Northern Associates Land Surveyors

03/23/2026

3 of our 4 U.S. Presidents carved in mount Rushmore were surveyors:

George Washington — mapping wilderness as a teenager, learning the land firsthand

Thomas Jefferson — architect of the Public Land Survey System, bringing order to expansion

Abraham Lincoln — a licensed surveyor, known for precision and integrity in his work

Teddy Roosevelt was an outdoorsman and a conservationalist.

But they weren’t alone.
Men like Daniel Boone, and Lewis & Clark explored and mapped the frontier.
Surveyors laid out towns, defined property, and created the framework for ownership, infrastructure, and growth.

03/14/2026

🏠 ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS (ADU'S)
On August 6, 2024, Governor Healey signed the Affordable Homes Act into law (Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2024). Section 8 of the Affordable Homes Act amends the Zoning Act to allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU's) up to 900 square feet to be built by right in single-family zoning districts. An ADU is a small residential living space located on the same lot as another home. An ADU must:

-Maintain a separate entrance, either directly from the outside or through an entry hall or corridor shared with the principal dwelling sufficient to meet the requirements of the state building code for safe egress
-Be either no larger than half the gross floor area of the principal dwelling or 900 square feet, whichever is smaller
-Meet local municipal restrictions, including, but not limited to, additional size restrictions and/or restrictions or prohibitions on short-term rental if the city or town decides to impose these

11/05/2025

🚨ALERT: DANIELLE BENSON’s email has been HACKED!

PLEASE DO NOT OPEN ANY EMAILS FROM Danielle Benson that come to you saying “.secure email.”

It is not from her. We arw sorry for any inconvenience. Thank you!

10/29/2025

10/19/2025

When Surveyors Carried Muskets

Most people don’t realize this — but in the early 1800s, being a land surveyor was dangerous work.

You weren’t just fighting through the wilderness.
You were walking into disputes.

Boundaries decided who owned what, who paid taxes, and who was right.

And if two sides disagreed, they didn’t settle it in court — they settled it with guns. During the 1830s “Toledo War,” for example, Michigan and Ohio literally sent militias to defend their survey lines.

Surveyors were caught in the middle — some armed with compasses, some with muskets.

The crazy part? Nobody died — but the outcome of that “surveying war” permanently changed both states’ borders.

Today, we battle software crashes instead of muskets, but the principle’s the same:

Surveyors still stand on the front lines of defining the world.
We just do it with data, not gunpowder.

12/31/2024

We at Northern Associates Land Surveyors wish our clients and customers a prosperous, happy and healthy new year!

11/27/2024

08/19/2024

https://patch.com/massachusetts/across-ma/ma-legalizes-adu-apartments-statewide-part-housing-bill

Whether you call them granny flats, in-law apartments or ADUs, they are now legal in all Massachusetts single-family zones.