In June of 1853, surveyors Robert Elder and Henry Gile, under contract with the federal government, set a survey post on what became Orchard Lane in Melrose.

Set in an area described by the surveyors as land surrounded by hills covered with oaks and laurel, the post was one of the first property markers in Douglas County. It, and countless other markers, still helps determine legal boundaries.

“They're the basis of all land (holdings),” county Surveyor Randy Smith said.

Surveyors with the federal government began marking land boundaries before Oregon was a state. Today, the Surveyor Office's records are still used to settle land claims and disputes. The county District Attorney's Office has even subpoenaed records to prove defendants sold drugs within 1,000 feet of a school.

From Douglas County's beginnings in 1852, surveyors divided the county into six-mile squares. The surveyor's office maintains records from those early days, including the hand-written notes of 19th century surveyors.

“It's like a history museum in there,” Douglas County Commissioner Doug Robertson said.

The Orchard Lane post was set three years after Congress passed the Oregon Donation Land Act and barely a year after Douglas County was formed by carving out a portion of the former Umpqua County.

The land act, passed through the efforts of Samuel Thurston, Oregon's first territorial delegate to Congress, promoted homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory — which included present-day Oregon, Idaho and Washington — by providing 160 acres of free land to any single white man or 320 acres to a married couple.

The Orchard Lane property was last surveyed in 2006 and the original post and other markers added later were still visible.

The surveyor general of the United States conducted the first surveys in Oregon. From Douglas County's beginning in 1852, surveyors posted markers at corners spaced a half mile apart.

In 1854, the territorial legislature provided for elected county surveyors, according to the Oregon Blue Book. Oregon is one of nine states — and the only one besides Colorado in the West — with elected county surveyors. Four other states allow counties to elect or appoint a surveyor, according to the National Association of Counties.

County commissioners appointed Smith to the office earlier this month to replace retiring Surveyor Romey Ware. Smith, who has worked in the office for nearly 29 years, will have to stand for election in the file, and he's the only candidate so far. Filing ends Aug. 24.

Cutbacks to the federal timber safety net have caused the office to steadily shrink. There were 17 employees in the department when Smith came to work for the county. Now there are six total, including Smith.

“We've tried to do the best we can. We pride ourselves on providing good customer service,” Smith said.

The owner of Landmark Surveying of Roseburg, Mark Heimburger, said the Douglas County office stands out among the rest.

“We work all over the state, and there isn't anyone who does it better,” he said.

Some county surveyor offices have cut back on hours and even closed for one or two days a week. Others lack employees dedicated to customer service, Heimburger said.

“They put customers first here,” he said.

The county posts survey records online. Even Elder and Gile's notes from 1853 can be called up at www.co.douglas.or.us/surveyor. The surveyors gave detailed descriptions of the landscape, observing that “the soil on the hills is generally second-rate though sometime(s) third-rate and other first-rate and it is said will produce better wheat than the valleys.”

With a 35 percent budget cut looming in the 2011-12 fiscal year, due to cuts in the federal safety net, Smith said he worries about being able to continue providing top rate service. With a smaller staff, he said he also is concerned about the lack of opportunities for younger people to come into the office and learn the system before experienced employees retire. It takes several years, he said, for workers to gain the knowledge and experience to do the work.

“Everyone has technical skills that are highly specialized. You can't drop just anyone into these positions,” he said.

• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 541-957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.