New York State Court of Claims Exhibit Map of Taggarts Paper Company Land Claim

This single sheet map entitled "Map of the Taggarts Paper Co Land on Township 2 Brown's Tract Herkimer County N.Y." was used as an important exhibit (No. 11) in a case heard in the Court of Claims known as the Taggarts Paper Company Claim No. 10335. The case apparently concerned a land claim by Taggarts against the state.

The Court of Claims is a constitutional court of record with jurisdiction to hear and determine claims against the state, or by the state against a claimant or between existing claimants. A transmittal letter accompanying the map, signed by a court clerk and dated March 28, 1917, indicates that the map was stored in the vault of the State Education Department at the request of the court, literally for safekeeping, after the attorneys for Taggarts sent it to the court at the conclusion of the trial, at which time the court was in the process of moving offices.

The map is an annotated copy of a topographic map surveyed in 1910 by S.S. Snell. The base map shows natural features of land and water, as well as trails, roads, lumber camps, and lot and range numbers. Annotations take the form of solid, dashed, or hash lines done in black, blue, or red ink or crayon. There is no legend and the meaning of the annotations or the significance of the sequestered land blocks depicted is unknown.

The map has a ruled scale of 20 chains to one inch, a contour interval of 20 feet, and covers 11,897 acres. It measures 129 x 95 cm within neat lines. The stenographer's file stamp of the Court of Claims giving claim exhibit number and name of claimant, dated November 13, 1916, appears in the upper right corner of the map.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.