The
Boundary of Massachusetts
from Boundaries of the United States and the Several
States
Franklin K VanZandt USGS Bulletin 1212, 1966
"Massachusetts" pages 95-106
The territory of Massachusetts was included
in the first charter of Virginia, granted in 1606,
and in the charter of New England, granted in 1620.
In 1628 the council of Plymouth made a grant to the
governor and company of Massachusetts Bay in New England,
which was confirmed by the King, and a charter was
granted in 1629, from which the following extracts:
***Nowe, Knowe Yee, that Wee *** have given and graunted
***all that parte of Newe England in America which
lyes and extendes bewteene a greate River there comonlie
called Monomack River, alias Merrimack River, and
certen other River there, called Charles River, being
in the Bottome of a certan bay there, comonlie called
Massachusetts, alias Mattachusetts, alias Massachusetts
Bay; and also all and singuler those Landes and Hereditaments
whatsoever, lying within the Space of Three English
Myles on the South Parte of the said River, called
Charles River, or of any, or every Parte thereof;
and also all and singuler the Landes and Hereditaments
whatsover, lying and being within the space of three
Englishe Myles to the southward of the Southernmost
Parte of the said Baye, Called Massachusetts, alias
Mattachusetts, alias Massachusetts Bay; and also,
all those Landes and Hereditaments whatsoever, which
lye and be within the Space of Three English Myles
to the Northward of the saide River, called Monomack,
alias Merrymack, or to the Northward of any and every
parte thereof, and all Landes and Hereditaments whatsoever,
lyeing within the Lymitts aforesaide, North and South,
in Latitude and Bredth, and in Length and Longitude,
of and within all the Bredth aforesaide, throughout
the mayne Landes there, from the Atlantick and Westerne
Sea and Ocean on the Easte Parte, to the South Sea
on the West Parte;
***Provided alwayses, That if the said Landes ***
were at the tyme of the graunting of the saide former
Letter patents, dated the Third Day of November, in
the Eighteenth Year of our said deare Fathers Raigne
aforsaide, actuallie possessed of inhabitted by any
other Christian Prince of State, or were within the
Boundes, Lymyttes or Territories of that Southene
Colony, then before graunted by our said late Father
*** That then this present Graunt shall not extend
to any such partes or parcell thereof, *** but as
to those partes or parcells *** shal be vtterlie voyd,
theis presents or any Thinge therein conteyned to
the contrarie notwithstanding.
The charter of New England was surrendered to the
King in 1635 ...
The charter of Massachusetts Bay, granted in 1629,
was canceled by a judgement of the high court of chancery
of England, June 18, 1684.
In 1686 Pemaquid (part of the present state of Maine)
and its dependencies were annexed to the New England
government.
In 1691 a new charter was granted to Massachusetts
Bay, which included Plymouth Colony and the Provinces
of Maine and Nova Scotia. The following are extracts
from this charter:
***Wee doe *** will and Ordeyne that the Territories
and Collynes comonly called or known by the Names
of the Collony of the Massachusetts Bay and Collony
of New Plymouth and Province of Main the Territorie
called Accadia or Nova Scotia and all that tract of
land lying betweene the said Territories of Nova Scotia
and the said Province of Main be Erected Vnited and
Incorporated *** into one reall Province by the Name
of Our Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England
*** all that parte of New England in America lying
and extending from the greate River comonly called
Monomack als Merrimack on the northpart and from three
Miles Northward of the said River to the Atlantick
or Western Sea or Ocean on the South part and all
the lands and Hereditaments whatsoever lying within
the limits aforesaid and extending as farr as the
Outermost Points or Promontories of Land called Cape
Coad and Cape Mallabar North and South and in Latitude
Breadth and in Length and Longitude of and within
all the Breadth and Compass aforesaid throughout the
Main Land there from the said Atlantick or Western
Sea and Ocean on the East parte toward the South Sea
or Westward as far as Our Collonyes of Rhode Island
Connecticut and the Marragansett Countrey all alsoe
all that part of porcon of Main Land beginning at
the Entrance of Pescata way Harbor and soe to pass
vpp the same into the River of Newickewannock and
through the same into the furthest head thereof and
from thence Northwestward till One Hundred and Twenty
miles be finished and from Piscata way Harbor mouth
aforesaid North-eastward along the Sea Coast to Sagedehock
and from the Period of One Hundred and Twenty Miles
aforesaid to crosse over Land to the One Hundred and
Twenty Miles before reckoned vp into the Land from
Piscataway harbour through Newickawannock River and
alsoe the North halfe of the Isles and Shoales together
with the Isles of Cappawock and Natuckett near Cape
Cod aforesaid and alsoe [all] Lands and Hereditaments
lying and being in the Countrey and Territory comonly
called Accadia or Nova Scotia And all those Lands
and Hereditaments lying and extending betweene the
said Countrey or Territory of Nova Scotia and the
said River of Sagadahock or any parte thereof And
all Lands Grounds Places Soiles Woods and Wood grounds
Havens Ports Rivers Waters and other Hereditaments
and premisses whatsoever, lying within the said bounds
and limitts aforesaid and every part and parcell thereof
and alsoe all Islands and Isletts lying within ten
Leagues directly opposite to the Main Land within
the said bounds.
