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This page last updated: 10/01/2004
Metadata created using Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines
| Originator | Minnesota Land Management Information Center |
| Abstract | Currently housed at the Office of the Secretary of State are Minnesota's original public land survey plats which were created during the first government land survey of the state by the U.S. Surveyor General's Office during the years 1848 to 1907. This collection of more than 3,600 maps includes later General Land Office (GLO) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maps - up to the year 2001. Minnesota's survey plat maps serve as the fundamental legal records for real estate in the state; all property titles and descriptions stem from them. They also serve as an essential resource for surveyors and as an analytical tool for the state's physical geography prior to European settlement. Finally, they serve as a testimony to years and years of hard work by the surveying community, often under challenging conditions. In recent years the deteriorating physical condition of the older maps and the needs of technologically more sophisticated researchers, who require access to the maps, have made handling the original paper records increasingly less practical. To meet this challenge, the Office of the Secretary of State, the State Archives of the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Department of Administration's Land Management Information Center and the Minnesota Association of County Surveyors collaborated in a digitization project which produced high quality (800 DPI), 24 bit color images of the maps in standard TIFF, JPEG and PDF formats - nearly 1.5 terabytes worth of data. Funding was provided by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. |
| Browse Graphic | View a sample of the data. |
| Time Period of Content Date | |
| Currentness Reference | The original map documents (3,609) were scanned and saved in a variety of digital formats (TIFF, JPEG and PDF) formats during the period of May through August, 2003. These maps range in date from 1848 through 2002. |
| Access Constraints | None |
| Use Constraints | These images have NOT been certified by the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State as exact, digital copies of the original source documents. These images are NOT geo-referenced. |
| Distributor Organization | Land Management Information Center |
| Ordering Instructions | Electronic PDF files of all images are available for download through an interactive selection tool at: www.mngeo.state.mn.us/glo. Additional digital formats (JPEG) and media (paper, CD, DVD) will be available at a later date. For more information, contact John Hoshal using the contact information listed above. |
| Online Linkage | Click here to download data. (See Ordering Instructions above for details.) By clicking here, you agree to the notice in "Distribution Liability" in Section 6 of this metadata. |
Go to Section:
1. Identification Information
2. Data Quality Information
3. Spatial Data Organization Information
4. Spatial Reference Information
5. Entity and Attribute Information
6. Distribution Information
7. Metadata Reference Information
| Section 1 | Identification Information | Top of page | ||
| Originator | Minnesota Land Management Information Center | |||
| Title | Minnesota's Original Public Land Survey (PLS) Maps - Conversion to Digital Images (TIFF, JPEG and PDF formats) | |||
| Abstract | Currently housed at the Office of the Secretary of State are Minnesota's original public land survey plats which were created during the first government land survey of the state by the U.S. Surveyor General's Office during the years 1848 to 1907. This collection of more than 3,600 maps includes later General Land Office (GLO) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maps - up to the year 2001. Minnesota's survey plat maps serve as the fundamental legal records for real estate in the state; all property titles and descriptions stem from them. They also serve as an essential resource for surveyors and as an analytical tool for the state's physical geography prior to European settlement. Finally, they serve as a testimony to years and years of hard work by the surveying community, often under challenging conditions. In recent years the deteriorating physical condition of the older maps and the needs of technologically more sophisticated researchers, who require access to the maps, have made handling the original paper records increasingly less practical. To meet this challenge, the Office of the Secretary of State, the State Archives of the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Department of Administration's Land Management Information Center and the Minnesota Association of County Surveyors collaborated in a digitization project which produced high quality (800 DPI), 24 bit color images of the maps in standard TIFF, JPEG and PDF formats - nearly 1.5 terabytes worth of data. Funding was provided by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. |
