Scope and Content Note
The series consists of maps showing lands in the City of Rochester and Town of Greece claimed as damaged by the enlargement of the Erie Canal. It includes a list of claimants residing in the city who claimed reimbursement (damages) for land appropriated for the enlargement.
The maps were apparently created by the Office of the State Engineer and Surveyor to settle damage claims filed by those property owners whose land had been appropriated for canal enlargement. The State Engineer and Surveyor was a member of the Canal Board, which heard appeals of decisions by Canal Appraisers regarding damage claims; it was also responsible for surveying, mapping, and engineering of the State's canals.
The maps show land owned along the canal and typically contain: plot of land and name of owner; acreage; metes and bounds of the property; dimensions of spoil banks; and parts of roads or streets adjacent to the property.
Several maps have a printed written legend attached as "Explanatory Remarks" which explains the color code used for certain lines and the meanings of figures given at certain points on the maps. These appear to reflect standard survey practices. Blue lines are state boundary lines, and a yellow tint represents the land from which the appropriation was made.
The maps are hand drawn and inked in color. The majority are drawn on linen, some with traced copies attached. A few maps are drawn on paper, and contain a scale in chains per inch. Maps were originally glued onto pages. The majority of pages in the volume are empty, and it appears that maps previously glued to some pages were removed or lost before arrival at the Archives. Other maps remain loose within the volume.
The 27 maps in the volume range in size from 13.9 x 22 cm to 34.2 x 41.9 cm.
The New York State Archives is part of the Office of Cultural Education, an office of the New York State Education Department.
To report technical problems with this web site, please contact the New York State Archives at ARCHINFO@mail.nysed.gov