Tri-States Monument Explained

Monument Name:Tri-States Monument
Coordinates:41.3573°N -74.6947°W
Location:Tripoint for the states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania
Material:Granite
Map Name:USA New Jersey Sussex County#New Jersey#USA

The Tri-States Monument (also known as Tri-State Rock) is a granite monument that marks the tripoint of the state boundaries of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. It is at the northwestern end of the boundary between New Jersey and New York, the northern end of the boundary between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and the eastern end of the boundary between New York and Pennsylvania. The monument is located at the confluence of the Delaware and Neversink rivers.[1] [2] [3] [4] This location is also known as Carpenter's Point.[5]

The nearby Witness Monument, also known as the Reference Monument or the western State Line Monument, is a taller upright granite monument located south of the Laurel Grove Cemetery in Port Jervis, New York, and under a bridge for Interstate 84. It is not directly on any state boundary, but instead witnesses the location of two points: this tripoint and the corner boundary point between New York and Pennsylvania in the Delaware River.[1]

The Supreme Court of the United States summarized the boundaries of these three states with respect to this monument in New Jersey v. New York, 283 U.S. 336 (1931):[6]

Also, it is the northernmost point of New Jersey, in Montague Township, Sussex County.[7]

Background

In 1664, King Charles II of England granted his brother, James, the Duke of York, a Royal colony that covered what had been New Netherlands. Later in 1664, the Duke of York divided this area between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton. The western and northern border was to be:[8] [9]

History

In December 1872, the New Jersey Geological Survey had the State Geologist, George H. Cook, survey the boundary between New Jersey and New York.[10] In 1874, the United States Coast Survey recovered the previous crow foot cut marking the station location and placed a lead-filled copper pipe in a deep hole drilled into the bedrock. In 1882, this copper bolt was replaced with a granite monument similar to the witness monument, but ice floes broke off the upper portion by the spring of 1883. The remaining monument was then reworked on May 21, 1885 to its current description.

Description

The Tri-States Monument is 2inchesft4inchesin (ftin) long, 1inchesft4inchesin (ftin) wide, and 1inchesft5inchesin (ftin) high above the bedrock. The top surface is engraved with the initials of the names of the three states and with grooves representing the state boundaries. "Tri States Monument" is engraved on the north side. It is by the water's edge near the high-water mark of the rivers.[11] A bronze United States Coast and Geodetic Survey survey marker stamped LAUREL NO. 2 1942 was in the center of the top surface until 2013.[12] It was a reference mark for the triangulation station, LAUREL, that was 25feet from the Witness Monument. Both were set in 1942.[13]

The Witness Monument is inscribed "Boundary Monument" and dated 1882 on both sides. "Witness Monument" is engraved on the east side. The New Jersey (south) side details the location of the tripoint: It also lists the commissioners from New Jersey: Abraham Browning, Thomas N. McCarter, and George H. Cook; and surveyor Edward A. Bowser. The New York (north) side details the location of the corner boundary point between New York and Pennsylvania: And lists the commissioners from New York: Henry R. Pierson, Chauncey M. Depew, Elias W. Leavenworth; and surveyor H. W. Clarke.[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Sentinels at the Northern Border . Bill . Graff . Unearthing New Jersey . 2 . 2 . 1–3 . Summer 2006 . New Jersey Geological Survey. Tri-States Monument ... this small granite slab serves as both the northern end of our boundary with Pennsylvania and the northwestern end with New York..
  2. Web site: The Laws Of New York. Article 2: State Boundaries. Section 6: Pennsylvania boundary line. New York State Senate. thence down the center of the Delaware river about eighty-five miles to its junction with the Neversink river; each of the states of New York and Pennsylvania having concurrent jurisdiction within and upon the waters of that portion of the main channel of the Delaware river between the lines of low water at either bank thereof; then S. 51° E. on prolongation of boundary line between New York and New Jersey, to "tri-state monument," set in 1882 by joint commission.
  3. Web site: The Laws Of New York. Article 2: State Boundaries. Section 7: New Jersey boundary line. New York State Senate. Commencing at the said "tri-state monument," and running thence along the line laid out by a joint commission from the states of New York and New Jersey in 1774, and which was more definitely marked with monuments by another joint commission in 1882,.
  4. Web site: Act No. 245 of 1887: Boundary Between Pennsylvania and Other States Confirmed. June 6, 1887. . The channel of the Delaware river, from a line drawn across said channel, from a granite monument erected upon the eastern bank of said river in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two, by the joint boundary commission of the States of New Jersey and New York to mark the western extremity of the boundary line between said States of New Jersey and New York, in a westerly prolongation of said boundary line up and along said channel of said Delaware river.
  5. Book: Ruttenber . E. M. . Clark . L. H. . History of Orange County, New York . 1881 . Everts & Peck . Philadelphia . 739. https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028832693#page/739/mode/2up . Tri-States Rock.
  6. Web site: New Jersey v. New York, 283 U.S. 336 (1931) . Justia.
  7. Book: C. Clarkson . Vermeule. Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule I . Cook . George H. . George Hammell Cook . Final Report of the State Geologist. Geographical Position . 1888 . 39 . https://books.google.com/books?id=n1oMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA39. Geological Survey of New Jersey. Trenton, New Jersey . 1. The northernmost point of the State is the Tri-States rock, at the forks of the Delaware and Navesink rivers, just south of Port Jervis, New York..
  8. Book: Van Zandt . Franklin K. . Boundaries of the United States and the several States . 1976 . U.S. Government Publishing Office. Washington, D.C. . 74–78 . New York. 69426475.
  9. Book: Van Zandt . Franklin K. . Boundaries of the United States and the several States . 1976 . U.S. Government Publishing Office. Washington, D.C. . 79–80 . New Jersey. 69426475.
  10. Book: Cook . George H. . George Hammell Cook. Report on a Survey of the Boundary Line between New Jersey and New York, Made in July and August, 1874 . 1874 . Geological Survey of New Jersey . New Brunswick, New Jersey . 5 . 77578350.
  11. Book: Bailey . George I. . Hopper . Charles . Bogart . John . John Bogart. Annual Report of the State Engineer and Surveyor . 1891 . Albany, New York . 365–6 . https://books.google.com/books?id=K-0aAQAAIAAJ&pg=PP401 . Joint Report on the Examination of the Monuments Marking the Boundary Line Between the States of New York and New Jersey.
  12. Web site: LY2604: TRI STATES . U.S. National Geodetic Survey.
  13. Web site: LY2611: LAUREL . U.S. National Geodetic Survey.
  14. Book: C. Clarkson . Vermeule. Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule I . Cook . George H. . George Hammell Cook . Final Report of the State Geologist. Physical Description of New Jersey: Northern Boundary Between New Jersey and New York . 1888 . 66–67 . https://books.google.com/books?id=n1oMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA66. Geological Survey of New Jersey. Trenton, New Jersey . 1.

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