O.D. Smalley – Surveyor’s Mystery Compass
(Republished from the October 2011 Newsletter)
A Rittenhouse Compass
Mystery Compass –
“Surveying compasses, like this one were used extensively when this country was settled.
They were used to lay out towns, and all sorts of lines to divide properties, or county and state lines.
George Washington was a surveyor and used a compass made by Goldsmith Chandlee.
Abraham Lincoln was also a surveyor and used a Rittenhouse compass made before he was born.
The earliest American compasses were made in the 1st quarter of the 1700’s. The earlier they were made the more decoration or engraving you will find on the compass face.
These are important instruments since they used to settle and map out our great country. Early compass makers were highly competitive, each maker trying to out preform his rival in quality of construction and decoration.
It is highly unusual to be able to attribute a surveying compass to a particular surveyor. Only the maker Goldsmith Chandlee would engrave the name of the surveyor on the face of the compass when it was originally sold.
Surveyor’s are often lost to history, with little record of their work. As luck would have it, this compass has been discovered with good provenance and documentation.
It can be attributed to the surveyor O.D. Smalley who surveyed Dallas County Iowa from 1850 to 1855. O.D. Smalley, as a surveyor is quite well known and written about in many internet searches and historical books. In one publication he is referred to as, “The Christopher Columbus of Dallas County.”
O.D. Smalley Compass
The history of this compass (made by Benjamin Pike) is mysterious. It was discovered in the early 1980’s in Oklahoma when a house was being demolished.
Hidden within the interior of a wall, construction workers found it and sold it to Dwight Talent of Oklahoma.
Why it was entombed within a wall will always be a mystery. The mystery deepens when you consider another compass was found in Pennsylvania (made by Gurley) also entombed within a wall of a house.
Card Found in Box
The card you see here was found within the walnut box of this compass identifying it as owned/used by O.D. Smalley. Web sites still exist describing this compass and its mysterious past.
Email communications between myself and Dwight Talent of Oklahoma are an encouraging part of its provenance and authenticity.
Specifically, this Benjamin Pike compass is well used. It lacks all of its original silvering on the compass face. One of the sight vanes is a replacement, no doubt when the original fell out of Smalley’s surveyors bag and was lost in the field.
There is a replacement compass needle which is common when an original becomes non functional.
I was aware of this compass due to my internet research, and to my surprise it recently became available on eBay and I was able to purchase it.
The other compass shown is by Richard Patten of New York (circa 1820), and is shown for comparison purposes, showing proper silvering of the compass face and ornate compass face engraving.
Both compasses are also vernier compasses with a more complicated micro adjustment capabilities for more accurate field use.”
– John Trier
You can contact John for more information on the compass by emailing him at, john.p.trier@gmail.com
