Simeon Borden
Encyclopedia
Simeon Borden was an American inventor, engineer, and noted surveyor.
Borden was born in Freetown
, now Fall River, Massachusetts
, to Simeon and Amey Briggs Borden; his younger brother Nathaniel Briggs Borden later became a United States Representative. He received a limited education at Tiverton, Rhode Island, and studied geometry and applied mathematics on his own. He became a woodworker and metalworker, practiced surveying, and in 1828 headed up a machine-shop in Fall River.
In 1830 Bordon invented a new apparatus for accurately measuring the base line for the upcoming Massachusetts' Trigonometrical Survey. It was 50 feet long, enclosed in a tube, and used with four compound microscopes. The tube and microscopes were mounted on trestles, and adjustable to any direction.
Borden's equipment was judged to be more accurate and convenient than any instrument available, and thus he assisted in measuring the Massachusetts
base line (now known as the Borden Base Line
) to a remarkable accuracy in 1831, and afterwards led the triangulation of the entire state from 1834-1841 as Superintendent of the Survey. He described this first geodetic survey in America in the ninth volume of the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society.
Borden surveyed and marked the line between Rhode Island
and Massachusetts
after their disputed boundary had been tried before the United States Supreme Court in 1844. He then turned his attention to railroads and telegraphs. In 1851 he strung a telegraph wire, suspended on masts 220 feet high, across the Hudson River
from the Palisades to Fort Washington, a distance of more than a mile.
Borden died in Fall River in 1856.
Most, if not all, of the original field notes from Borden's trigonometric survey of Massachusetts are in the possession of the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers, Inc., One Walnut Street, Boston, MA.
Borden was born in Freetown
Freetown, Massachusetts
Freetown is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,870 at the 2010 census.Freetown is one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled by the Pilgrims and their descendants in the latter half of the 17th century. The town once included...
, now Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
, to Simeon and Amey Briggs Borden; his younger brother Nathaniel Briggs Borden later became a United States Representative. He received a limited education at Tiverton, Rhode Island, and studied geometry and applied mathematics on his own. He became a woodworker and metalworker, practiced surveying, and in 1828 headed up a machine-shop in Fall River.
In 1830 Bordon invented a new apparatus for accurately measuring the base line for the upcoming Massachusetts' Trigonometrical Survey. It was 50 feet long, enclosed in a tube, and used with four compound microscopes. The tube and microscopes were mounted on trestles, and adjustable to any direction.
Borden's equipment was judged to be more accurate and convenient than any instrument available, and thus he assisted in measuring the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
base line (now known as the Borden Base Line
Borden Base Line
The Borden Base Line is a historic survey line running north/south through Hatfield and South Deerfield, Massachusetts. It was completed in 1831, and is now on the List of historic civil engineering landmarks....
) to a remarkable accuracy in 1831, and afterwards led the triangulation of the entire state from 1834-1841 as Superintendent of the Survey. He described this first geodetic survey in America in the ninth volume of the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society.
Borden surveyed and marked the line between Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
after their disputed boundary had been tried before the United States Supreme Court in 1844. He then turned his attention to railroads and telegraphs. In 1851 he strung a telegraph wire, suspended on masts 220 feet high, across the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
from the Palisades to Fort Washington, a distance of more than a mile.
Borden died in Fall River in 1856.
Most, if not all, of the original field notes from Borden's trigonometric survey of Massachusetts are in the possession of the Massachusetts Association of Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers, Inc., One Walnut Street, Boston, MA.
Selected works
- "An Account of the Trigonometrical Survey of Massachusetts", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Volume 9, 18, Part I.
- A System of Useful Formulae: adapted to the practical operations of locating and constructing Railroads, Boston : Charles C. Little & James Brown, 1851.