Surveying was critical to the development of our nation – in fact all four of the presidents on Mount Rushmore were surveyors or map-makers and many of those who fought for our independence were surveyors. Thomas Jefferson was the author U.S. Public Land Survey System which bases land divisions on a rectangular grid. This system became law in 1785 and continues to provide the backbone of economic development to this day.

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson was not only a surveyor, but he was actually instrumental in the design of the United States itself? The story of Jefferson’s career is the story of nation-building, with surveying as its foundation.