Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-02-08
STATE BOUNDARY LINE.
Final Report of the Commissioners
for Pennsylvania.

for Pennsylvania.
Filed at Harrisburg Tuesday weok-Gov.
Pattison Acknowledge, Its Receipt in
II Complimentary Letter.-What the Re-
port Says.
Tuesday week the State Boundary
Commission for Pennsylvania and Del
aware filed their report at Harrisburg,
and in reply, II. L. Monaghan, Esq, Of
West Chester, received the following
letter from his exccllency:
ny Dcar Sir, beg leave to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter OF the 10Th in
stant informing me that the commits
sioners appointed to examine, survey and
re-estabish the boundary line that sep
| arates this commonwealth from the State
| oil Delaware, had completed their labor,
and hat report in accordance with the
| provisions of the act of our General As
sembly approved May 4th, 1889, had been
prepared and would be forwarded, since
which said report has been duly received.
Permit me to thank you and, through you,
the members of the commission for the
| fidelity and ability with which they have
performed the duties imposed upon them.
Said report, with Its accompanying docu-
ments, will be filed in the office of the
secretary of the commonwealth as pro-
vided by law. Very respectfully,
HoDEnT IL. PATT1soN.
THE REPORT IN FULL
As there ;s some prospects of an APP
peal from the report of the commission
to the supreme court by parties whose
residences have been transferred from
Delaware to Chester county, Penhsyi-
vania, the report is given in full as
| follows:
PHILADELPHIA, Pa, Jan. %, 1Soi-To
His Ercellency robert E. Iattlsoa. uovsrnor
| Of IenusyivGuid-SIR: The undersigned
commissioners were appointed by your
| eNcellency to represent this common
wealth in conjunction with a similar COM
mission from the State Of Delaware, under
| Section l, of an act Of tho General Assem-
| bly,, approved the fourth day of May, A.
| D., 1850, entitled IAN Act relating to the
| boundary lines, and boundary line monu-
ments," requiring said commissioners ITO
| examine, survey and re.establish the
| boundary line that separates this common
wealth from the State of Delaware and
when said line shall have been properly
relocated, to mark its location by the cree
| ton OF enduring monuments" The act
further provided: at shall be the duty of
the said commissioners to make detailed
| report of their operations, which. together
| with the field notes OF surveys, descrip-
tons of monuments, maps and other
| items of interest connected with their
| work, shall be filed immediately after the
| performance of the duties imposed by this
| act, with the Secretary OF Internal Affairs,
who shall cause a proper record of the
same to be made, and shall place the same
among other papers and documents re-
lating to the boundary line monuments"
| We now have the honor to report, that
in pursuance of said recited act, the said
commissioners IN the month Of Eovem-
Der, 1891, metthe Hon. Thomas Il. Bayard,
| Hon. J. II. Hoffecker and DIR. b. l.. Lewis,
the three commissioners duly authorized
and appointed by the State of Delaware,
and organized a joint commission, of
which the Hon. j. II. Hoffecker was
elected chairman. Mr.. Daniel Farra was
appointed surveyor OH the part OF Della
ware and Mr.. Benjamin II. Smith sur
veyor OIL the part of Pennsylvania.
| After the surveyors bad secured for the
use of the joint commission, all the availa-
BILE data that would he Of service, in the
determination of the line upon the ground,
| they were instructed to make a prelimi-
nary survey to determine a curve, which,
beginning ut the intersection of true ~
mile circle from the spire of the court
house at New Castle, with q due east line
extended from the northeast corner of
Maryland, would pass us near as practical
BILE, through well authenticated points in
the line Of 170l. and intersect the Delaware
| river at point previously identified as
being the original boundary line.
The duty thus imposed upon the sur
veyors involved the accurate determination
| Of the relative positions of several widely
| separated points. Wnich II was decided
could be most economically effected by
making use Of the triansulation stations
| OF the United States Coast and Geodetic
Survey, in the vicinity. The positions,
with descriptions Of several convenient
stations, were furnished by Prof. T. Q.
| Mendenhall, the superintendent of the
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey,
who also offered to detail ali assistant engi-
neer for service With the commission, to-
gether with the necessary instruments.
This offeI was cheerfully accepted by the
joint commission. The officer detailed for
this service was Assistant W. G. Hodgkins,
who took the field in April, 1892, and COM
pleted the field work in January 1898.
The preliminary survey developed the
fact, that owing to the inaccuracy Of the
original survey, no single curve could be
made to pass through all Of the points pre-
viously agreed upon. A compound curve
to be composed OF two acres of nearly equal
length, was suggested by the surveyors,
and when marked upon the ground was
found to conform very closely with the
old line of l70l and to follow the lines of
existing holdings and Jurisdictions in the
two States as near as was believed to be
practicable. This line was formally in.
spected blythe joint commission, and on
the 18th pf April, 1893, was unanimously
approved.
The line has been marked with enduring
monuments as required BY the Act OF
Assembly, full descriptions OF which will
be found in the report OF the surveyor.
The superintendent of the United States
Coast and Geodetic Survey, at the request
| of the joint commission, prepared and
furnished two certified copies oil the map,
report, field notes and computations OF
the boundary line, es described and sur.
veyed by Assistant W. c. Hodgkins, under
the supervision of the surveyors, one copy
for each State.
We transmit herewith, for filing with
the secretary Of internal affairs, copy of
the joint resolutions, adopted April 18th,
1898 (marked Az, the report of the sur
yeyor on the part of Pennsylvania (marked
b., that part of the report of Assistant w.
Q. Hodgkins to the superintendent of the
United states Coast and Geodetic Survey,
| which includes the field notes and COM
| putations of the boundary survey (marked
O, and the certified copy OF the map,
showing the line as marked upon the
ground and approved by the commission.
All Of which is respectfully submitted.
WAYNE NJ AcVEAGH
II. EMMET MONAGHAN,
WM. H. MILLER,
Commissioners.