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| Purpose | Minnesota's Public Land Survey maps were converted to digital imagery due to: 1. Protect the original maps from further deterioration. 2. Meet the needs of the more technologically sophisticated researchers by providing direct access to digital images. 3. Provide greater public access to the maps and the information they convey. |
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| Time Period of Content Date | ||||
| Currentness Reference | The original map documents (3,609) were scanned and saved in a variety of digital formats (TIFF, JPEG and PDF) formats during the period of May through August, 2003. These maps range in date from 1848 through 2002. | |||
| Progress | Complete | |||
| Maintenance and Update Frequency | Unknown | |||
| Spatial Extent of Data | Minnesota, Statewide | |||
| Bounding Coordinates | -97.5 -89.0 49.5 43.0 |
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| Place Keywords | Minnesota, Statewide, Township, Range | |||
| Theme Keywords | Original Survey Maps, GLO Maps, Plat Maps, Public Land Survey, Cultural Features, General Land Office | |||
| Theme Keyword Thesaurus | ||||
| Access Constraints | None | |||
| Use Constraints | These images have NOT been certified by the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State as exact, digital copies of the original source documents. These images are NOT geo-referenced. | |||
| Contact Person Information | Linda Crawley,
Minnesota Office of The Secretary of State 180 State Office Building St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 Phone: 651.201.1346 FAX: 651.215.0683 E-mail: Linda.Crawley@state.mn.us | |||
| Browse Graphic | View a sample of the data. | |||
| Browse Graphic File Description | A portion of Township 48, Range 16 W. (Jay Cook State Park) at 800 DPI, dated 1858 (MHS ID: 390) | |||
| Associated Data Sets | 1. The original survey maps (paper, linen, etc.,) of Minnesota are currently housed at the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State. 2. The original surveyors field notes are housed at the Minnesota Historical Society 3. GIS files derived from original survey information are available from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: a.) Bearing trees used as references of landmarks during the original Minnesota Public Land Survey http://deli.dnr.state.mn.us/metadata/full/btreept3.html b.) Public Land Survey Corners with Presettlement Vegetation information - http://deli.dnr.state.mn.us/metadata/full/btvegpt3.html c.) Marschner's Original Presettlement Vegetation Map of Minnesota - http://deli.dnr.state.mn.us/metadata/full/prvegpy1.html |
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| Section 2 | Data Quality Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Attribute Accuracy | ||||
| Logical Consistency | ||||
| Completeness | Every effort was made to ensure that all available PLS plat maps for Minnesota were scanned and that every township in the state was accounted for. For townships in adjacent states that border Minnesota, please contact the appropriate state agency. | |||
| Horizontal Positional Accuracy | ||||
| Lineage | Step 1. MAP INVENTORY AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT The digitization process began first with an inventory of the map collection currently stored at the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State (SOS). The inventory was conducted by the Minnesota Historical Society's (MHS) State Archives staff during the summer of 2002. Each map was examined and assigned (and marked - on the back) a unique MHS ID. Step 2. SCANNING In late 2002, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) contracted with the Minnesota Department of Administration's Land Management Information Center (LMIC) (now MnGeo) to prepare the scanning bid specifications (working with Administration's Contract Management Division), oversee the scanning process and provide final QA/QC support and create PDF versions of the scanned maps. A contract to scan the maps was awarded to: Access Imagery Inc. 1180 South 800 East Orem, UT 84097 Tel: 1-800-687-1265 Access Imagery performed all scanning at the Office