Royal Colonial Boundary of 1665
Encyclopedia
The Royal Colonial Boundary of 1665 is a historic civil engineering landmark, as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers
. It was a brainchild of King Charles II of Great Britain & Ireland to mark the boundaries of various English (became British after 1707) North American colonies. It was intended to stretch from the Atlantic Ocean
to the Pacific Ocean
, but in reality it was only surveyed from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River
. It would later to be said of the project:
The survey was done along the 36°30′ north latitude
. It was to mark the boundary between the colonies of Virginia
and North Carolina
. It was done in five stages, using cadastral
and geodetic
surveying
, being one of the first attempts to mark a boundary so long that it had to be concerned with the arc of the planet Earth
. The boundary line would eventually mark the border between Kentucky
and Tennessee
, as the surveying was not completed in 1819, well after the United States gained its independence from the British Empire.
An aberration in the line occurs on the Virginia/Tennessee border, due to the surveyor Peter Jefferson
, father of Thomas Jefferson
, continually moving north of the designated latitude. There are three theories on the reason for this:
The extension of the line occurred in 1779 and 1780, to where the line would first cross the Cumberland River
. From there Virginia hired Thomas Walker
to survey the line to the Mississippi River
. Walker did this, but did not do a perfect job due to dense virgin forest
, mountainous terrain, and rough riverbeds. In 1821 the state of Tennessee did a survey of the line, to determine the true border between Kentucky and Tennessee, but was not resolved due to Kentucky not participating. A joint survey by the two states, commanded by Austin P. Cox and Benjamin Pebbles ran from 9 January to 20 October 1859. They started a 320-mile survey from the New Madrid Bend
of the Mississippi River to the Cumberland Gap
. Every five miles a 3-foot high stone slab was placed to mark the boundary.
The line would later be reused to mark the boundary, north of which slavery could not be practiced, established in the Missouri Compromise
of 1820.
A marker at the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
denotes where the boundaries of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia intersect. Under the Royal Proclamation of 1763
it also marks how far west a British (Scottish, English & Irish) colonist was allowed to reside. Its exact location is N 36'36.045, W 83'40.518.
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
. It was a brainchild of King Charles II of Great Britain & Ireland to mark the boundaries of various English (became British after 1707) North American colonies. It was intended to stretch from the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, but in reality it was only surveyed from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. It would later to be said of the project:
"The boundary Charles II envisioned was one of the most grandiose in history. To decree an imaginary geographic straight line, 3,000 miles long, as a boundary across an unknown continent that he didn't even own was the height of royal pomposity."
The survey was done along the 36°30′ north latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
. It was to mark the boundary between the colonies of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. It was done in five stages, using cadastral
Cadastre
A cadastre , using a cadastral survey or cadastral map, is a comprehensive register of the metes-and-bounds real property of a country...
and geodetic
Geodesy
Geodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...
surveying
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
, being one of the first attempts to mark a boundary so long that it had to be concerned with the arc of the planet Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. The boundary line would eventually mark the border between Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, as the surveying was not completed in 1819, well after the United States gained its independence from the British Empire.
An aberration in the line occurs on the Virginia/Tennessee border, due to the surveyor Peter Jefferson
Peter Jefferson
Peter Jefferson was the father of American President Thomas Jefferson . A surveyor and cartographer, his Fry-Jefferson Map of 1751 accurately depicted the Allegheny Mountains for the first time and showed the route of "The Great Road from the Yadkin River thro Virginia to Philadelphia distant 455...
, father of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, continually moving north of the designated latitude. There are three theories on the reason for this:
- The surveyor was drunk.
- Iron deposits in the mountains interfered with compass readings.
- People who lived in Tennessee exerted influence over the location of the line.
The extension of the line occurred in 1779 and 1780, to where the line would first cross the Cumberland River
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
. From there Virginia hired Thomas Walker
Thomas Walker (explorer)
Dr. Thomas Walker was a physician and explorer from Virginia who led an expedition to what is now the region beyond the Allegheny Mountains area of British North America in the mid-18th century...
to survey the line to the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Walker did this, but did not do a perfect job due to dense virgin forest
Old growth forest
An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...
, mountainous terrain, and rough riverbeds. In 1821 the state of Tennessee did a survey of the line, to determine the true border between Kentucky and Tennessee, but was not resolved due to Kentucky not participating. A joint survey by the two states, commanded by Austin P. Cox and Benjamin Pebbles ran from 9 January to 20 October 1859. They started a 320-mile survey from the New Madrid Bend
Kentucky Bend
The Kentucky Bend, variously called the New Madrid Bend, Madrid Bend, Bessie Bend, or Bubbleland, is an exclave of Fulton County, Kentucky, in the United States....
of the Mississippi River to the Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, at the juncture of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia...
. Every five miles a 3-foot high stone slab was placed to mark the boundary.
The line would later be reused to mark the boundary, north of which slavery could not be practiced, established in the Missouri Compromise
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30'...
of 1820.
A marker at the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Established on June 11, 1940, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located at the border between Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Cumberland Gap is a sizable natural break in the Appalachian Mountains....
denotes where the boundaries of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia intersect. Under the Royal Proclamation of 1763
Royal Proclamation of 1763
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
it also marks how far west a British (Scottish, English & Irish) colonist was allowed to reside. Its exact location is N 36'36.045, W 83'40.518.