The present northern boundary of Massachusetts was
first surveyed and marked in 1741... [New Hampshire]
RHODE ISLAND
The east-west part of the boundary between
Massachusetts and Rhode Island is a part of the original
southerly line of the territory granted by the council
at Plymouth to Sir Henry Roswell and others in the
third year of the reign of King Charles I and redefined
in the charter granted to the colony of Massachusetts
Bay in 1691. This line was for more than 200 years
a matter of dispute that was in some respects the
most remarkable boundary question with which this
country has had to deal. Twice the question went to
the Supreme Court of the United States, and in one
of these suits Daniel Webster and Rufus Choate were
employed as counsel for Massachusetts.
As early as 1642 the line between the two colonies
was marked in part by Nathaniel Woodward and Solomon
Saffrey, who set up on the plain of Wrentham a stake
as the commencement of the line between Massachusetts
Bay and Rhode Island. This stake Woodward and Saffrey
thought marked a point 3 miles south of the Charles
River ...
In 1710-11 commissioners appointed from Massachusetts
and Rhode Island agreed upon the north line of Rhode
Island, and their action was approved by the legislatures
of both colonies. The agreement follows:
That the stake set up by Nathaniel Woodward and Solomon
Saffrey, skilful, approved artists, in the year of
our Lord one thousand six hundred and forty-two, and
since that often renewed, in the latitude of forty-one
degrees and fifty-five minutes, being three English
miles distant southward from the southernmost part
of the river called Charles River, agreeable to the
letters-patents for the Massachusetts province, be
accounted and allowed on both sides the commencement
of the line between Massachusetts and the colony of
Rhode Island...
In 1719 this line was run by commissioners appointed
for the purpose, but subsequent investigation has
shown that it was run very inaccurately...
The line between Massachusetts and the eastern part
of Rhode Island was fixed by the commissioners in
1741. The colony of Rhode Island appealed from their
decision to the King, but in 1746 he affirmed it by
royal decree. In accordance with this decree the line
was run in 1746 by commissioners of Rhode Island whose
report may be found in the US Supreme Court record
for the December term, 1852, pages 208-210.
In 1748 the Legislature of Rhode Island appointed
commissioners to continue the line to the Connecticut
corner, the Woodward and Saffrey stake being recognized
as the place of beginning. Mass failed to appoint
commissioners, where upon the Rhode Island commissioners
proceeded to complete the running of the line. In
their report they say with reference to the initial
point of their survey:
That we, not being able to find any stake or other
monument which we could imagine set up by Woodward
and Saffrey, but considering that the place thereof
was described in the agreement mentioned in our commission,
by certain invariable marks, we did proceed as followeth,
namely; We found a place where the Charles River formed
a large current southerly which place is known to
many by the name of Poppatolish Pond, which we took
to be the southernmost part of said river, from the
southernmost part of which we measured three English
miles south, which three English miles did terminate
upon a plain in a township called Wrentham.
From this time forward, repeated steps were taken
by Rhode Island, by resolutions and by appointment
of commissioners, to ascertain and run the line in
connection with commissioners from Massachusetts.
Commissioners from both colonies met more than once,
but they failed to agree upon a boundary in place
of that established under the agreements of 1711 and
1718. As a ground for these efforts Rhode Island alleged
that a mistake had been made by her commissioners
in commencing the line at the accepted position of
the Woodward and Saffrey stake, which, as set on Wrentham
Plain, at Burnt Swamp Corner, was considerably more
than 3 miles south of the Charles River.
