The following statement concerning the east boundary of Rhode Island was made by commissioners of 1897-98 for both States: *1

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 this 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 lines of rivers and ponds, which formed the State boundary, it was decided in 1897 to redefine the line and to substitute for indefinite highwater 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.42

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 latitude 42° 01′ 08.35'' and longitude 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 latitude 41° 29' 50.87", longitude 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 feet 6 inches, suitably lettered and set 52 feet in the ground.

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

41 Massachusetts Topog. Survey Comm. Rept.: Atlas of the boundaries of the Town of Seekonk, sheet A, 1900.

683.

'Massachusetts act of June 3, 1899, ch. 476; Rhode Island act of May 26, 1899, ch. Massachusetts H. Doc. 1230, May 23, 1899, contains reports of the commissioners and of the engineer, also a plat of the line and descriptions of the monuments.

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.48

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 made was as follows: 44

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 southerly by those ponds to the ancient south line 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, and the Southwick jog ceded to Massachusetts was intended to be an equivalent area."

45

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.46

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

43 Hollister, G. H., History of Connecticut, vol. 2, pp. 463-464, Hartford, 1855.

44 Massachusetts special laws, vol. 3, p. 234, 1805. For the full report of the commissioners see Connecticut private laws, vol. 2, pp. 1540-1544, 1837.

45 See Bowen, C. W., The boundary disputes of Connecticut, p. 65, Boston, 1882.

46 Connecticut private laws, vol. 2, pp. 1544-1550, 1837.

both States in 1905. The line as surveyed and marked was approved by Massachusetts in 1908,7 by Connecticut in 1913, and by the United States Congress October 3, 1914.48 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''

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 latitude 42° 02′ 04.619", longitude 72° 31′ 55.276", the line runs as follows:

South 81° 56' 34" west, 11,309 feet to a granite monument about 620 feet south of Allen Street in Longmeadow, in latitude 42° 01' 48''.933 and longitude 72° 34' 23''.644; thence south 51° 56' 28" west, 3,238 feet to a granite monument 450 feet east of the main road from Thompsonville to Springfield, in latitude 42° 01' 29'.212 and longitude 72° 34' 57''.422; thence north 88° 35' 49'' west, 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, in latitude 42° 01' 30''.616 and longitude 72° 36' 14'.696; 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 north 87° 18' 55'' west, 1,260 feet to a granite monument standing on the bank about 225 feet west of the westerly shore of the river, in latitude 42° 01' 51'.983 and longitude 72° 36′ 44''.913; 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, in latitude 42° 01′ 55′′.516 and longitude 72° 38' 26''.318; thence north 82° 39′ 40′′ 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, in latitude 42° 02' 06.813 and longitude 72° 40' 24''.149; thence north 84° 51' 12'' west, 7,202 feet to a granite monument on the easterly side of West Street, the road from West Suffield to Westfield, in latitude 42° 02′ 13".185 and longitude 72° 41′ 59''.207; thence south 89° 46′ 25′′ west, 4,137 feet to a granite monument at the corner of Agawam and Southwick in Massachusetts and Suffield in Connecticut, in latitude 42° 02′ 13''.019 and longitude 72° 42′ 54''.032; thence south 0° 48' 01'' east, 132 feet to a granite monument, in latitude 42° 02′ 11'.716 and longitude 72° 42′ 54''.008; thence south 89° 38′ 09'' west, 11,231 feet to a granite monument on the easterly shore of Congamond Lake, in latitude 42° 02' 10''.984 and longitude 72° 45′ 22′′.830; 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 4° 26' 29'' west, about 25 feet to said monument, in latitude 42° 00′ 27''.957 and longitude 72° 46' 00''.167; thence in the same direction, 1,632 feet to a granite monument at the southeasterly corner

47 Massachusetts acts of 1908, ch. 192.

48 38 Stat. L. 727.

of the "Southwick jog," in latitude 42° 00' 11" .881 and longitude 72° 46' 01".841; thence south 81° 33′ 28" west, 13,827 feet to a granite monument at the southwesterly corner of the "Southwick jog," in latitude 41° 59' 51'.787 and longitude 72° 49' 02''.976; thence north 3° 33′ 56′′ 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''.**

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 her old charters. After many fruitless attempts at a settlement, an arrangement was entered into in 1773 fixing the western boundary of Massachusetts 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: 50

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 lands 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 eighty-second milestone of the Pennsylvania line (see fig. 8), 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.51

On April 19, 1785, Massachusetts executed a deed transferring to the United States all title of the State of Massachusetts to territory west of the present western boundary of New York.

49 For the full notes of this boundary see Massachusetts acts of 1908, ch. 192; and Connecticut acts of 1913; see also 38 Stat. L. 727. For a description of each of the 214 marks on this line see Board of Harbor and Land Commissioners Twenty-ninth Ann. Rept. Massachusetts Pub. Doc. 11 of 1907, pp. 106-117, Boston, 1908.

50 New York Rev. Stat., 1875, p. 122.

51 Hough's New York Gazette, 1872, pp. 25, 26.

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 (see insert, fig. 8) in the southwest corner of Massachusetts, known as Boston Corners,52 was ceded to New York, and in 1855 the cession was confirmed by Congress.53

The present boundary between Massachusetts and New York was thus described from resurveys by a joint commission in 1899:

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; thence 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, in latitude 42° 02′ 58.756" and longitude 73° 29′ 50.737", 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 of 167° 08′ 15", 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, in latitude 42° 05' 10.205" and longitude 73° 30′ 31.031", at the corner of Mount Washington, in Massachusetts, and Copake, in New York; thence on an azimuth of 195° 12′ 22′′, 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, in latitude 42° 44' 45.201" and longitude 73° 15' 54.904" 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.

66

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, 1910.54

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, so that if any num

52 See U. S. Geol. Survey topographic map of Copake quadrangle, N. Y.-Mass. 53 10 Stat. L. 602.

34 Massachusetts acts of 1901, ch. 374; New York acts of 1910, ch. 447.