I have that book and consulted it regarding this issue. It states
what we already know - that the witness monument is "9 chains west of
the Bois de Sioux River bed." I have assumed this is equivalent to
the tri-point, but maybe not (see below). The enabling act admitting
Minnesota as a state in 1858 says the western boundary consists, in
part, of the Bois de Sioux River.
The boundary shown on the topo map might follow the 1858 course of
the Bois de Sioux, and the 1891 witness monument might be 9 chains
west of the 1891 (and current) course of the Bois de Sioux.
Do you think it is possible that the "initial point" of the 1891
survey was the 1891 Bois de Sioux, even though its 1891 course was
several hundred feet east of its 1858 course? This seems unlikely
but it provides a solution encompassing all known facts and maps.
BJB
> As you probably know, the definitive answers (I think) regarding US
state
> boundaries can be found in Franklin K. Van Zandt's Boundaries of the
> United States and the several States : with miscellaneous geographic
> information concerning areas, altitudes, and geographic centers. It
is out
> of print but USGS has a service that will make a copy for a price,
or you
> might find it in a local library.
>
> David
>
> On Sun, 26 Aug 2001 bjbutler@b... wrote:
>
> > Thanks for the reminder. I was aware of this limitation, but
even
> > taking it into consideration the tri-point still would fall
within
> > the Bois de Sioux. That would make perfect sense if not for the
> > state boundary as shown on the map, and the concensus that the
river
> > has been straightened and/or re-routed. I am very curious to
know
> > what influenced the USGS to depict the state boundary as shown.
I
> > have sent an inquiry to them but have not received a reply. I
have
> > been trying to think of other authorities that may have
information
> > (Army Corps of Engineers or county engineering departments,
maybe.)
> > As I mentioned in an earlier e-mail, I am doubly interested in
> > resolving this because I visited what is shown as the easternmost
> > point in ND, slightly north and across the river from the MNNDSD
> > witness post.
> >
> > BJB
> > > Remember that due to the possible errors in drafting and
printing,
> > USGS
> > > maps only claim that things are within 1/50 inch of their true
> > positions
> > > on the map, which for a 1:24,000 scale map is 40 feet.
> > >
> > > David
> > >
> > > On Mon, 13 Aug 2001 bjbutler@b... wrote:
> > >
> > > > Today I made some high-resolution scans of the Boisberg, MN
topo
> > map
> > > > and scale so I could accurately measure the relationships
between
> > the
> > > > witness monument and the river, etc. The summary is:
> > > >
> > > > The tri-point, as shown on the map, is 80 feet E of the
monument.
> > > >
> > > > The tri-point, as indicated on the monument (66 chains = 594
feet
> > E
> > > > of the monument)is in the Bois de Sioux River.
> > > >
> > > > The following link has been updated with this data and a copy
of
> > the
> > > > high-res scan I used is included:
> > > >
> > > > http://www.bjbsoftware.com/corners/pointdetail.php3?point=58
> > > >
> > > > BJB
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
> >