Los Angeles County · Land Surveying
La Verne began as Lordsburg, an 1887 railroad boom town later renamed for its citrus-era prosperity, and its parcels still span that whole arc: Old Town lots platted in the 1880s, orange-empire subdivisions, postwar tracts, and newer foothill neighborhoods to the north.
Lordsburg-era lot or new hillside tract, a short project description is all we need to start scoping. Call (213) 787-3342 to talk it through.
The original Lordsburg townsite was platted during the Santa Fe railroad boom of 1887, and the University of La Verne — founded as Lordsburg College in 1891 — still anchors the historic core. Lots there carry the oldest records in the city, and the physical evidence of the first surveys has been worked over by more than a century of rebuilding.
Around that core, La Verne grew ring by ring: citrus-era acreage that was cut into house lots as the Heart of the Orange Empire suburbanized, postwar tracts, and hillside subdivisions climbing toward the San Gabriels. Each ring has its own record character, and knowing which one your parcel sits in is the first step in scoping the survey.
A cross-section of the requests we field from La Verne:
Retracing an 1880s townsite lot is genuine detective work: the original plat, the deeds that divided and re-divided blocks, and the monuments later surveyors set all get weighed together. The good news is that La Verne's records are continuous — the chain from Lordsburg to today is unbroken, and a careful retracement lands the lines where the record puts them, not where a hedge grew.
The newer rings are more straightforward. Postwar and hillside tracts carry modern monumentation, and the common issues are practical: fences drifted a foot, additions that crowd setbacks, slopes that need mapping before a wall or addition is engineered. For those, the survey is less about untangling history and more about precise, current measurement.
Most La Verne work draws on these six — note which resolve a line, which mark one, and which map the ground:
The records are the city's oldest, so the research runs deeper: the 1887 plat, early deeds, and every later survey touching the block get reconciled before we mark anything. The method is standard retracement — it simply has more history to weigh, which is why townsite work is scoped with research time built in.
Where the lines actually run, what sits over them from either side, and how the improvements — parking, walkways, sheds — relate to the boundaries. University-area lots have often been adapted over many ownerships, and the survey turns those accumulated assumptions into measured facts your escrow can rely on.
The hedge marks an occupation, not necessarily the boundary. A retracement establishes where the record line runs; if the hedge sits off it, you and your neighbor decide what to do with that information. Long-standing occupation can have legal significance, but that is a question for an attorney — the survey supplies the measurements the discussion needs.
Generally, yes. Hillside tracts from recent decades carry modern monumentation and clear records, so retracement is quicker. What those parcels add instead is terrain — slope, drainage, and wall questions that flat Old Town lots rarely raise. Simpler lines, more complicated ground.
The adjusted line — once a lot line adjustment is completed and recorded, it supersedes the original tract line. We retrace from the adjustment documents and confirm the monuments match them. If the paperwork was started but never recorded, that is important to discover too, and the record search will show it.
Bring what you have of the following — each item narrows the research:
We identify which era your parcel's record belongs to, assemble the maps around it, confirm scope with you, and then field the crew. Our how it works page outlines each step.
We serve property throughout La Verne and across Los Angeles County — request a survey quote for any parcel in the area.
Survey scope and deliverables depend on title records, site conditions, and what your project requires. Call (213) 787-3342 to discuss the property and the survey you need.
Call (213) 787-3342 or use the contact form with the address and project, and Southern California Land Surveyors will match the scope to your parcel's era and your plans.