150 Iowa 292 | Iowa | 1911
A highway extends along the section line between sections eleven and fourteen. The plaintiff owns the S. y% S. E. % and N. W. % S. E. % of section eleven, and defendant Moes the S. W. % of that section. The defendant Neuter' owns the N. E. % of section fourteen, and the defendant Jungers the N. W. y. thereof. The petition alleges that the quarter corner has been lost and that the entire section line is in dispute and prays that said line be established, 'all of which is denied in the answer and acquiescence for more than ten years alleged. Commissioners were appointed with authority to take testimony and later filed their report determining that the disputed quarter corner “is thirty-five (35) feet north of the west end of the willow trees which Nicholas Hentges set after he had purchased the land, about 1872 or 1873.” This was sixty-one and four-tenths feet north of a straight line connecting the section corners and would require Neuter and Jungers to remove their fences two and one-tenth feet south and plaintiff to move bis fence eight and five-tenths feet north and leave that of Moes where now located. The plaintiff excepted to the report as not supported by the evidence, and the court, so holding, entered a decree defining the true boundary line to be a straight line between the section corners. In reaching this conclusion, the court must have found (1) this to be the true line as located by the government survey, and (2) that the line as determined by the commissioners had not been acquiesced in.
IY. Hentges saw the stake and mound of the government survey in 1870, but did not pretend to express an opinion as to its relative location. Several years later, Haag also found the stake at the quarter corner and plowed a furrow from it to the east section corner and then plowed all south of it for about three rods. This was backset in the fall, and in the Spring following two rows of willows were planted from the northwest corner of Neuter’s farm south along his west line some distance and four rows east along the highway about thirty-six rods. Haag testified that for a few years the north line of the breaking was observable, “showing that there never had been any breaking done to any extent north of the trees,” and that these were a little south of the section line. On the other hand, Hentges testified that in planting the trees he measured over from the corners “about three rods or so” or “thirty-four or thirty-five feet.” This was all the evi
The decree will be modified accordingly, and the cause will be remanded for that purpose. Each party will pay one-half the costs in this court.
Modified and remanded.