New York State Board of Commissioners of the Land Office Forest Preserve Land Purchase Proposal Files
Some content may contain outdated and offensive terminology. See: New York State Archives Statement on Language in Descriptive Resources
Overview of the Records
Repository:
New York State Archives
New York State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
Summary:
The series consists of correspondence, appraisal and survey descriptions, and a few maps relating to proposed land purchases
for expansion of the Adirondack Forest Preserve. The files track activities surrounding purchase of land for the Forest Preserve
from the purchase proposals made to the Board of Commissioners of the Land Office by the Conservation Department (earlier
the Conservation Commission) to the Board's approval of the purchase.
Creator:
Title:
Forest Preserve land purchase proposal files
Quantity:
Quantity:
Quantity:
Inclusive Dates:
1920-1948
Series Number:
A3236
Sponsor:
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Arrangement
Numerical by proposal number corresponding to rough chronological order of correspondence.
Administrative History
The Board of Commissioners of the Land Office supervised the use, acquisition, and disposition of state lands not already
under another jurisdiction. Legislation of 1885 established both a state forest preserve and a Forest Commission to maintain
and control it. The law designated 14 counties in which land then owned or subsequently acquired by the state would be preserved
as forever wild forest land. Subsequent laws appropriated funds for the acquisition of additional lands for the preserve.
Scope and Content Note
The series consists of correspondence, appraisal and survey descriptions, and a few maps relating to proposed land purchases
for expansion of the Adirondack Forest Preserve. The files track activities surrounding purchase of land for the Forest Preserve
from the purchase proposals made to the Board of Commissioners of the Land Office by the Conservation Department (earlier
the Conservation Commission) to the Board's approval of the purchase.
The Conservation Department proposals, consisting of letters to the Board recommending purchase of specified parcels of land,
indicate the location, name, or lot number(s) of the tracts(s) and often a price per acre and total cost. Proposals are accompanied
by an appraisal and survey description of the land indicating: metes and bounds; types of trees and other characteristics
of the land; by whom offered for sale; price at which offered; amount appraised at; and recommended purchase price.
Some correspondence indicates other considerations such as easements, mineral deposits, and outstanding mineral rights. In
a few cases, the State Geologist provides detailed information on the mineral content of the land. Many proposals have a handwritten
annotation indicating the Board's approval of the purchase on a specified date. Files for some proposals are missing. Missing
files are noted in the container list.
There are six maps scattered in the series. The maps are either annotated print tract maps or unannotated blueprint maps that
accompany the Conservation Department recommendations and show land in the Adirondack Mountains recommended for purchase.
The maps cover land in Hamilton, Essex, St. Lawrence, and Fulton counties. They often deal with land offered for sale by lumber
companies, or, in one case, for an easement right-of-way to construct and maintain a telephone line proposed for the protection
of the forestlands in the vicinity. Information on title, scale, surveyor, and legend is usually present on the blueprints,
but the print maps are merely cut-out sections that have been colored in crayon to show the purchase areas in question. The
maps range in size from 24 x 21.5 cm to 47 x 159 cm.
Alternate Formats Available
Microform is available at the New York State Archives through interlibrary loan.
Processing Information
This series was microfilmed by State Archives staff in 1995 as part of a cooperative reformatting project with the State Dept.
of Environmental Conservation, funded by a grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.
Access Terms
Corporate Name(s):
Geographic Name(s):
Subject(s):
Genre(s):
Function(s):
Detailed Description
Contents |
Box |
Accretion: A3236-87 |
351 to 375 (Missing: 354, 359, 360, 361, 365) |
1 |
376 to 400 (Missing: 377, 387) |
1 |
401 to 425 (Missing: 407, 418, 419); 424 includes blueprint map Grasse River on Property of Robert W. Higbie Lumber Co., September
27, 1918
|
1 |
426 to 450; 429 includes blueprint map Grasse River on Property of Robert W. Higbie Lumber Co., September 27, 1918 |
1 |
451 to 470; 464 includes "Color Annotated Map" |
1 |
471 to 500 (Missing: 474) |
1 |
551 to 575 (Missing: 555) |
1 |
601 to 624 (Missing: 625); 623 includes blueprint map Lake Pleasant - Hamilton Lake Highway, May 5, 1927 |
1 |
901 to 925; 918 includes "Color Annotated Map" |
2 |
951 to 975; 953 includes blueprint map of lots 2, 3, 53, 57, and 64, Benson Twp., March 8, 1934 |
2 |
1201 to 1217 (Missing:1218-1221) |
2 |
1222 to 1223 (purchases documented in this folder were acquired with funds authorized by Chapter 421, Laws 1947) |
2 |