This controversy, however, embraced the entire line
from Connecticut to the Atlantic Ocean. Massachusetts
asserted that an encroachment has been made on her
territory from Burnt Swamp Corner to the ocean by
Rhode Island, who, on her part, claimed that the jurisdictional
line of Massachusetts from that corner to the Connecticut
line was, in its whole extent, upon the territory
of Rhode Island. The legislatures of the respective
States having failed after repeated efforts to adjust
the controversy, Rhode Island in 1832, by a bill in
equity, brought the subject of the northern boundary
from Burnt Swamp Corner to the Connecticut line before
the Supreme Court of the United States, which in 1846
decided that the jurisdictional line claimed by Massachusetts
was the legal boundary of the two States between these
points.
In this decision, the following declaration was made:
"For the security of rights, whether of states
or individuals, long possession under claim of title
is protected, and there is no controversy in which
this great principle may be invoked with greater justice
and propriety than in a case of disputed boundary".
While this suit was pending an attempt was made to
settle the long controversy by an amicable adjustment
of the whole line from the Connecticut corner to the
ocean. Commissioners were appointed by both States
in 1844 to ascertain and mark the true boundary from
Pawtucket Falls (presumably near the present city
of Pawtucket) south to Bullock Neck. In 1845 the same
commissioners were authorized to ascertain the entire
line from Burnt Swamp Corner to the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1846, the equity suit having been decided..., they
were authorized "to erect suitable monuments
at the prominent angles of the line, from the Atlantic
Ocean to the northwest corner of Rhode Island, and
at such other points on the line as may subserve the
public convenience." A majority of the commissioners
agreed upon a line and erected monuments in 1847.
The report of the joint commission was dated Boston,
January 13, 1848. The line so agreed upon as a boundary
between Burnt Swamp Corner and the northwest corner
of Rhode Island was a straight line, varying a little
from the irregular jurisdictional line established
by the decision of the Supreme Court, and is described
in the report of the commissioners as follows:
Begin at the northwest corner of Rhode Island, on
Connecticut line, in latitude 42º00´29˜
north, and longitude 71?48´18˜ west of
Greenwich, thence easterly in a straight line 21.512
miles to Burnt Swamp Corner, in Wrentham, being in
latitude 42?01´08˜ and longitude 71?23´13˜....
Upon this line, 27 monuments were placed exclusive
of that at Burnt Swamp Corner.
The General Assembly of Rhode Island, in May 1847,
ratified and established the line from the ocean to
the Connecticut line, "to take effect and become
binding whenever the said agreement and boundary line
should be ratified by the State of Massachusetts."
The legislature of Massachusetts did not ratify the
agreement and boundary line but proposed another joint
commission, which was approved by Rhode Island. The
attempt made by these commissioners to settle the
line having failed, Massachusetts commenced a bill
in equity before the Supreme Court of the United States
for an adjudication of the boundary line from Burnt
Swamp Corner to the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1860 both States agreed upon a conventional line
and asked that a decree of the U. S. Supreme Court
should confirm the same. The prayer was granted, and
the line was thus finally established by a decree
rendered December 16, 1861.
The Supreme Court decision made no reference to the
line from Burnt swamp corner to the Connecticut line.
In 1865 the Legislature of Massachusetts took action
in regard to this portion of the line, as follows:
Resolved, That the boundary line between the state
of Rhode Island and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
from the line of the State of Connecticut to Burnt
Swamp Corner, begins at the north west corner of the
State of Rhode Island on the Connecticut line, in
latitude 42?00´29˜ north, and longitude
74?48´18˜ [sic] west of Greenwich, and
runs in a straight line 21 and 512/1000 miles to Burnt
Swamp Corner, in Wrentham, being in latitude 42?1´8˜.60
and longitude 71?23´13˜.26. [later this
coordinate {74?} was corrected].
This is the line agreed upon by commissioners and
called the "line of 1848," which was ratified
by Rhode Island when run but was rejected by Massachusetts.
As a result of the tardiness of Massachusetts in ratifying
the line, Rhode Island rejected it on the ground that
the then recent settlement of the eastern boundary
by the decree of the Supreme Court had so changed
the aspect of the controversy that she could not consent
to the adoption of the line of 1848 as her northern
boundary. Thus the northern boundary of Rhode Island
was left in the condition prescribed by the Supreme
Court decision of 1846.
