Explore & Interact with other St. Louis Area Surveyors
✧ Membership ✧ Education Opportunities ✧ Career Advancement ✧2025 Chapter Meeting Schedule – Expandable sections
2025 Gun Raffle Tickets for Sale!
The St. Louis Chapter MSPS fundraiser for 2025
Henry All-Weather .45-70 Raffle!
Golf Outing w/ IPLSA Southwest Chapter 2025
Past Meetings
End of Summer Membership Meeting - August 27th, 2025
Some Riparian Boundary Surveys and Litigation I’ve Seen– Dr. Richard L. Elgin, PS, PE
August 27th, 2025Â at the James W. Rennick Riverfront Park, Washington, MO.
This meeting has been approved for 1.5 PDU’s by APEPLSPLA and is on the list of Pre-Approved Activities.
6:00 – 6:30 PM – St. Louis Chapter Business Meeting, Scholarship Fundraiser Tickets, while enjoying BBQ along the Missouri River by BFA, Inc.
6:30-7:30 PM – Presentation by Dr. Dick Elgin who will be discussing riparian boundaries and litigation examples. Outline here.
Summer Membership Meeting - June 18th, 2025
Our June 18th Membership meeting will be held at B. Halls 2 – The Event Space of the Family Grill.
3752 Monticello Plaza Drive, O’Fallon, MO 63304.
We will be in the private room and attendees may order dinner and drinks from the regular menu.
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
The presenter will be Matt Winkler & John Schaeffer, on behalf of Arch City Title, St. Louis Title, Benchmark Title and Security Title. The PDF outline for the evening’s presentation is HERE. The will be discussing title research related to surveys and the title research industry looking ahead, it is sure to be an informative and interesting evening. This will also be a great opportunity for surveyors from multiple counties, in MO & IL to meet the title company representatives.
Summer Membership Meeting - June 18th, 2025
Our June 18th Membership meeting will be held at B. Halls 2 – The Event Space of the Family Grill.
3752 Monticello Plaza Drive, O’Fallon, MO 63304.
We will be in the private room and attendees may order dinner and drinks from the regular menu.
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
The presenter will be Matt Winkler & John Schaeffer, on behalf of Arch City Title, St. Louis Title, Benchmark Title and Security Title. The PDF outline for the evening’s presentation is HERE. The will be discussing title research related to surveys and the title research industry looking ahead, it is sure to be an informative and interesting evening. This will also be a great opportunity for surveyors from multiple counties, in MO & IL to meet the title company representatives.
Spring Membership Meeting - March 26th 2025
Outline for MSPSSTL – 2025 Spring Membership Meeting
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Location: Office of TWM, Inc. 3701 S Lindbergh Blvd Suite 100, St. Louis, MO 63127
6:00 – 6:30 PM – Business Meeting, Non-Profit organization status, Scholarship Foundation, website updates, Ongoing St. Louis City/County limits original stones located and updated database and calculations by companies on website.
6:30 – 7:00 PM – New Survey Technician program, certified by the DOL and administrated by the StL Construction Forum. St. Louis Community College’s involvement, and a description of survey courses offered, career advancement and tuition paid for by St. Louis County Workforce Development.
Presentation to membership and open discussion with Tom McGovern from St. Louis County Community College, Tom Finan & Diana Wilhold from StL Construction Forum will present.
7:00 – 7:30 PM – AI in Surveying Presentation. Daily routines with AI, short-cutting work-flows. Walk-through Microsoft Office apps with AI assistance. Thoughtful prompting for precise outputs. Surveyor’s perspectives on AI questioning, input and liability during day-to-day use.
Demonstration showcasing useful AI platforms that can create detailed presentations and deliverables for projects.
Demonstration showcasing detailed prompting to create a Python app that allows coordinate data entry and calculates results in a user created input/output form or file.
Winter Membership Meeting / Surveyor's Roundtable - Dec. 11th, 2024
The Winter Membership Meeting / Holiday Survey Party will be held on December 11th at the offices of Clayton Engineering – 2268 Welsch Industrial Ct., St. Louis, MO 63146.
6-8pm. We have requested 1.5 PDUs for attendance of this meeting.
There will be a Hot Dog & Bratwurst Bar catered by Steve’s Hot Dogs
We will be presenting the family of Richard J. Barr with his Final Point, commissioned by NSPS.
We will be announcing our 2024-2025 St. Louis Chapter MSPS Scholarship recipient!
And the main discussion of the evening will be the surviving stones from the 1876 St. Louis City Charter, according to a survey by Julius Pitzman & Re-Survey by Thomas Featherson followed by a surveyor’s roundtable.
The full meeting outline can be found here.