of the Secretary of State. Access Imagery's project manager was Scott Wheelhouse; principal scanning operator was Lee Ann Lavender. During the period of May through July of 2003, Access Imagery Inc. scanned 3,605 maps using the following equipment and specifications: Files: 3, 605 (of 3,609) maps were scanned by Access Imagery Inc. Scanner: Vidar TruScan Atlas Color Scanner, 40 wide-format scanner 4WD document transport (top and bottom traction) Geometric accuracy of the document transport mechanism = +/-0.10% 3 CCD Cameras - 4 rows of sensors per CCD (R/G/B/Grayscale) 5333 pixels per CCD row Direct optical path from scan aperture to cameras, no mirrors SCSI-2 interface Scanner Software: Vidar TruScan2 ver. 1.2.4.5 with Vidar SCSI Toolkit ver. 2.2 Resolution: 800 DPI horizontal (interpolated) x 800 DPI vertical (optical) Color Output: scanned at 36-bit RGB, color output = 24-bit RGB Product #1: TIFF images File Processing - TIFF: Each image was de-skewed using the Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary option within Adobe PhotoShop 7. The measure tool allows the user to mark a vertical or horizontal line and automatically populates the rotate option with the appropriate correction value. File Storage - TIFF: Images were saved on local hard drives and later written to DVD (two copies) using a Primera Bravo Disc Publisher and Veritas' Prassi PrimoDVD ver. 2.0.837 software. DVD Media was Mitsui 4x speed, 4.7GB, white, inkjet printable, Ver. 2.0 spec, general purpose, silver DVD-R (Mitsui Part# 00041752). DVDs were labeled using a SureThing CD Labeler, Primera Edition, ver. 3.11. Product #2: JPEG images File Processing: JPEG: Using the TIFF file as the source, Access Imagery Inc. prepared a JPEG version of each image using the following procedures: Using Adobe PhotoShop 7.0, an Unsharp Mask (USM) was applied to each TIFF image. USM settings could vary from map to map, as the appropriate level of USM is subjective. Baseline settings are given, with probable ranges in parentheses. Amount: 300% (200% - 500%) Radius: .3 pixels (.3 - .5 pixels) Threshold: 0 levels The enhanced image was then saved in a JPEG format using a Medium (5) compression. File Storage - JPEG: Images were saved on a Maxtor 250 gigabyte portable hard drive and later written to DVD (four copies) using a Primera Bravo Disc Publisher and Veritas' Prassi PrimoDVD ver. 2.0.837 software. DVD Media were Mitsui 4x speed, 4.7GB, white, inkjet printable, Ver. 2.0 spec, general purpose, silver DVD-R (Mitsui Part# 00041752). DVDs were labeled using a SureThing CD Labeler, Primera Edition, ver. 3.11. Step 3. QA/QC Access Imagery Inc.: All TIFF and JPEG images were reviewed for quality purposes prior to being burned to a DVD. Each of the 291 DVD-Rs containing TIFF images were verified by the Disc Publisher software with the exception of the last 35 which were manually loaded on a separate PC and visually reviewed for readability. This change was done to allow the burner to spend 100% of its time burning discs. A similar process was used for the 5 DVDs containing JPEG images. LMIC: A random sample (~2%) of TIFF and JPEG images produced by Access Imagery was conducted by staff. This process included opening the file with Adobe Photoshop 6, enlarging the image (to actual pixel size) and panning around the image to ensure it met the quality specifications. During this review process, 15 corrupt DVDs containing TIFF images were discovered. Access Imagery staff returned to Minnesota in July, 2003 to rescan the affected maps. Corrected TIFF and JPEG DVDs were delivered to LMIC in early August and re-checked. Step 4. MISCELLANEOUS SCANNING: A total of four maps were scanned by two other organizations (see the database for TIFF image source): During the quality control process conducted by LMIC in early August, 2003, staff discovered that one map had not been scanned by Access Imagery staff. To save time, the map was sent to Historical Information Gatherers located in the Twin Cities and scanned using the following equipment and specification: Historical Information Gatherers, Inc. 1589 Highway 7, Suite B-2 Hopkins, MN 55305 Tel: 952-253-2004 File: t101r45w5fi0.tif (Township 101, Range 45 West, 5th Principal Meridian) Scanner: Titan Atlas 12mm Color Scanner consisting of Tri-linear CCD arrays Scanning software: Vidar TruScan version 1.4.2 Resolution: Optical 400 dpi (horizontal / vertical). The image was interpolated to be 500 dpi (horizontal / vertical) Color output : 24 bit Product #1: TIFF (unaltered) File Processing (TIFF): LMIC staff cropped the raw TIFF file from HIG using Adobe Photoshop 6. No de-skewing was performed. File