In June 1880, the Legislature of Rhode Island passed
a resolution to remove the monuments of the "line
of 1848" and erect monuments on the jurisdictional
line. In 1881 the Legislature of Massachusetts took
like action. This jurisdictional line has the same
termini as the line of 1848 but is a very irregular
line, in places running north of a direct line and
elsewhere falling south of it, the extreme variation
being 529.3 feet north and 129 feet south. It is described
as follows:
Beginning at a monument of dressed granite, marked
"Mass." on the north, "R.I." on
the south, and "Con." on the west sides,
standing at the northwest corner of the State of Rhode
Island, in latitude 42?00´29.45˜, longitude
71?48´18.07˜ west of Greenwich; thence
running easterly in a straight line to a pile of stones
on the western bank of Wallum pond at high-water mark;
thence easterly in a straight line to the southwest
corner of Uxbridge and the southeast corner of Douglas,
to a monument of dressed stone, marked "D Nov.
9, 1829," on the northwest face and "U"
on the east face, and "B" on the south face;
thence running easterly in a straight line to a point
formed by the intersection of the easterly line of
Harris Avenue, so called, with the southerly line
of Gaskill Street near the bridge of Waterford, and
about fifteen rods easterly of the easterly bank of
the Blackstone River; thence running easterly in a
straight line to a monument of split stone granite
about five feet above ground, having five faces, marked
on the west face "M", on the northeast face
"B", and on the south face "C";
thence easterly in a straight line to the stone monument
now standing on Wrentham Plain at Burnt Swamp Corner,
*** marked on two sides Mass. and the other two sides
R.I.
The following statement concerning the east boundary
of Rhode Island was made by the commissioners of 1897-98
for both States:
On March 1, 1862, a decree of the Supreme Court of
the United States issued the previous year became
effective, which changed the boundary line between
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of
Rhode Island. By this change the town of Pawtucket
west of the Seven and Ten Mile rivers, a narrow strip
of Seekonk between the middle of the above-named rivers
and the line of highest water on the eastern banks,
and the southwestern part of Seekonk, now East Providence,
were annexed to Rhode Island, in exchange for territory
in the vicinity of Fall River. The Legislature of
Massachusetts anticipating this change, provided by
chapter 187 of the acts of 1861, for the proper jurisdiction
of the territory east of the new boundary, and the
State of Rhode Island by a similar act, chapter 379
of the acts of 1861, provided for the jurisdiction
of the new territory acquired west of this line.
On account of the imperfect marking of this line and
the difficulty of defining the high-water line of
rivers and ponds, which formed the State boundary,
it was decided in 1897 to redefine the line and to
substitute for indefinite high-water boundaries a
series of straight lines as near as may be to the
line established by the decree of 1861, which could
be readily and permanently marked.
The general court of that year authorized the topographical
survey commission, representing Massachusetts, to
act in conjunction with a commission representing
Rhode Island, in locating, defining, and marking the
State boundary line, from "Burnt Swamp Corner"
southerly to the sea.
A full report of the doings of these commissions was
made in May 1899, and the general courts of both States
promptly ratified their work by the passage of acts
which contain a full description of the line.
The 1898 survey of the east boundary of Rhode Island
was commenced at Burnt Swamp Corner, marked by a granite
monument inscribed "Mass.-R.I 1861-1883; 1898,"
in lat 42?01´08.35˜ and long 71?22´54.51˜.
The line thence runs S. 2´40˜ W. 8.65 miles,
thence east and south by straight-line courses of
irregular length to a point where it intersects the
line of high water of the Atlantic Ocean, in lat 41?29´50.87˜,
long 71?07´15.62˜, about 45.789 miles from
the point of beginning. The termini of all the straight
lines are marked by the old monuments where recovered
or by new granite monuments 12 by 12 inches by 9-1/2
feet, suitably lettered and set 5-1/2 feet in the
ground.
