On June 21st 1967 at 2:30 EST. a simultaneous dedication in all
Capital cities of Canada took place to honour the land surveyors of
this country. The twelve Centennial monuments and plaques were
unveiled to the public showing the important part the surveyor
played in the exploration and mapping of our nation. Each capital
city will have a brass cap which is a First Post in a unified
system of precisely co-ordinated survey points. Some monuments have
a document cache or a time capsule encased to be opened on our
200th birthday.
The first survey of land in Canada was made in 1625 on the
St. Charles River near the City of Quebec and was made by the man
recognized as Canada's first surveyor, Samuel de Champlain.
John Snow was sent out in 1867 to survey
the Red River.Two years later J. Dennis, Milner Hart and Major
A.Webb were sent out to survey a system based on Townships 9 miles
square with 64 sections of 800 acres each. In 1871 a new system
consisting on Townships of 6 miles square, with 36 sections of 640
acres was implemented.
DSL Surveror William Thompson met Sitting
Bull and his war party after Custers last stand while surveying the
prairies.
To Log your find e-mail a description of what is directly
east and west of the Brass Cap. You can include pictures of the
monument if you'd like.
First Post locations:
Ottawa
Whitehorse
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Fredericton
St John's
Charlottetown
Halifax
Quebec City
Toronto
Victoria
Regina
