Spirit of 1776: 18th Century Surveying Demonstration

December 6, 2026 | 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

Free with museum admission. The program begins in the museum’s Key Cultural Center and continues outdoors on the front lawn.

Participants will use 18th-century surveying tools and techniques to measure and map a parcel of land, then use their measurements to draw maps and write property descriptions inspired by historic maps in the Albany Institute’s collection. Designed for adults and younger learners ages 10 and up, the interactive program offers a hands-on understanding of how boundaries and townships were laid out in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Philadelphia-based living historian Michael Carver, the Regimental Brewmeister, presents a first-person impression of David Rittenhouse, an astronomer, clockmaker, and founder of the U.S. Mint. Carver has more than 30 years of home-brewing experience and has portrayed Revolutionary-era life for more than 15 years. Drawing on his background as a chemist, brewer, and reenactor, he presents the crafts, technologies, and everyday experiences of 18th-century America.

Surveyors transferred land from the crown to private ownership using a compass on a staff, called a Jacob’s Staff, and a 33-foot Gunter’s chain. After completing fieldwork, they drew a plat and wrote a property description. Surveying was also important in planning buildings and mapping terrain during the Revolutionary War.

Rittenhouse worked on colonial and state boundaries, including the Pennsylvania-Maryland border. In 1784, he and Andrew Ellicott completed the Mason-Dixon line survey to Pennsylvania’s southwest corner. Rittenhouse also made topographic surveys and instruments, including a vernier compass designed to compensate for differences between magnetic and true north.