CONNECTICUT
In 1713, commissioners from the Province
of Massachusetts Bay and colony of Connecticut adopted
a line between Massachusetts and Connecticut. By this
line the frontier towns of Woodstock, Suffield, Enfield,
and Somers were given to Massachusetts. In 1749 the
Legislature of Connecticut passed a resolution stating
that inasmuch as the line had not been approved by
the King and the two colonies had no legal right to
transfer territory without the confirmation of the
Crown, the contract was void, and these towns were
again taken under the jurisdiction of Connecticut.
Massachusetts appealed to the King, and the claims
of Connecticut were fully established.
In 1791 Massachusetts and Connecticut appointed commissioners
to establish the boundary between them, but the commissioners
were unable to agree.
In 1803 commissioners were appointed to complete the
line west of the Connecticut River, a compromise having
been made concerning the line between the town of
Southwick and the towns of Suffield and Granby (the
cause of the disagreement of the former commissioners).
The agreement was made as follows:
That the line should begin from a station 8 rods south
of the southwest corner of West Springfield, and thence
run west to the large ponds, and thence on said south
line to the ancient southwest corner of Westfield
and from thence on said south line to the ancient
southwest corner of Westfield; and from thence northerly
in the ancient west line of Westfield to the station
in said west line made by commissioners in the year
1714, and from thence to the southwest corner of Granville.
The reason for this peculiar deviation from a straight
boundary, known as the "Southwick Jog" is
that, in adjusting errors in the boundary line between
Connecticut and Massachusetts as previously run by
compass, a long, narrow strip of land was given to
Connecticut; the Southwick jog ceded to Massachusetts
was intended to be an equivalent area...
In 1826 the line between Massachusetts and Connecticut
east of the Connecticut River was run by commissioners
appointed from each State, and 49 stone monuments
were erected, marked "M" on the north side
and "C" on the south.
The same commissioners surveyed and marked the line
from the northeast corner of Connecticut to the northwest
corner of Rhode Island, reporting as follows:
Beginning at the monument erected at the northeast
corner of said State of Connecticut and running in
a direct line to the ancient heap of stones on the
north side of the turnpike leading from Hertford to
Boston, through Thompson and Douglass, where we erected
a monument, and thence running in a direct line to
the northwest corner of the State of Rhode Island.
The present boundary between Massachusetts and Connecticut
was fixed by a joint commission authorized by legislative
acts of both States in 1905. The line as surveyed
and marked was approved by Massachusetts in 1908 ...
by Connecticut in 1913, and by the U. S. Congress
October 3, 1914 .... Part of it is thus described:
Beginning at a granite monument at the northwest corner
of the State of Rhode Island and marking the corner
of Massachusetts, Rhode island, and Connecticut, in
latitude 42?00´29.150˜ and longitude 71?47´58.778˜;
[thence in a general northerly direction] to a granite
monument at the northeast corner of the State of Connecticut,
in latitude 42?01´24.807˜ and longitude
71?48´04.123˜ [these coordinates were later
adjusted in the 1927 North American Datum].
From this corner, the boundary is approximately a
straight line bearing 1? or 2? north of west to a
point near the Connecticut River.
From a granite monument in lat 42?02´04.619˜,
long 72?31´55.276˜, the line runs as follows:
[in the following description, the latitudes and longitudes
are omitted]
South ... and west, 11,309 feet to a granite monument
about 620 feet south of Allen Street in Longmeadow
... thence south 3,238 feet to a granite monument
450 feet east of the main road from Thompsonville
to Springfield,... ; thence north... 5,834 feet to
a granite monument on the top of the bank, about 175
feet east of the easterly shore of the Connecticut
River,...; thence in the same direction, 950 feet
to the middle of said river; thence northerly along
a line midway between the banks thereof, about 2,075
feet; thence ... 1,206 feet to a granite monument
standing on the bank about 225 feet west of the westerly
shore the river, ...; thence in the same direction
7,661 feet to a granite monument about 875 feet west
of North Street, or Suffield Street, the middle road
from Suffield to Springfield, ...; thence north west
8,966 feet to a granite monument on the easterly side
of Halladay Avenue, or Front Street, the road from
Suffield to Feeding Hills, ...; thence north ... west
to a granite monument on the easterly side of West
Street, the road from West Suffield to Westfield ...;
thence south west 4,137 feet to a granite monument
at the corner of Agawam and Southwick in Massachusetts
and Suffield in Connecticut,...; thence south... west
132 feet to a granite monument, ... ; thence south
west, 11,231 feet to a granite monument on the easterly
shore of Congamond Lake, ...; thence in the same direction,
14.5 feet to the shore of the lake as it would be
with the surface of the water at the elevation it
was in 1803; thence southerly, by the easterly shore
of the lake as it would be with the surface of the
water at the aforesaid elevation to a point opposite
a granite monument near the shore at the southerly
end of the lake; thence south... west, about 25 feet
to said monument, ...; thence in the same direction
1,632 feet to a granite monument at the southeasterly
corner of the "Southwick Jog" ... thence
south west 13,827 feet to a granite monument at the
southwesterly corner of the "Southwick Jog",
in ...; thence north east 14,261 feet to a granite
monument known as the "Crank Monument",
in latitude 42?02´12.399˜ and longitude
72?48´51.223˜.