Storage - TIFF: Images were saved on a local hard drive and later written to a DVD (two copies) using a Primera Composer Pro DVD writer, Prassi version 2 software. DVD Media was Mitsui 4x speed, 4.7GB, white, inkjet printable, general purpose, silver DVD-R (Mitsui Part# 00041752). DVDs were labeled using a Primera's Signature Pro labeler. Product #2: JPEG File Processing JPEG: LMIC staff used Adobe PhotoShop 6.0 to create the JPEG version. First a Sharpen filter (regular) was applied to the cropped TIFF file and saved as a JPEG (medium; Level 5). File Storage - JPEG: Images were saved on a Maxtor 250 gigabyte portable hard drive and later written to a DVD (four copies) using a Primera Composer Pro DVD writer, Prassi version 2 software. DVD Media was Mitsui 4x speed, 4.7GB, white, inkjet printable, general purpose, silver DVD-R (Mitsui Part# 00041752). DVDs were labeled using a Primera's Signature Pro labeler. Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) During the inventory conducted by MHS staff and subsequent work performed by Access Imagery, it became apparent that the original survey maps for three townships in Minnesota were missing from the Office of the Secretary of State's map drawers. To complete the scanning project, hand drawn duplicates housed at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources were scanned by MHS staff using the following specifications. Files: t041r23w4fi01 (Township 41, Range 23 West, 4th Principal Meridian) t156r51w5fi01 (Township 156, Range 51 West, 5th Principal Meridian) t160r35w5fi01 (Township 160, Range 35 West, 5th Principal Meridian) Scanner: Zeutschel Omniscan 5000, CCD-line with 5150 pixels Scanning software: Omniscan 5.0 Resolution: Optical 300 dpi (horizontal / vertical). No interpolation was performed. Color output : 8 bit (256 levels) Grayscale Product #1: TIFF (unaltered) File Processing - TIFF: LMIC staff cropped the raw TIFF file from HIG using Adobe Photoshop 6. No de-skewing was performed. File Storage - TIFF: Images were saved on local hard drives and later written to a DVD (four copies) using a Primera Composer Pro DVD writer, Prassi version 2 software. DVD Media was Mitsui 4x speed, 4.7GB, white, inkjet printable, general purpose, silver DVD-R (Mitsui Part# 00041752). DVDs were labeled using a Primera's Signature Pro labeler. Product #2: JPEG File Processing - JPEG: To create the JPEG and PDF versions, LMIC staff applied a Sharpen filter (regular) to the cropped TIFF file which was then saved in a JPEG (medium; Level 5) format. File Storage - JPEG: Images were saved on a Maxtor 250 gigabyte portable hard drive and later written to a DVD (four copies) using a Primera Composer Pro DVD writer, Prassi version 2 software. DVD Media was Mitsui 4x speed, 4.7GB, white, inkjet printable, general purpose, silver DVD-R (Mitsui Part# 00041752). DVDs were labeled using a Primera's Signature Pro labeler. QA/QC: LMIC staff reviewed each image type during processing and publishing on DVD. Step 5. PDF IMAGE CREATION Files: All 3,609 JPEG images were converted by LMIC staff from a JPEG to a PDF format. File Processing PDF: Two programs were used to convert the JPEG images a PDF format. JPG2PDF (a shareware product developed by SANFACE Software © Version 2.4, 25th April 2002) was used to convert 3,369 JPEG images. Adobe PhotoShop 6.0 was used to convert 240 JPEG images using a medium (Level 5) compression. File Storage - PDF: Images were saved on a Maxtor 250 gigabyte portable hard drive and later written to a DVD (four copies) using a Primera Composer Pro DVD writer, Prassi version 2 software. DVD Media was Mitsui 4x speed, 4.7GB, white, inkjet printable, general purpose, silver DVD-R (Mitsui Part# 00041752). DVDs were labeled using a Primera's Signature Pro labeler. QA/QC: LMIC staff visually reviewed 2% random sample of 3,609 PDF images. All 3,609 PDF images were opened with Adobe PhotoShop 6.0 in a batch operation. |
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| Source Scale Denominator | ||||
| Section 3 | Spatial Data Organization Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Native Data Set Environment | TIFF | |||
| Geographic Reference for Tabular Data | ||||
| Spatial Object Type | Raster | |||
| Vendor Specific Object Types | ||||
| Tiling Scheme | Public Land Survey Township | |||
| Section 4 | Spatial Reference Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Horizontal Coordinate Scheme | ||||
| Ellipsoid | ||||
| Horizontal Datum | ||||
| Horizontal Units | ||||
| Distance Resolution | ||||
