Show master map Is record of united states growth grow th federal land office GAP completes biennial revision job by NOAH JOHNSON ef ASHINGTON lASHINGTON down to wisiana way someone discovered a few years ago that east Timba lier island 65 miles off new orleans in the gulf of mexico had moved approximately two and one fourth miles during the past hundred years natives like you and me shook their heads and said that strange they forgot about it but uncle sam had to remember because someone might ask him about east Tim Timba baher lier island about the same time government surveyors urve discovered the missouri her jer had jumped its tracks around is marck N D just a natural phenomenon to the folks at bismarck but a minor crisis to uncle sam it messed up his land records something awful log jam and earthquake meanwhile back in louisiana again a great log jam formed in the red river growing until it obstructed ted the stream and forced hur N i STEP NO 3 multiple color presses produce the finished map at the rate of 1000 sheets per hour ried waters to drain off into bayous that was another headache for government surveyors who had just returned from arkansas where they found that an earthquake in 1808 had left lakes where no lakes were supposed to be every two years since 1882 this headache has been boiled down into A picture seven feet long and five aget peet high known as the official mas 1 I ixer map of the united states in the office of land commissioner fred W johnson part of the U S department of the interior workmen condense on the nee dle die sharp point of an engraving in strument ment millions of pages of official records hundreds of thousands of drawings and years of wearisome trudging by hundreds of government surveyors over more than acres of public lands the newest map prepared by order of congress is just now coming off the press most perfect map made when you know the details theres something terrifyingly grandiose about this map it carries a key to the identification of original titles to approximately parcels of land transferred to private ownership by federal patent during the past century it shows outlines of the national rectangular survey system upon which such land disposal was based As it if that were not enough it presents a 1939 picture of the united states from A to Z including state boundaries cities towns rivers railroads national parks and reservations outlying territories ri and possessions to compile it workmen had to examine constantly cha changing nging drawings called township plats on file in the land office every minute change had to be inscribed backwards by hand on 20 permanent copper plates from which the maps are lithographed lithographer litho graphed obliterating old details and substituting the new when engraving was complete artists added color affording easy identification of major features then workmen could lean back and relax watching their finished baby rou roll off color presses of the geological survey at the rate of 1000 sheets an hour history chronicled on map commissioner johnson will tell you that many a strange chapter in american history can be read from his map one of them concerns three large tracts of no mans land later parts of minnesota the two dakotas colorado and louisi ana which were acquired by th the united states without treaty cession purchase or other formal proceedings ce at the beginning this quirk to in national development grew out of the hastily drawn louisiana purchase from france in 1803 which stated that the united states should get lands in the drainage basin of the mississippi river later when the treaty for annexation of texas was negotiated in 1845 the east boundary of that area was set at the sabine river between these two boundaries lay some square miles of the southwestern corner of louisiana east of the sabine and not part of the mississippi drainage basin spain contested inclusion of this area into the union the controversy r il Is STEP NO 2 engraved backwards by hand on copper plate every detail in the new map is prepared in operations like this ans more afore than 20 copper plates are used in assembling the completed map it requires one year to make the additions and changes forbach fo reach publication being settled by a treaty in 1919 this story is shown on mr johnsons map trouble with great britain similarly on the northern border it was discovered the mississippi river did not drain parts of north dakota south dakota and M minnesota neso treaties were signed with great britain in 1818 and 1925 colorados no mans land was atrach a tract of about 1300 square miles in the north central part of that state lying between lands I 1 included in the louisiana purchase and the texas panhandle it was obtained for the united states in a treaty with the ute indians indian s in 1868 these however are mere historical details which once chronicled need never be changed land office workmen have far more trouble watching mother natures constructive tive and destructive tasks an T m artl I 1 Z Z 01 oj Z az Z STEP NO 4 Mo mounting the map mal is i s last ass assembled ambled on a background of cloth the two halves are matched with lous carr care to insure accuracy in every detail E an 4 t 1 4 STEP NO 1 I ehos land is it outside of the original 13 st states ites kentucky west virginia maine vermont texas and tennessee the answer is found in more than two and one half miles of books like these in the general land office they show transfer of more than parcels of public domain as compiled under the rectangular survey system source of basic information for the new master map dept of interior photos unceasing in i g process which is the major reason new maps are necessary every two years sometimes man conspires with nature to complicate matters and no m more ore fascinating chapter of land office history haseker has ever been written than that concerning lake michigan and chicago where changes in the shore line precipitated a lengthy battle before the united states supreme court this was the stirring though unsuccessful battle of caan george wellington streeter and ma his wife to secure title to tracts of land built up by the restless waves of lake michigan subsequent to early general land office surveys of the area it was an episode in chica gos early history fully as colorful as the legend of mrs OLe arys cow moving onto the lands sometime in the early these two picturesque tur esque characters sought sometimes at the point of a rifle to retain possession in spite of high water and the efforts of chicago police state and federal officials to oust them from their self created autonomous principality which they named De estrict of lake michigan it comprised 78 acres of land near chi cagos business district and allegedly started when the Cap cahnt nt found his boat stranded on a shallow reef sand drifted around formed an island and eventually joined the mainland to this day the lake front area is referred to as streeter ville highest lowest points shown one thing more find on the map few people know that the highest and lowest points in the nation are located within less than a mile radius both within the state of california on the new master map both these points are recorded foot mt whitney and death valley which is feet below sea level each is included in a national park area under jurisdiction of the department of the interior when finished nine tenths of the maps mounted on an a background of cloth are assigned by law to me members M of congress for distribution dont be sorry if you cant get 0 one ne after all you cant hang a five by seven foot map in the living room ate released leased by western newspaper union |