Another surveyor was showing me on a Maine Gazateer where they had canoed the Alagash River. I noted that most of Northern Maine is on a Township Range system similar to the PLSS. I note that the townships were 6 miles square and that the "0" range line was the Maine/New Brunswick border. I note there were two different references after the T/R WELS being the larger area, to the North and cardinal in nature. The townships (can't recall the reference) toward the South were somewhat skewed.
When was it established, what is similar to the PLSS and what is different?
Any good references for further information?
Paul in PA
My short answer would be "I used to know" as I rarely get that far north. Hopefully some of my colleagues who do will weigh in. But meanwhile the best outline of the history of the northern Maine surveys that I've seen is Ten Million Acres of Timber by Austin H. Wilkins, in which the following map appears (sorry for the blurry scan) along with a detailed history:
If memory serves, the various large areas were granted, and then surveyed into "townships," separately. I think the major difference between these surveys and those within the PLSS is that there was no one agency in charge of procedures etc. nor any one manual employed. And I believe that, as one might infer from the map, the most southerly portion of Maine was divided up in haphazard colonial fashion; the middle section mostly in rectangles oriented to magnetic north; the northerly (and last-settled) section, rectangles oriented to true north.
I'll have to refresh my memory of all this during the next big snowstorm. At least now I know where I put the book!
Cee Gee, thanks for the tip on the next book I need to read. Having surveyed for 15 years in a rather simple PLSS state (Florida), the interesting breakdown of the WELS Townships in "the north woods" have been a curiosity which I presumed there was a story to. In my studies for the Maine exam last fall, I was fortunate to have run across a much smaller depiction of a similar map in my 3rd ed. Brown, Robilard & Wilson "Boundary Control and Legal Principles" reference book. Unfortunately, the authors didn't expound on the map other than to say "Resurvey procedures are determined by the state" and "state court interpretation is the controlling consideration for resurvey procedure since these townships were created under state law." Ironically, I haven't been able to locate the source of compiled court case reference materials that some of the UMaine students had at the exam in October. It wasn't something I needed for the exam, but I'm sure it would be interesting to read some of the rulings of law.
It's interesting that Brown's copy didn't have the legend shown on your map above. I'll have to pencil that into my book for reference. 🙂 I was wondering what some of those abreviations stood for...
For those who cannot make out the abbreviations on the map above, here are my interpretations:
TS = Titcomb Survey
IP = Indian Purchase
OIP = Old Indian Purchase
N.W.P = North of Waldo Patent
E.D. = East Division Bingham's Purchase
N.D. = North Division Bingham's Purchase
M.D. = Middle Division Bingham's Purchase
W.D. = West Division Bingham's Purchase
S.D. = South Division Bingham's Purchase
W.B.K.P. = West of Bingham's Kennebec Purchase
N.B.K.P. = North of Bingham's Kennebec Purchase
N.B.P.P. = North of Bingham's Penobscot Purchase
E.P.R. = East of Penobscot River
BKP-WKR = Bingham's Kennebec Purchase West of Kennebec River
BKP-EKR = Bingham's Kennebec Purchase East of Kennebec River
I just spent a few days in the North Woods of Maine, fascinating area. I drove through there extensively, and never saw a single power line, gas line, no sign of any utilities crossing through there at all. About the only thing I saw were a lot of logging trucks barreling through (they have the right of way). I nearly crashed head on into one on a narrow road coming around a bend in a rain storm. Saw a black bear, quite large, and lots of moose. And black weasels (I think that's what they were). And no cell service all day.
I am curious...the townships shown in the Delorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer and this map...are they monumented? Were the lines actually run or are these "paper" boundaries?
Another thing that impressed me was the quality of the roads. There was only one single road in there that was paved, all the rest were dirt/gravel, most in excellent condition. I think the timber companies maintain them. I drove about 600 miles on those roads and almost all were driveable at 40-50 mph.
I ordered that book mentioned above...Ten Million Acres of Timber...