| Section 5 | Entity and Attribute Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Entity and Attribute Overview | The file is an image made up of a combination of features arranged cartographically. The individual elements such as roads and section lines cannot be extracted from the image. See the lineage section of this document, step 1, for a description of the image attributes. | |||
| Entity and Attribute Detailed Citation | ||||
| Section 6 | Distribution Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Publisher | Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State and Minnesota Department of Administration, State and Community Services - Land Management Information Center | |||
| Publication Date | 2004 | |||
| Contact Person Information | John Hoshal GIS Project Services Supervisor Land Management Information Center 300 Centennial Building; 658 Cedar Street St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 Phone: 612.296.1202 FAX: 612.296.1212 E-mail: John.Hoshal@state.mn.us |
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| Distributor's Data Set Identifier | ||||
| Distribution Liability | Limitations Although extensive effort has been made to produce error free and complete data, all geographic information has limitations due to the scale, resolution, date and interpretation of the original source materials. You should consult available data documentation (metadata) for these particular data to determine their limitations and the precision to which they depict distance, direction, location or other geographic characteristics. These data may be subject to periodic change without prior notification. No Warranty These data are provided as is, without any warranty whatsoever, including but not limited to any warranty as to their performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Liability The entire risk as to the results of the use of these data is assumed by the user. LMIC is not responsible for any interpretation or conclusions based on these data made by those who acquire or use it. LMIC shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, compensatory or consequential damages or third party claims resulting from the use of these data, even if LMIC has been advised of the possibility of such potential loss or damage. In States that do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, you may not use these data. Redistribution Conditions In obtaining these data from LMIC, it is understood that you and/or your organization have the right to use them for any internal purpose. If you modify them, you should document those changes in a metadata record that should accompany all redistributed data. If you transmit or provide these data in any form to another user, the data MUST be accompanied by a copy of this disclaimer and all documentation provided with the original data set including the full metadata record. Data Delivered on Electronic Media If these data have been requested from LMIC on magnetic media, CD-ROM or any other physical media, LMIC will deliver this product in the computer-readable format agreed upon with the requestor. LMIC will re-issue these data if they are determined unreadable by correctly adjusted computer input devices, or when the medium is delivered in a damaged condition. Requests for re-issue of this digital data product must be made within 30 days of the date shipped from LMIC. |
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| Transfer Format Name | JPEG, PDF | |||
| Transfer Format Version Number | ||||
| Transfer Size | ||||
| Ordering Instructions | Electronic PDF files of all images are available for download through an interactive selection tool at: www.mngeo.state.mn.us/glo. Additional digital formats (JPEG) and media (paper, CD, DVD) will be available at a later date. For more information, contact John Hoshal using the contact information listed above. | |||
| Online Linkage | Click here to download data. (See Ordering Instructions above for details.) By clicking here, you agree to the notice in "Distribution Liability" above. | |||
| Section 7 | Metadata Reference Information | Top of full metadata | Top of page | |
| Metadata Date | 10/01/2004 | |||
| Contact Person Information | John Hoshal,
GIS Project Services Supervisor Land Management Information Center 300 Centennial Building; 658 Cedar Street St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 Phone: 612.296.1202 FAX: 612.296.1212 E-mail: john.hoshal@state.mn.us |
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| Metadata Standard Name | Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines | |||
| Metadata Standard Version | 1.1 | |||
| Metadata Standard Online Linkage | http://www.gis.state.mn.us/stds/metadata.htm | |||
This page last updated: 10/01/2004