Visitors to the Department of Natural Resources’ Land Survey Program’s Web site are now able to perform a number of searches from their computers on the vast holdings at the state’s Land Survey Repository.
Searches on the Land Survey Index include legal descriptions (township, range and section), subdivision plats, U.S. survey number, General Land Office plats and field notes by township, surveyor name or number and City of St. Louis city blocks and roads.
Land survey documents play an important role in the determination of land boundaries and corners. Private land surveyors, title insurers, recorders, assessors, attorneys, real estate professionals and landowners rely on these documents. Land survey documents are provided to the public in ever increasing numbers. Staff in a fraction of the time can now complete customer requests that required a week to research.
“Having the index on the Web is an exciting feature for us and definitely moves us into the digital world. The online index will provide the ability to research and order any of the 1.3 million survey documents available from the Land Records Repository,” said Houston native Mike Flowers, who is the state land surveyor and director of the Land Survey Program with the department’s division of geology and land survey in Rolla.
A popular method for searching is using the “subdivision plats” search feature. A query on “Phelps County” for subdivisions named “Brown” yields 12 records, including those named Brown, Browns and Brownwood. The document date, the surveyor’s name or number and other references are returned that aid not only the person requesting the information but also staff at the state land surveyor’s office in filling orders for plats, field notes and other boundary documents. Citizens can check out the new service at www.dnr.mo.gov/molandsurveyindex/