First surveying museum in the U.S. coming to Historic Fort Steuben

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (WTRF) — For just about every building you’ve ever been inside, you can thank surveyors for it being there.

They’ve helped map out the country from its beginning, and after 250 years Steubenville is returning the favor.

The very first surveying museum is coming to Historic Fort Steuben next year.

The science of inspecting land will be documented from ancient Egyptian times until now, including the beginning of westward expansion.

Fort Steuben was originally built just for surveyors, who had the task of cataloging hundreds of thousands of miles.

“We are excited to show what those surveyors had to do to survey the land which started here, and then went all the way across to the Pacific Ocean. Everything’s been laid out in six mile by six mile squares. So it’s a fascinating study.”

Judy Bratten, Director, Historic Fort Steuben

The fort will partner with the University of Akron to build the exhibit.

It will feature the tools used throughout the ages, and how it took thousands of years to get from measuring sticks to drones.

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