The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-01-22
DENNY POVLBR'S MAPS
What the Collection Consists
of and How He Came
to Acquire 1t.
COST HIM MANY THOUSANDS
II Is Almost indispensable to the
Ui,y-Comprehensive and
Accurate.
COST HIM MANY THOUSAND,

The proposition for the city to purchase
from the estate of the late Chief En-
gineer L.. d. Fowler the valuable collec-
ton of maps of the city's assessed prop
erty, which he had prepared from time
to time during his life, has aroused con-
siderable interest in the maps.
For many years outside of his regular
duties Mr.. Fowler while assessment clerk
of the Street and Water Board and clerk
to the Commissioners of Adjustments,
made maps of the city's assessable prop
erty. some of which at, odd times he had
printed. Some of the printed copies OF
these the city purchased. The only other
purchasers were the railroad companies,
some half dozen lawyers, and one or two
prominent real estate and Insurance men.
They were sold at cost, and the
cost of printing was barely realized by
Mr.. Fowler, who, indeed, was always well
contented if he came out of any OF his
printing enterprises without mourning a
dead loss.
The maps which the city is now think
ing of buying are the original manu-
scripts, prepared by Mr.. Fowler. or I'M
der his direction. These are a most vaiu-
able series. as remarkable for their thor
oughness as for their accuracy. They re-
cord in various colors every change IN
the partition and status of the clty's sur
face made down to the date of Mr.. row
ler's death. There are in the first place
sixty large sheets, 26x36 inches in size,
OWL every piece of property in Jer-
sew City. including the old Hudson city,
Bergen and Greenville sections. The col
=. ooe a1SN nearly 2 ONO private
maps. a large number of which cannot
be duplicated. The collection was MI.
Fowler's own private property. He is said
to have spent many thousand ooliars
upon it in salaries paid out of his W
pocket, to say nothing of his own toll.
Mr.. Fowler began his work OF securing
q complete map of the city nearly twenty
wears age, when he first entered upon ms
duties as assessment clerk, under one OF
the old Street and Water Boards. he
first began to collect miscellaneous maps
of the city's assessable property. HIS
search was diligently prosecuted. He was
peculiarly ambitious to secure a comple.e
set of maps, ana nave the maps % No
plete as possible
IF Obliged to consult any map on file in
the Court House on some particular pony,
he not only studied out the 1mmeuldte
matter in hand, but also copied the enIlre
man and added it to his collection. The
maps filed at the Cour House are lncom-
plete. and many of them are now so soleo
and torn as to be practically useless;
These Mr.. Fowler reproduced and ADDED
TO his collection, and they are there to be
found in perfect condition. Again, when
ever any one visited his Office on business
bringing a map of which he was not IN
possession, he used to request the owner
to leave it with him until he could dupli,
cate it. By these methods ne secured
maps of the entire property OF the city,
from which he evolved the present coIec-
ton. -,
A gentleman who had worked on the
maps, said yesterday:-"Mr: W pc
gan work on the present collection as raj
back as 1884. For years he kept several
clerks employed. sometime as many as
five at a time, paying their salaries out OF
his own pocket. The changes recorded
on the original maps are made in accord,
ance with actual surveys. records and
deeds filed at the Court House, and from
fled miscellaneous private maps. With
out them the Department and the street
and Water Department would be rendered
absolutely helpless. The staff of the city's
law department and those of the tax de-
partment and the City Clerk would have
TO be enlarged. Money would have to be
paid for many extra searches, which are
avoided by a glance atithe corrected orig
inal maps of Mr.. Fowler's collection. II
would cost five hundred dollars to dupli-
cate each of the sixty sheets. The city
is in possession of duplicates of only q
few of them.