New York State Department of Public Works Blueprint Copies of Maps of Lands Permanently Appropriated by the State of New York…

B0214-83: Numerical by contract number.

B0214-85: Numerical by contract number and therein alphabetical by name of property owner.

B0214-99: Arranged by canal division and therein geographical by "book" area.

Chapter 147 (Section 4) of the Laws of 1903 empowered the State Engineer and Surveyor to appropriate any lands, structures, or waters deemed necessary for canal use. In so doing, the State Engineer and Surveyor was required to execute an accurate survey and map, to which a certificate was affixed stating that the lands therein described had been appropriated by the state for canal use.

Duplicate copies of maps were filed at the office of the Superintendent of Public Works, which was responsible for serving the notices of appropriation as well as filing at the county clerk's office duplicate copies of the notices of appropriation, maps, certificates of service, and descriptions.

This series documents the responsibilities of the Superintendent of Public Works relating to the appropriation of land for canal use. The series consists of county clerks' certificates of filing notices to be served on property owners; affidavits of service; duplicates of appropriation maps; and descriptions of lands to be appropriated.

Because all of the maps in this series are duplicates and there are no certificates of appropriation, these are probably the files maintained by the Superintendent of Public Works office. Location of the originals is unknown.

County clerk's certificates of filing contain the names of the county, town, and county clerk; date; map number; owner's name (of appropriated land); location (town, city, or village and county) and types of documents filed in the office. Affidavits of service provide name of county; name and signature of person who served the notice of appropriation; date of serving; name of person to whom the documents were served; title, if any; signature of notary public; and date notarized. Notices to be served on property owners inform them that the State Engineer and Surveyor has filed with the Superintendent of Public Works office the necessary documents for appropriating the land, and that copies of such documents are attached. The notices are addressed to the property owner. They also provide the date when the State Engineer and Surveyor filed the necessary documents with the Superintendent of Public Works.

Maps are blueprint copies of original tracings and provide a detailed view of the property to be appropriated. Each map includes the names of property owners (or reputed owners) and often the names of adjoining property owners; a detailed narrative description of the lands to be appropriated, written directly onto each map; a standard title that includes the town and county of the land to be appropriated; a scale equating inches to feet; the direction of true north; a signature block of persons who made, traced, and checked the maps, sometimes dated; and signed and dated certifications that the duplicates are authentic.

In addition the maps sometimes include land acreage; statements relating parcels to numbered line stations; an indication of iron pipes (from which parcel measurements were taken, as mentioned in the narrative description); the monumented base line (a line parallel to the center of the improved Erie Canal); and lines designating proposed pipe lines, the old Erie Canal, the improved Erie Canal and other features, such as railroad lines.

B0214-83, 6 cu. ft. (42 volumes containing ca. 2,040 maps : folded blueprints ; 19 x 21.5 cm or larger within volume size of 21 x 33 cm.: Contract and parcel numbers are filled in on preprinted lines found in the upper right corner of each map. Maps and accompanying documents in the 1983 accretion are held together by string passed through punched holes, and thus bound between cardboard covers. Each of these has on its center cover a contract number, and a consecutive number (sometimes with a letter) appears in the upper right corner of the cover. At times another number, pencilled in blue, appears over the main contract number; its significance is not known. The maps are usually tri-folded and generally range from 19 x 21.5 cm to 19 x 91 cm within the bound size of 21 x 33 cm.

B0214-85, 8 cu. ft. : folded blueprints ; ca. 2,800 maps 15 x 30 cm or larger folded to letter size folders: Contract and parcel numbers are often written in pencil on the folders containing the maps (or often on the back of the map). Maps and accompanying documents are filed by contract number and therein alphabetically in folders by last name of property owner. They are usually tri-folded from sizes ranging from 15 x 30 cm to 15 x 139 cm to fit letter-size folders. The bulk of these maps measure 19 x 91 cm.

B0214-99, 1 cu. ft. (ca. 475 maps) : blueprints ; 8 1/2 x 11 in.: This accretion consists of approximately 475 blueprint maps (ca. 8 1/2 x 11 inches) mounted on linen backing. The maps are divided according to the traditional canal divisions (Eastern, Middle and Western) and then organized into so-called "books" by the specific canal name. Each "book" includes a key map of the geographic area it covers. Individual maps show the right of way of the Barge Canal and the property acquired by the state for its construction, including name of property owner, claim number, and acreage of the parcel. Most maps are drawn to the scale of 1 inch = 500 feet.

B0214-11: This accretion consists of five blueprint maps of lands appropriated in the Town of Cicero, Village of Brewerton for use by the Barge Canal under the Laws of 1934, Chapter 688, which authorized New York State to receive federal monies to improve the Barge Canal, and the Laws of 1939, Chapter 542, entitled "an act relating to canals, constituting chapter five of the Consolidated Laws."

B1808Series B1808, Maps of Lands Permanently Appropriated by the State of New York for the Use of the Barge Canal, 1897-1969, contains the original paper and linen maps for items in this series

A1277Series A1277, Notices of Service Upon Owners of Land Appropriated for the Barge Canal, 1905-1916, and

22561Series 22561, Barge Canal land appropriation files, all contain related records.

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