Shared Photo: Plat of Richard Stephenson's property, signed by George Washington, surveyor, at the age of 18

Question

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I wanted to share this family photo of Richard Stephenson with the community. Location: Bullskin Run, Virginia Colony. Date: 1750.

Click here for the image details page or here for the full-sized version (541 x 800).

Comments

Actually, the shape Washington drew would be called a pentagon, rather than a trapezoid. A trapezoid has five sides but two of them must be parallel.

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"This map is one of approximately 75 surviving surveys of the 199 that Washington completed during his career as a county surveyor. This survey documents 316 acres between the north and south branches of Bullskin Run, which is located in present-day Jefferson County, West Virginia. Cartographer: Washington, George."

 

From For Virginia and for Independence: Twenty-Eight Revolutionary War Soldiers, By Harry M. Ward https://books.google.com/books?id=scNEB1PtH_8C&pg=PA150&lpg=PA150&dq=Surveying+on+the+Bullskin+Run,+Virginia&source=bl&ots=tH1O8cAhA6&sig=Eh9SxsqBfyMtj48Fi60ckJX0WiQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0kZbatpLZAhWIj1QKHawNAxs4ChDoAQhNMAk#v=onepage&q=Surveying%20on%20the%20Bullskin%20Run%2C%20Virginia&f=false

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Happy 286th birthday to president and general George Washington! And thank you for surveying my 7-times-great grandfather's property on the Bullskin Run in West Virginia. Thanks to GWashington, I have a pentagon in my past!

Answer 1

I don't see a compass rose on this map but if the top is north, then Richard Stephenson's burial place would be near the point in the trapezoid, at the highest elevation on the property at the headspring of Bullskin Run.