t~\ yy -•r'. ,-rv :K ft. U JU ■S y T y f Tr>, ^ - T - t v - |i •; -4- X ' ■'■ X ' ;'H; ': :? \ A is - K 1 i - > \X . ,—iLr ml ~-m V«^ 4 — m*- - ■■.- X X — xy /*v /-s s r y t * y y y .C' ^ y yr yy y ^ H' p N w -J^L Ji.iL Jl ,-x O ’ a O x y y f<i$ ^4 >y I PUBLIC DOCUMENT . N o. 50. dUmmionforalllj of PassacJjtmtts. Report or the Commissioners O N T H E Topographical Survey. F oe t h e Y e a r 1 8 9 7 . BOSTON: WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS, 18 Post Office Squake. 1898. REPORT. Boston, Dec. 31, 1897. To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Commissioners on the Topographical Sur­ vey and Map of the State present the following report of the work executed under their direction during the year 1897. The determination of the town boundary lines has been carried on under the same general plan as in preceding years. The supervision and oversight of the work from 1895 to 1897 Avere undertaken as a labor of love by the chairman of the Board, the late Prof. Henry L. Whiting. It Avas found, OAving to other engagements and advancing years, that he was unable to devote as much time to the survey as the work required, and the last Legislature in­ creased the appropriation for carrying on the work of the Board, in order that a chief engineer might be employed, who should relieve the chairman of some of his responsible duties. On March 3, Mr. Henry B. Wood, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an engineer of ex- 4 STATE TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. [Jan. tended experience in topographical problems, was engaged as chief engineer, and has had immediate direction and control of the survey, and has acted as the executive officer of the Board in carrying out its instructions. Professor Whiting died on Feh. 4, 1897, and the Commonwealth and this Board, in his death, lost a wise counsellor and a devoted friend, — one who never considered his own convenience when the interests of the State demanded his time and strength. The following resolutions were spread upon the records of the Board: — “ The Topographical Survey Commission desire to spread upon their records the deep and heartfelt sorrow with which they have just heard of the sudden death of their chairman, the late Henry L. Whiting. “ Mr. Whiting was connected with this Commis­ sion from its foundation in 1884 to the time of his death, and took the most active interest in all of its affairs; in fact, he was for a long' time the head of the Commission, the one to whom every one looked for counsel and advice. Ilis long and in­ timate acquaintance with the details of the coast survey work gave his opinions great weight with his associates, and his judgment was depended upon in all the transactions of the department. 1898.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 50. 5 “Mr. Whiting was possessed of a remarkably bright, energetic mind, and he retained, far beyond the limit ordinarily set for active interest in busi­ ness and professional matters, those powers of analysis and those gifts of physical strength neces­ sary for carrying important enterprises into execu­ tion. He was of a most lovable and considerate disposition, though firm in carrying out plans which he felt to be right. He will be long missed by his associates and all others with whom he was brought into business relations. “ In respectful memory of our late chairman, it is ordered that the department be closed on the day of his funeral.” On February 18, Mr. Frank W. Ilodgdon, chief engineer of the Board of Harbor and Land Com­ missioners, was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Professor Whiting. On the town boundary work three field parties have been employed, in charge, respectively, of Messrs. James B. Tolley, Eugene E. Peirce and F. E. Bowman. Mr. Tolley’s party has been engaged during the year in extending and completing the primary triangulation work upon which lie was engaged throughout the previous year. The field work of this portion of the survey has now been substantially completed, only six stations 6 STATE TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. [Jan. remaining to be occupied. The computations from field notes of the triangulation done in 1895 and 1896 were nearly completed during the winter of 1896-97 in Washington, and it is expected that the remaining portions of that work, together with the primary work of this year, will be substantially completed before the field season of 1898 begins. The Commonwealth will then have an excellent net-work of primary base lines stretching from the ocean westward to the Yew York boundary line, on which the smaller triangulation scheme for lo­ cating the town boundary corners will be based. "With these bases fixed and the computations of two seasons’ field work already done, the smaller secondary triangulation from the primaries, to the town corners direct can be computed by the office force, while the field assistants are gather­ ing additional data for development of town boundaries. As has been previously explained, this under­ taking was necessary owing to the loss of the exact positions of certain of the triangulation stations of the earlier surveys, and also owing to discrepancies which arose when the work of the Borden triangulation of 1831 was compared with the accurate work of the Coast Survey. As will be seen from the report of the chief engineer, hereto annexed, Mi’. Tolley has been very success- 1898.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 50. 7 ful in relocating and identifying a number of the original triangulation stations which were reported to he lost; and in one case at least his operations have resulted in the preservation of one of the main primary triangulation stations, which was liable to he entirely obliterated by building oper­ ations on the summit of Mt. Tom. The superin­ tendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey at "Washington has always shown a great interest in the work of our survey, and, at our request, cheerfully gave his consent to have Mr. Tolley occupy his office at Washington and work out the results of our triangulation there, where he had the advice and assistance of the officers of the Coast Survey, who are especially skilled in the intricate calculations connected with work of this character. The instruction and advice re­ ceived from these officers have enabled us to get the most complete and accurate results obtainable from our work. The Commonwealth also renders an equivalent to the United States authorities in giving them freely the benefit of the entire field observations of angles that have long been wanted by the Coast Survey to complete the chain of control through the western section of the State, and make it equally strong with that which covers the eastern portion. 8 STATE TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. [Jan. From the statements of Coast Survey officers to our chief engineer, we learn that the quality of work done by Mr. Tolley is of a high order, and fully equal to the requirements of any survey we may wish to base upon it. It is proposed to have Mr. Tolley return to Washington this win­ ter, to complete the computations of this primary triangulation under the same favorable condi­ tions. The party in charge of Mr. Peirce was engaged during the early portion of the year in making surveys to locate and describe the new lines recommended by the Board to straighten portions of the boundaries between the towns of Iling- ham, Norwell, Scituate and Cohasset. Later the party was engaged in the necessary surveys to determine the location of the bounds between the town of Dedham and the new town of West- wood, which was set off and incorporated by chapter 226 of the Acts of 1897. Upon the completion of this work, the party began the survey of various roads and rivers which form portions of the town boundaries in Bristol County. This work was continued until August 7, when the whole party was transferred to work on the surveys in connection with the re-marking of the Rhode Island boundary line, under the provisions of chapter 88 of the Resolves of 1897. It re- 1898.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 50. 9 mainecl upon this work until the end of the field season. The party in charge of Mr. Bowman was engaged throughout the season in making de­ scriptions of town boundary marks and trian­ gulation stations, and in surveying roads and streams forming portions of the town boundaries in Plymouth and Bristol counties. The office work has been done by the same force as last year. The computations of the town boundary and other surveys have been made in duplicate by Mrs. B. M. Peirce and Mr. W. C. Hawley. Mrs, Peirce has also at­ tended to the sale of the sheets of the State map, has kept the records of the Board and done other clerical work. Mr. Hawley has also spent much time in searching out and copying for the use of the Board important data relating to the establishment of town boundary lines. The draughting has been in charge of Mr. F. L. Tibbetts, with Mr. P. S. Yendell and Mr. F. W. Farnum as assistants. Arrangements have been made with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, by which we are furnished with photographic prints of the shore outlines of the various towns bordering on the sea, on such scale as is required for plotting them on our plans.