Building History

Portland architect and surveyor Absalom Hallock (1827-1892) performed a survey of Astoria, OR, in 1864. Unfortunately, Hallock's survey contained errors that became a problem for property owners and city officials laying out streets between 1864 and 1890.

The Daily Astorianreported on 11/25/1890: "That portion of the city of Astoria known as Shively's Astoria was acquired by Shively from the United States under the Donation law of 1850. The land was surveyed and laid off in lots and blocks and the plat thereof, filed in the clerk's office in 1850. In 1864, Shively had the land resurveyed by A.B. Hallock, and on June 24, 1864, the board of trustees of the town of Astoria, declared by ordinance No. 3, that the survey made by Hallock to be the true and legal survey, and accordingly a plat of the same wa duly recorded in the clerk's office of Clatsop county. It was discovered in making the plat that it covered more ground than Shively owned, and an attempt was made in 1875 to correct it. It was prior to this date that Shively had sold a portion of the claim ot James Welch. It was agreed between the owners that the excess should be taken from that portion of the land east of Broadway. In 1876, James Welch brought suit in the circuit court to have the line correctly established, and by order of the court, Haden Gearhart was appointed to survey the land which he did and a final judgement was made in the suit adopting the Gearhart survey."

The City Attorney concluded in 1890: "Since that time different city surveyors have run lines for street purposes and private individuals desirous of improving property, but owing to the absence of permanent monuments, many errors hae been made which will work a hardship on certain property owners who have erected biuldings according to the different surveys furnished them, which according to the Gearhart survey will bring their buildings in the street from ten to twenty feet. In my opinion, the survey made by Gearhart by order of the court, and upon which a decree and judgement was made making this the correct survey, is the correct survey and the one that must be followed in future surveys." (See "Those Survey Discrepancies," Daily Astorian, 11/25/1890, p. 3.)

PCAD id: 24584