From this corner the line runs on a general westerly
course, bearing about 1? north of west, to
a large rock, marked 1803 on its southerly side, in
Sage's Ravine, in latitude 42?03?02.214˜ and
longitude 73?26´00.030˜; thence south 88?31´58˜
west 14,787 feet to a granite monument at the northwesterly
corner of the State of Connecticut and marking the
corner of Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut,
in latitude 42?02´58.427˜ and longitude
73?29´15.959˜.
NEW YORK
The boundary between Massachusetts and New York was
from an early period a subject of controversy, New
York claiming to the west bank of the Connecticut
River, under the charters of 1664 and 1674 to the
Duke of York, and Massachusetts claiming to the "South
Sea", under the old charters. After many fruitless
attempts at a settlement, the western boundary of
Massachusetts was fixed in 1773 where it now meets
New York territory. The Revolution soon following,
the line was not run. In 1785 Congress appointed three
commissioners to run the line, who performed that
duty in 1787. The line was as follows:
Beginning at a monument erected in 1731 by commissioners
from Connecticut and New York, distant from the Hudson
River 20 miles, and running north 15?12´9˜
east 50 miles 41 chains and 79 links, to a red or
black oak tree marked by said commissioners, which
said line was run as the magnetic needle pointed in
1787.
The claims of Massachusetts to western land within
the territory of the State of New York were finally
settled December 16, 1786, by a joint commission of
the two States. By this agreement Massachusetts surrendered
the sovereignty of the whole disputed territory to
New York and received in return the right of soil
and preemption right of Indian purchase west of the
meridian passing through the eight-second milestone
of the Pennsylvania line ... except certain reservations
upon the Niagara River. The title to a tract known
as "The Boston Ten Towns," lying east of
this meridian and previously granted to New York by
Massachusetts, was confirmed....
On April 19, 1785, Massachusetts executed a deed transferring
to the United States all title of Massachusetts to
territory west of the present western boundary of
New York.
In 1820 Maine, previously a part of Massachusetts,
was admitted into the Union as an independent State.
In 1853 an area of about 1,010 acres in the southwest
corner of Massachusetts, known as Boston Corners,
was ceded to New York, and in 1855 the cession was
confirmed by Congress.
The present boundary between Massachusetts and New
York was thus described from resurveys by a joint
commission in 1899: [most coordinates are omitted
here]
Beginning at bound 1, a granite monument set in ledge
on the side of a wooded mountain peak six hundred
and nine feet east of Ryan Bush Road, in latitude
42?02´58.427˜ north of the equator, and
longitude 73?29´15.959˜ west from Greenwich,
and marking the northwest corner of Connecticut, a
corner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and a
corner of the State of New York; then on an azimuth
of 90?43´49˜, twenty-six hundred and twenty-four
feet to bound 3, a granite monument set in ledge on
the steep westerly slope of a wooded mountain ...
at the southwest corner of Massachusetts, also in
the eastern line of New York, and marking a corner
of the towns of Mount Washington, in Massachusetts,
and Ancram and Northeast, in New York; thence on an
azimuth ... thirteen thousand six hundred and forty-nine
feet to bound 9, a granite monument set in ledge on
the westerly wooded slope of Alandar Mountain about
a quarter mile west of its summit, ... at the corner
of Mount Washington, in Massachusetts, and Copake,
in New York; thence on an azimuth ... two hundred
forty-nine thousand two hundred and forty-six feet,
by the towns of Mount Washington, Egremont, Alford,
West Stockbridge, Richmond, Hancock, and Williamstown,
in Massachusetts, and Copake, Hillsdale, Austerlitz,
Canaan, New Lebanon, Stephentown, Berlin, and Petersburg,
in New York, to bound 112, a granite monument set
in ledge and earth on an open easterly slope about
seventy-five feet west of a private roadway ... at
the northwest corner of Massachusetts, also in the
east line of New York and in the south line of Vermont,
and marking a corner in the boundaries of the towns
of Williamstown, in Massachusetts, Petersburg, in
New York and Pownal, in Vermont.
