The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-03-05
CITY REPORTS.
REPORT OF THE CIVIL rNe,NrEr

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Mr.. GOOD win, City Civil Engineer, reports as
| fellows:
| The lines of Congress street, from North to
! Eastern Promenade; Cumberland from North
| to Merrill, Quebec, Melbourne, Montreal.
| Walnut from North to Promenade, Lafayette,
| Merrill, Willis, Emerson, North and East
ern Promenade, from first angle south of
Congress to Walnut, have been resurveyed
| and established in accordance with their
original location.
The lines of Laurel from Wilmot to Pearl,
and Pearl, from Oxford to Somerset have
been resurveyed and established in accord
ance with their actual angles and distances,
| and new records have been adopted in place
of the former ones, which have been found
| inconsistent with the actual locations. No
| damage or inconvenience was involved in the
adjustment, nor has any change of line in
volving damage been made during the year.
| Corners have been determined and stone
| monuments set as follows: East corner
| Chestnut and Lincoln; East, Chestnut and
| West, Wilmot and Laurel; North, Pearl and
| Lincoln; East, Portland and Kennebec;
| Northeast, Congress and North Northeast,
| Cumberland and North Southeast, Quebec
| and North Southeast Melbourne and North;
| Southeast, Montreal and North; Southeast,
| Wilmot and North: Northwest, Congress and
| Lafayette; Northwest, Congress and Merrill
| Northwest Congress and Emerson; North
west Congress and Promenade; Southwest,
Promenade and Quebec; Southwest, Prom
| enade and Melbourne; Southwest, Promenade
and Wilmot; Northwest, Merrill and Cum
| berland; Southwest, Merrill and Melbourne;
| Southwest Lafayette and Quebec; North
| west, Willis and Melbourne; Southwest,
| Willis and Montreal; Southeast, Willis and
Walnut. The stakes are on the centre line of
| st. John street, and centre and side lines of
Grant street extension have been reset.
Lines for building purposes have been given
| in Sc instances.
A joint re-survey of the boundary line be-
tween Portland and the town of Deering has
been made by E. G. Jordan, civil engineer,
representing said town, and your engineer
acting for the city. The boundary from its
point of beginning in Back Cove creek at
behring's bridge, thence by said creek to the
old county road, now Grove street, thence to
the most northerly limits of the city, and
thence across the old Douglass farm to Lib
by's Corner, has been found to be in close
accordance with the record; but from the
monument near the schoolhouse, few rods
north of Douglass street, the record
of the line running seutherly and
thence westerly, is not, in respect
either of course or distance, in ac-
cordance with the well known and fully sub
stantiated monuments which were set to
indicate the line. Moreover the last clause
of the record leaves the line lying loose, I'M
tied either by course or distance, somewhere
in the Canal Basin, instead of extending, as
is actually the case, to the channel of Fore
River. No record of the boundary, except
that of 1866, is in existence, and it is there
fore necessary to go back to the record of
the setting off of Portland from Falmouth,
in the year 1886, copy of which occurs on
page 81 of the city ordinances published in
1868. This record, though it gives no
courses or distances, and is therefore incom-
plete, affords authority for the extension of
this line through the old channel of the Canal
Basin to Fore River, in the general direction
of line of four monuments now standing
near the junction of Congress and Portland
streets at Libby's Corner. One of these
is marked on the northerly side, P on the
southerly, and 1886 on the westerly side.
This and the other monuments conform and
establish the line without doubt or question;
but the present record does not reach and
identify it as the boundary, and the record
is therefore unquestionably wrong and in
complete, and should be corrected. The
joint survey did not develop this error of
the record, which had been previously known
and reported to you by your engineer; but
as neither party had authority to correct it.
without the other, corporation was necessary.
| All that is now proposed is to change the
record of metes and bounds so that it shall
conform to well known facts in the case, and
| farther, to specify the bearings and distances
| of the line from the Canal Basin to the river,
which the old record does not give. No ex-
| listing monument is intended to be disturbed,
| the proposed action being simply to restore
| the missing monuments and TO describe their
| location accurately. No damage has result
| ed to either party. In the year 1916, legis-
| lative act decreed in effect that the southerly
half of the read, from the creek on Grove
street to the northerly limits of the city,
| should be set off from Westbrook and an
| nexed to Portland. In accordance with the
letter of that act it has been deemed necessa-
| that the boundary line, which by the record
| run up on the easterly side of said road to
! the forks of that with the Saccarappa
| road, and there crosses diagonally to the
| westerly side, should go on the easterly side
| to point just midway between said creek
and said northerly limit of its departure
| from said record, and at that midway point,
should cross said road at right angles and
thence proceed to the westerly side thereof.
The plan and record of the amended lines
has been submitted to the Mayor and Alder
L
ing, and when accepted, the missing monu-
ments should be Immediately reset-and
| perambulation made.
No change of grade involving damage has
been made during the year. A special grade
of sidewalk and gutter has been made across
| the head of Widgery's wharf, and levels
| taken and profles made on ST. John, Grant
Forest, Commercial, Congress, Locust, Brack-
EFT, West Commercial, Charles and o streets;
| Deering millpond and surroundings; rail-
road bridges on High Park State and Brack-
| EFT streets; cross sections of Frost lot,
| sewer profiles on Congress, India, Federal,
Lafayette, North, Mellen, York, Portland,
i Franklin, Quebec, Winthrop, Myrtle and
| Emery. Grades for building purposes have
been given in Al instances.
No new streets have been laid out, but
valuable work has been done in grading new
streets previously laid out. Grant street ex-
tension from the boundary Of city lands to
Weymouth street. has been graded to near its
full width at sub-grade by the Aims House
force under the direction of Mr.. Merrill, the
efficient keeper, at the instance of J. R.
Lunt, chairman of committee on farming,
Overseers of the Poor. He has also removed
the granite covering of a large reservoir, ly-
ing in the road bed of the street, cut down
the granite walls, and reset the covering, all
of which work would have cost $500 by
contract. Lots have been laid out on city
lands through which this street passes, and on
Congress, Weymouth and Portland streets
to the aggregate area of 121,S99 square feet,
five of which containing 1888 square feet
have been sold for $24S9.10. st. John street,
laid out in 1874, has been partially graded
between Congress and Danforth streets, $3.50
feet, under the direction of the street COM
missioner. Mr.. Merrill, with 1.-THE almshouse
house force, and few additional men as
sisted in the grading, keeping the top-loam for
dressing and doing some filling in the aims
house valley, a work that, by contract.
would have cost $1,000. For distance of
1920 feet, the street crosses city lands afford
ing large quantities Of gravel and not less
than 100000 square feet of land suitable for
building purposes, lots being ITO feet deep
on the westerly, and 100 on the easterly side
of the street. An area of 3,406 square feet
has been fitted to grade On Fox street, to
afford access to house recently built.
The damaged portion of the Fore street
wall has been rebuilt,under special commit
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