The original Government Survey of the area around Bellingham Bay was conducted by Isaac W. Smith and Jared S. Hurd, under Contracts Numbers 45 and 46, executed on April 21, 1859 with James Tilton, Surveyor General of Washington Territory. The first contract authorized the extension of the Puget Sound Guide Meridian from a point in the middle of Snohomish County to the Canadian Border. The second authorized the survey of exterior township boundaries and the subdivisions and meanders of fractional sections in Townships from 27 North to 41 North, excluding Townships 31 through 36, of Ranges 1 through 5 East and 1 West. The surveys were done between June 20 and September 26, 1859 and approved on February 10, 1860. Copies were certified on February 21, 1860.

   On July 2nd and 3rd of 1859, the team lead by Isaac Smith and Jared Hurd responsible for conducting the above-mentioned Government Rectangular Survey, arrived in the area of Dan Harris's claim.⁴³ Approaching from the south, they set a post to mark the intersection of Sections 1, 2, 11 and 12, observing nearby a Fir tree 42 inches in diameter and Alders, Cedars, Maples and Spruces measuring from 12 to 30 inches thick. They described the surrounding soil as "second rate," being broken and swampy, and the undergrowth as being composed of "Willows and Salmon Berries."

    From the four-way intersection, they ran a line due north 14.78 chains (975.48 feet) and set a post on the shore of Bellingham Bay to mark the corner of Fractional Sections 1 and 2, passing through an "open grass plot" on the way. At this spot the land was nearly level and the soil also second rate. They found Firs, Cedars, and Hemlocks there however they did not record the thicknesses of the trunks. They noted that the undergrowth there consisted of "Willows, etc." This section line ran through the edge of both of the original tidal lagoons in the Padden Creek Estuary and terminated on the sand spit just west of the mouth of Padden Creek. However, none of these features was mentioned in the survey notes.

    The surveyors ran a second line from the intersection of Sections 1, 2, 11 and 12 bearing due west to Bellingham Bay and set a post at that point for the corner of Fractional Sections 2 and 11. This line, measuring 30.95 chains (2,042.7 feet) in length, would have fallen about 200 feet short of the water. How this error occurred is a mystery when Contact No. 46 required running two, parallel chain crews. Between these two points lay a Willow swamp, coming within 11.45 chains (755.7 feet) of the shoreline. The landmarks at the corner of Fractional Sections 2 and 11 were a Fir tree 30 inches in diameter bearing north 83 degrees east, 95 links (62.7 feet) distant, and a Crabapple Tree 4 inches thick bearing south 16 degrees east, 84 links (55.44 feet) distant. They found the soil in this area also second rate, timbered with Fir, Cedar and Maple and the undergrowth as consisting of Crabapple.

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