Click Here for the 1.5 PDU Certificate
Golf Outing w/ IPLSA Southwest Chapter 2024
Summer/Fall Membership Meeting - August 21st, 2024
James W. Rennick Riverfront Park, Washington, MO.
6:30 – 7 PM – St. Louis Chapter Business Meeting, Scholarship Fundraiser Tickets and presentation about a new survey credit program by Midwest Geospatial Academy, while enjoying BBQ along the Missouri River by BFA, Inc.
7-8 PM – Presentation by Judge Ike Lamke of a court case that resulted in a decision about the location of the North-South section line between Section 4 and Section 5, Township 43 N., Range 2 W of the 5th PM.
Click here for Meeting Outline
Click here for all of the Case Files & Judge Ike Lamke Introduction
2024 Surveyors Cup Golf Tournament
Click here for Board Approved 1.5 PDU Certificate
Summer Membership Meeting - July 17th, 2024
The Summer Membership Meeting will be a presentation by County Planning and GIS Officials from our region to discuss their offices and procedures.
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm at 201 N. 2nd Street, St. Charles, MO 63301
Click Here for Board Approved 1.5 PDU Certificate
Spring Membership Meeting - March 27th 2024
Seiler Instruments – 3433 Tree Court Industrial Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63122
6:30pm- 8pm
The Spring Membership Meeting will include a presentation about the St. Louis Chapter 2024 Scholarships available for SIUE, State Tech & Optional other programs with presentations about that. Surveyors in Training and Associate members are strongly encouraged to attend!
The main presentation will discussion AI implementation in the Surveying Profession: Rapidly evolving software integrations, benefits and downsides, Surveyor’s responsibilities and awareness and preparedness of the unknown.
MSPS-STL March 2024 Meeting Program
Copilot ChatGPT4 DALL-E 3 Presentaion
StLSurveyor - Facebook Posts
Our Corporate Sponsors
October 4th, 1803.
To Big Bone Lick.
Photo: Map of Big Bone Lick c. 1831. from William Cooper’s Paper on Big Bone Lick, 1831.
William Cooper provides two early maps and a “Chronological Notice of the Explorers of Big-bone Lick” summarized here:
1739: Longueil is given bones by some Indians in his party
1765: Colonel George Croghan is first white visitor
1795: General William H. Harrison and French general Collaud, in separate parties
1804: Dr. Goforth of Cincinnati
1806: William Clark
On or near this date, LEWIS leaves Cincinnati for the Big Bone Lick fossil diggings. There, he expects to collect specimens to send to THOMAS JEFFERSON. Unfortunately, the owner of the site has ordered the removal of fossils stopped.
Elsewhere, tensions rise between Spain and the United States over the Louisiana Purchase.
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October 3rd, 1803.
Spoiled Smallpox Vaccine.
Photo: Ivory Vaccination Lancet. © 2023 by John W. Fisher. The ions, oxides, and salts present in metals could destroy the inoculant material. Hence, the use of ivory lancets like that shown above was common. The material was sometimes stored and administered from quills or thread.
LEWIS writes a letter to PRESIDENT JEFFERSON describing his time in Cincinnati. He tells JEFFERSON that his kinepox vaccine—used to prevent smallpox—has spoiled and also asks for a copy of the Louisiana Purchase treaty.
While in Paris in 1787, JEFFERSON and his slave SALLY HEMMINGS received their inoculations and since at least 1800, he had been working with various physicians to inoculate Americans against smallpox using the kinepox vaccine. The vaccine was originally collected from pustules of infected cattle in Europe.
Within a community, new inoculant material could be collected from the kinepox pustules of those successfully inoculated. Because the infected matter was difficult to store for more than two weeks, successfully transporting it to North America delayed its use there for many years and attempts to harvest the vaccine from North American cattle was not successful until after 1850.
In simplest terms, kinepox vaccine was difficult to maintain while traveling. The only method Lewis had while moving down the Ohio was to inoculate his crew, wait seven to nine days for their pustules to mature, and collect fresh material from that person. By 3 October 1803, the material Lewis was using failed to infect any recipients. There appears to be no record of Lewis ever receiving a new and effective supply.
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October 2nd, 1803.
The North Bend Of The Ohio.
Photo: Miami-Ohio River Confluence. Derived from an original photo by Joshua Claypool, April 2024. Several modern items have been removed to more resemble the Miami-Ohio confluence in 1803.
Photo of the Leaden Plat Deposited at Confluence of the Great Kanawha and the Ohio.
LEWIS is in Cincinnati while the boats continue down the Ohio. On or near this day, they pass through the river’s north bend where the Miami River adds numerous sandbars, ripples, and even a whirlpool. In 1749, French explorer CE'ELORON left a LEAD PLATE there claiming possession of the Ohio and all rivers draining into it.
