Surveyors Week Spotlight: Adam Goertzen’s Not‑So‑Everyday Finds Across Nebraska
Surveyors don’t just measure land. They uncover the physical evidence that keeps Nebraska’s property boundaries, infrastructure, and history grounded in fact. And sometimes, that evidence has been waiting more than a century to be rediscovered.
This Surveyors Week, we’re spotlighting Adam Goertzen, whose work—along with the work of other JEO surveyors he collaborates with—shows just how much skill, curiosity, and persistence it takes to keep our land records accurate and our projects moving forward. As a survey project manager at JEO, as well as the county surveyor for Hamilton County in western Nebraska, Adam plays a crucial role in keeping records accurate, resolving tricky boundary questions, and ensuring public projects start with the right information.
County crews, landowners, and fellow surveyors often call Adam when something unusual needs to be found. What he and his teammates uncover is both cool and essential to resolving property disputes, designing infrastructure, and ensuring we honor the original surveys that our towns and cities were built upon.
Unearthing a Corner Hidden Since 1892
While working with the Hamilton County Highway Department, Adam helped uncover an unrecorded 1″x18″ pipe likely set sometime after 1948. The crew had been digging too far south, but after shifting the search a few feet north, the pipe appeared on the north edge of the hole. Digging deeper revealed the remains of an 8″ wood post set by D.B. Parks on October 24, 1892—buried eight feet under the county road.
Historic Stones in Harlan County
In Harlan County, the team found an 8″x13″x4″ red flagstone set by George Reed on October 20, 1905, sitting just flush with the pasture ground next to a fence post. It also happened to be surveyor Andrew Goertzen’s first stone find. A second find in the county involved lifting an 8″x8″x14″ limestone and discovering a ¾”x24″ gas pipe beneath it, originally placed by Antone Hofmeyer on December 5, 1901.
Discoveries Near the Colorado/Nebraska Border
On a project in Dundy County, Brandon Schroeder located a GLO resurvey section corner out in open pasture near the state line. The mule deer shed he found at the same time was an added perk. The team also uncovered a 1912 GLO brass cap stamped “9MP,” marking the ninth mile north of Nebraska’s southwest corner.
A Cedar Post From 1879
One of Adam’s favorite finds was a cedar post set by D.B. Parks on April 4, 1879, along with a ½” square iron placed by B.O. Hagelin in 1937. After clearing buried barbed wire and thick sod for over an hour, he hit the cedar post with his shovel—right where he believed the center-section corner should be. Three surveyors had searched unsuccessfully for that corner in the past, so finding it definitely earned a happy dance.
Surveying Even on Vacation
Even on family trips, Adam keeps an eye out for old monuments. While hiking with his sons along the boundary of Fort Robinson State Park, he found a 1941 brass monument from the former military reservation. Nearby were cast-iron markers from 1920 stamped U.S. MIL. RES’N. His kids may not have matched his enthusiasm, but they’ve learned to play along.
Why These Finds Matter
Surveying is part science, part detective work, and part stewardship of the past, and Adam and our survey crews embody all three. The monuments, stones, posts, and pipes they uncover aren’t just interesting discoveries; they’re critical pieces of information that strengthen our projects today and preserve the accuracy of our land records for generations to come.
