Point L: “Shore of Lake Mendota Between Sections 22 & 23”
Original Land Survey, Twp 7N, Rge 9E, 22-23 N
At the end of this brief partial section line running from just south of modern Bascom Hall to a point on the Lakeshore Path west of the Hasler Limnology Lab, Deputy Surveyor Orson Lyon set a post by Lake Mendota and sighted to two trees:
“Black Oak 16S 79W” and “Lynn [basswood] 9S 13E 40”
Translated (converting the final number in each entry from surveyor’s links to feet, and ignoring the initial compass bearing information), this means that he found two trees, one at an unspecified distance from the post (possibly right next to it), and the other 26 feet from the post. This perhaps suggests a somewhat denser forest compared with other points in the Preserve, and the presence of a basswood indicates that this north-facing slope was probably moister — more “mesic” — than other nearby areas.
Learn how to read and interpret this data with the help of our page Original land survey notes for the Lakeshore Nature Preserve vicinity, December 1834.