In 1749, Pierre Joseph CĂ©loron de Blainville, traveled through the Ohio region. He left six lead plates like the one shown above claiming the land for France. Regarding the plate he left at the mouth of the Miami, he wrote:
"I embarked to gain the Rock River, and at the entrance I had a leaden plate buried, and the arms of the King attached to a tree, of which I drew up an official statement . . . . The inscription is always the same . . . . This done, I embarked; owing to the scarcity of water in this river, it took thirteen days in ascending it."
The leaden plate shown above—written in French—reads:
"In the year of 1749, of the reign of Louis the 15th, King of France, we Céloron... sent by Monsieur the Marquis de la Gallissonieré, Governor General of New France, to reestablish tranquility in some Indian villages in these provinces, have buried this plate at the mouth of the River Chinodahichiltha on the 18th of August near the River Ohio, otherwise Beautiful River, as a monument of the renewal of the possession we have taken of the said River Ohio, and of all those which empty into it, and of all the lands on both sides as far as the sources of said rivers, as enjoyed or ought to have been enjoyed by the kings of France....."
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October 1st, 1803.
Dispatching the boats.
Photo: Cincinnati to Miami River (Detail), 1834, north indicator added. From Cumings, Western Pilot.
LEWISs spends the day in Cincinnati and in the evening, he dispatches the boats down the Ohio to meet him below Big Bone Lick. We have no record of that journey, but THOMAS RODNEY encounters numerous rapids and bars in this stretch of the river.
"Dear Sir [THOMAS JEFFERSON],
On the evening of the 1st inst. I again dispatched my boat with orders to meet me at the Big Bone lick, to which place I shall pass by land, it being distant from hence only seventeen miles while by water it is fifty three, a distance that will require my boat in the present state of the water near three days to attain.
MERIWETHER LEWIS. Capt.
1st. U.S. Regt. Infty."
A week after Lewis sent the barge and pirogues down the Ohio without him, Rodney left Cincinnati in a bateau. He describes the river below town:
"Just below town we passed a stoney bar on Kentucky shore and rapid. A mile below this we passed another stoney bar in the river nearest to the Kentucky shore, yet the best channel tho small is next the Kentucky shore; however we passed in the middle of the river over the rapid, but the shoal is very full of wood.
—THOMAS RODNEY (8 October 1803)" ... See MoreSee Less
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September 28th, 1803.
Cincinnati Arrival.
Photo: Cincinnati in 1802-Henry Howe. Henry Howe, Historical Collections of the Ohio, 2:facing 44.
LEWIS arrives in Cincinnati, Ohio where he rests his crew and writes letters to PRESIDENT JEFFERSON and WILLIAM CLARK. He tells JEFFERSON he has come 500 miles and tells CLARK that he has two recruits that may be suitable for the expedition.
"Cincinnati, October 3rd 1803.
Dear Sir [THOMAS JEFFERSON],
I reached this place on the 28th Ult; it being necessary to take in a further supply of provisions here, and finding my men much fatiegued with the labour to which they have been subjected in descending the river, I determined to recruit them by giving them a short respite of a few days, having now obtained the distance of five hundred miles.
MERIWETHER LEWIS. Capt.
1st. U.S. Regt. Infty"
"Cincinnati Sept. 28th 1803.
Dear Clark,
I have two young men with me whom I have taken on trial and have not yet engaged them, but conditionally only, tho’ I think they will answer tolerably well.
MERIWETHER LEWIS."
The two young men were likely GEORGE SHANNON and JOHN COLTER. ... See MoreSee Less
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September 27th, 1803.
Little Miami River.
Photo: Old Baptist Church at Columbia, c. 1835. From Henry Howe, Historical Collections of the Ohio, 1847.
Columbia and its church (see figure) existed when Lewis traveled down the Ohio in 1803. O. M. Spencer, who attended the church and lived in the town as early as 1790, describes the town’s unfilled promise:
"It is, perhaps, unknown to many, that the broad and extensive plain stretching along the Ohio from the Crawfish to the mouth, and for three miles up the Little Miami, and now divided into farms, highly cultivated, was the ancient site of Columbia, a town laid out by Major Benjamin Stites, its original proprietor ; and by him and others once expected to become a large city, the great capital of the west."
—O. M. Spencer
RAPIDS ABOVE CINCINNATI
"It is 8 miles from Little Miama to Licking, 7 from Cullumbia to Cincinnati. The river winds from the mouth of Miama round to SW in its course to Lycking and is at this time a rapid almost all the way."
—THOMAS RODNEY (7 October 1803). ... See MoreSee Less
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