Town and state boundary survey reports and working papers, 1885-1914.

ArchivalResource

Board of Harbor and Land Commissioners of Massachusetts. Town and state boundary survey reports and working papers, 1885-1914.

Town and state boundary survey reports and working papers, 1885-1914.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122520691

To establish accurate Massachusetts town boundaries, and eventually interstate boundaries as well, beginning in 1885 the Topographical Survey Commission in conjunction with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (but replaced in this function in 1901 by the Board of Harbor and Land Commissioners) sent out field teams to establish and describe triangulation stations and to set monuments designating boundary lines. Additional legislation was initiated to authorize the commission to resolve problems with the state boundaries with Rhode Island (Resolves 1897, c 88), New York (Resolves 1897, c 25), and Connecticut (Resolves 1898, c 39). The Connecticut legislation (Mar. 29, 1898) specified that the commissioners were to investigate the condition of the boundary line and determine if remarking was necessary. St 1898 c 299 (Apr. 8, 1898), directed the Topographical Survey Commission to perform an inspection of all state boundary markers every five years, restoring or replacing as necessary. These working papers and reports were created to communicate findings and report progress made on the surveys. They include: (1) Reports, 1885-1887, concerning town boundary surveys. (2) Reports by A.D. Risteen, 1888, concerning computational work he performed. (3) System of naming town corners, 1889. (4) Draft reports and supporting documentation, 1895, relating to location and definition of boundaries between Melrose and Stoneham, also Waltham and Lexington (authorized under St 1895, c 182 and c 229 respectively) (5) Town boundary measurements. (6) Internal reports providing information for annual reports, 1898-1901. (7) Dummies for town atlases, 1904-1914--see: Atlases of town boundary lines, 1887-1915 ((M-Ar)421X) (8) Data on bounds/stations, 1914. (9) Printed survey forms dated September 30, 1898 (formerly: Massachusetts. Topographical Survey Commission. Topographical survey returns ((M-Ar)59X)), returned by various towns bordering on the state of Connecticut. Questions concerned the condition and status of the state boundary markers. (10) Reports and correspondence relating to surveys of boundary lines between Massachusetts and New Hampshire (1900-1910), New York (1897-1912), Rhode Island (1897-1900), and Vermont (1910). These include claims from individuals and towns concerning property damage resulting from the survey; and reports on the history of boundary lines and monuments. (11) Notebooks containing triangulation computations for the state boundary lines with Connecticut and New York.

0.87 cubic ft. (3 doc. boxes)

Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Archives