The term "azimuth" as used in this description
is the angle which a line makes at its point of beginning
with the true meridian, reckoning from the south around
by the west.
This location of the line was approved by Massachusetts
May 8, 1901, and by New York June 9, 1910 ....
VERMONT
By the terms of the charter of Massachusetts Bay,
of 1629, that colony was granted all the lands
which lye, and be within the space of three English
Myles to the Northward of the said River called Monomack
alias Merrymack, or the Northward of any and every
parte thereof.
Under this clause, Massachusetts Bay claimed that
its jurisdiction extended to a line 3 miles north
of the northernmost part of the Merrimack River, such
jurisdiction would embrace a large part of New Hampshire
and Vermont. New Hampshire contested this claim and
after several years' controversy was more than sustained
by a decision of the King in 1740... Massachusetts
agreed to the independence of Vermont in 1781 [and
was admitted to the Union as a State in 1791].
The south boundary of Vermont is part of the north
boundary of Massachusetts, which was fixed by the
King in council under date of August 5, 1740, and
surveyed under the direction of Governor Belcher in
1741. It was resurveyed and re-marked by commissioners
representing the two states between 1885 and 1898.
This survey was commenced at the northwest corner
of Massachusetts, at a monument consisting of a granite
post 8 feet long and 14 inches square set nearly 5
feet in the ground. The faces toward the different
States were marked "N.Y. 1898", "Mass.
1896" and "Vt. 1896". Its geographic
position is lat 42?44¨44.7˜ N., long 73?15´54.13˜
W. (1927 N. A. D.). From this point the boundary is
a nearly straight line, bearing about 2? south of
east (true bearing), and runs 41 miles to the southeast
corner of Vermont, which is a mark on the west bank
of the Connecticut River.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
After the death of Capt. John Mason, in December 1635,
the affairs of the colony [of New Hampshire] coming
into bad condition, the colonists sought the protection
of Massachusetts in 1641 and enjoyed it till 1675,
when Robert Mason, a grandson of John Mason, obtained
a royal decree, under which, in 1680, a colonial government
was established. But no charter was given to the colony,
and its government was continued only during the pleasure
of the King. The commission or decree issued by the
King in 1680 to John Cutt, of Portsmouth, names the
following limits for the colony:
Province of New Hampshire, lying & Extending from
three miles northward of the Merrimack River, or any
part thereof to ye Province of Maine.
In the year 1690 the Province of New Hampshire was
again taken under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts
Bay, but in 1692 it was once more separated.
A controversy that arose between the Provinces of
New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bay involved not only
the boundary between New Hampshire and Maine but also
that between New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The
commissioners appointed by the two Provinces having
been unable to agree, New Hampshire appealed to the
King, who ordered that the boundaries should be settled
by a board of commissioners appointed from the neighboring
colonies. The board met at Hampton in 1737 and submitted
a conditional decision to the King, who in 1740 declared
in council
that the northern boundary of the province of Massachusetts
be a similar curve line, pursuing the course of the
Merrimack river, at three miles distance, on the north
side thereof, beginning at the Atlantic Ocean, and
ending at a point due north of Pautucket falls [now
Lowell], and a straight line drawn from thence due
west, till it meets with his Majesty's other Governments.
New Hampshire had claimed her southern boundary to
be a line due west from a point on the sea 3 miles
north of the mouth of the Merrimack River. Massachusetts
had claimed all the territory within 3 miles north
of any part of the Merrimack River. The King's decision
gave to New Hampshire a strip of territory, more than
50 miles in length and varying in width, in excess
of that which she claimed. This decree of the King
was forwarded to Mr. Belcher, then governor of both
the Provinces of New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bay,
with instruction to apply to the respective assemblies
to unite in making the necessary provisions for running
and marking the line conformably to the said decree,
and if either assembly refused, the other was to proceed
ex parte. Massachusetts Bay declined to comply with
this requisition. New Hampshire therefore proceeded
alone to run and mark the line.
