), continuing with his surveying business.

Civil War

In 1861, he joined the Confederate Army as captain of the infantry, First Division, Western Department. As chief engineer, he fortified Island No. 10, Tennessee, in the Mississippi River. On April 16, 1862, while conducting a survey for Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard, Gray was killed when the boiler of a steamboat he was traveling on blew up. He was survived by his wife and three daughters.

The Civil War officially ended on April 9, 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. Just a few days later, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14th, a loss we still feel today.

Most surveyors haven’t become famous or had the opportunity to lead the country. Many, like Andrew Gray, as mostly forgotten — but their work, like his, continues to leave its mark on our lives. The City of San Diego owes it’s beautiful and practical site to Gray and other surveyors. Their arduous and precise work, from laying out property lines to finding a path for railroads and highways, to marking international borders, have powered the economic growth that created our thriving nation.

Presidents and surveyors – true nation-builders.

Since 1972, Berntsen has been serving surveyors with pride, offering high-quality products and superior customer service. We’re here for you!

Debra Oakes
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