A S T M
ASTM STANDARDS THAT ARE MODIFIED: "320 and Still Counting - Can It Still be Wrong?"
By James Hojnacki, CSI, CCS, ASTM
Technical Chair, Grand Rapids MI Chapter CSI
How often have you ever stared at something for so long that its obviousness doesn't seem to sink in? I'm a "map person." I like to look at and study maps. When my wife and I are out eating in any restaurant chain, if they have a map of their locations, I study it to see where our next stop might be. When "Ma-Bell" or any other telephone company issues their annual phone directories, I study the area code maps and new listings of the additional area codes. Then I call the publisher to let them know where they've made printing errors. Even "Ma-Bell" can't keep track of their new area codes. (Just where in the world is Area Code 710 located anyway?) I even carry a pedometer along on my evening and night-time walks to see how far the dog and I have been (that's for my doctor's exercise logs), and just in case the county road commission map was wrong, to see if their listed travel distances are correct (that's for my specifier's nit-pickiness).
Well, I've looked at the layout of the State of Delaware since geography classes in grade school, for civics classes in high school, and for poli-sci classes in college. I always wondered how the northern portion of the border between Delaware and Pennsylvania got that circular arc. In the fifth grade, Sr. Mary Urbana taught us that a circle had a center and a radius, and that several Greek scholars had spent their entire lives just dreaming up formulas and theorems to trip us up in math class. Theorem: The Delaware Arc has to have a center and a radius. Since it was one the original thirteen colonies, what ASTM standards did Delaware use to help prove the theorem for that seemingly perfect curve?
This month is the 320th anniversary of that historic decision. Back in March, 1681, William Penn was granted a charter from King Charles II. In those days, New Castle was the established capital of the Delaware Colony and was in the possession of Penn's friend, James II, The Duke of York. How could Penn get his fair share of the land for Pennsylvania and still give James II the land he deserved for Delaware? Did they each use one of the new commemorative quarters and flip for it? After all, George Washington's image is on it and they just knew he wouldn't lie, even in a coin toss. Well, since George wasn't born yet, they decided the town center was determined to be a good place to start. And in those days without e-mail, instant communication was still about a day's journey away by horse, and that seemed like a good time frame to be able to prepare for battle, in case their friendship deteriorated. They chose 12 miles as a good distance (poor horse power) even though in their minds they thought they were using 20 or 30 miles as a decent day's journey (good horse power). Penn's original map from King Charles erroneously showed the 40th Parallel being 12 miles north of New Castle instead of the proper location. (What's 11.2 fewer miles amongst friends?) They struck a 12-mile arc from New Castle to the opposite bank of the Delaware River, because they both knew that New Jersey didn't care what side of the river its border would be located. Besides, Delaware had first choice because the river was named after their colony and not New Jersey's. Folklore not withstanding, Penn was also concerned that a larger radius would limit access to the river at Philadelphia and possibly impede the development of his land. He obtained the deed to the lower counties in 1682 and took control of the entire river. Just try to give any developer that latitude today and see how far he'd get.
Eventually in 1701, they decided to officially survey the border because the three Delaware counties would soon be allowed to separate from Pennsylvania and become their own territory. Low Bid Engineering Company, who did that original survey, was not ASTM compliant because the chains they used were worn and did not meet ASTM A391, Alloy Steel Chain. They used a carbon steel chain which would not become official until ASTM A413. They had the option of waiting until ASTM A467, Machine and Coil Chain was developed, but time was not on their side. So LBEC used the worn chain, forgot to check their compass for accurate magnetic declination, used a "poor needle," and submitted data for a misplaced border. So, when Delaware initially separated from Pennsylvania, it was not without controversy. It is doubtful if LBEC even complied with ASTM D6008, Practice for Conducting Environmental Baseline Surveys, or ASTM F1846, Symbols and Markings for Use With Land Search Maps. The arc's center is located at the spire of New Castle's courthouse which dates back to 1732, the same year that the renowned surveyor, George Washington, was eventually born.
The border was re-surveyed in 1765 by Mason and Dixon and again in 1849. Still, heads were scratched and the questionable boundary line issue could not be put to rest. The final dispute was resolved in 1934 and all current cartographers show the shape we now see. Another still unanswered question that I personally have is regarding the significance of the 84 and 85 year time frames between these surveys. 1681 to 1765 is 84 years. 1765 to 1849 is 84 years. 1849 to 1934 is 85 years. Is Delaware due for an ultra accurate ASTM D5906 (GPS Survey) in the year 2018 or 2019? Only time and the next generation can answer that and I may be long gone by then. The western point of the circular border, near where the State of Maryland presently intersects, even has a monument called "Arc Corner" in Delaware's Walter S. Carpenter State Park. If that same arc was extended even further south and then due west to the Maryland border, it would seem to be located at what looks like the point of tangency with the western Delaware border. But that issue would be better left alone, lest I start another civil war (or plant the seed for the year 2018 survey).
My thanks go to Ron Sommerville, CSI Delaware Chapter Editor, who supplied me with the factual and historical data so that I could prove that ASTM did not play a significant part in establishing the circular border between Delaware and Pennsylvania.