....
Under the King's decree of 1740, the Province of New
Hampshire claimed jurisdiction as far west as the
territory of Massachusetts and Connecticut extended,
thus including the present State of Vermont. New York
claimed all the country west of the Connecticut, under
the charters of 1664 and 1674 to the Duke of York.
A bitter controversy ensued...
The south boundary of New York as surveyed between
1885 and 1898 is marked by 50 large cut-granite monuments
at irregular intervals. The initial point of this
survey is the southwest corner of New York and southeast
corner of Vermont, marked by a copper bolt in the
top of a block of granite set in a mass of concrete
6 feet square, "at or near ordinary low-water
line" on the west bank of the Connecticut River
....
From the State corner the line was run on a general
course about 2-1/2? south of east (true bearing),
measured distance of 57.84 miles to
the boundary pine monument, so-called, standing between
the towns of Pelham, New Hampshire, and Dracut, Mass,
in the pasture land owned by Zachariah Coburn, at
a point where one George Mitchell, surveyor, marked
a pitch pine tree, March 21, 1741, then supposed to
be 3 miles due north of a place in the Merrimack River
formerly called Pawtucket Falls, now Lowell.
....
From this point the boundary consists of a series
of straight lines, approximately paralleling the Merrimack
River and 3 miles distant therefrom.
Massachusetts is one of the very few States that has
had her boundary lines adequately marked and by frequent
inspection maintains the marks in good condition.
In addition to the marking of her exterior lines the
State has also had comprehensive surveys made of interior
township boundaries. The lines and corners are controlled
by an accurate system of triangulation; therefore
if any number of marks were destroyed the exact positions
of new ones to replace them could be readily ascertained
from the triangulation data. The results of these
surveys are published by the State Harbor and Land
Commission in a series of folios, which give plats
of the lines, positions of triangulation stations,
descriptions of boundary marks, extracts from laws
by which the lines were fixed, and some historical
matter.
-----------------------------------------------------------
In order to make sense when reading
this, you need as detailed a map as possible. However
a road map will be useful. The more detailed the map
the more you can see what is being described. On any
map, however, if the Southwick Jog doesn't show, then
you will be able to see little else.
Terms to know:
charter
grants (by who? to who?)
hereditaments
letters patents
court of chancery
Cape Mallabar (see Dexter)
Sagadahock
jurisdiction
bill in equity
court decree
commissioners (who do you think were these people?)
ex parte
plats
surveying terms:
English Miles; rods; chains and links
latitude and longitude
degrees ? minutes ´ seconds ˜
azimuth, bearing
NAD 1927
triangulation
miles (how many feet in a statue or land mile?)
Questions to think about as you read the Massachusetts
boundary document.
--(general) Why was there so much 'problem' in settling
early boundaries?
--what if a grant extended into another grant? why
would this occur at all?
--what was contained in the 1691 charter? what was
granted?
--why was the Mass-RI boundary specifically such a
problem?
--why the Supreme Court involved?
--Is 41?55´ = 3 English miles south of the Charles
River?
--When a mistake is made in a boundary, what is the
legal principle the court follows in a subsequent
dispute over it?
--what are the boundary monuments made of? why? how
marked? wha happens if one gets 'lost'?
--how long did it take to finally agree on the Mass-RI
line?
--what was the reason for the Southwick Jog? How big
is it? check the maps.
--what part of the Connecticut River is used as a
boundary between Massachusetts and Connecticut? What
would you suppose would happen if the river changed
course? Do you think this ever occurs? Can you cite
an example where it would make a difference?
--how define a shoreline boundary when water levels
fluctuate?
--what was the 'south sea' referred to west of New
York?
--what was this business of the 'Boston Ten Towns'?
--can you see the 'Boston Corners' on the map?
--what natural feature was used to define the New
Hampshire-Mass boundary? How was it used?
--how was the New Hampshire line confusing (that is,
how interpreted differently by the two states)?
--what part of the Connecticut River was used as the
Vermont boundary? what difference does this make?
(general)
Can you see any towns (names) in western Massachusetts
taken from towns in the east? (see, for example, New
Salem near Quabbin Reservoir, in the center west of
the state). How many can you find? Look up the term
toponomy.