2017 Spring Newsletter

Lloyd’s Le ers

To: Miami County Hist. Museum From: Lloyd Peckman, 3/5/17 Subject: ORIGINAL LAND SURVEY MAP 1855-57:

Yes and I have many early maps. Thanks too many contributors. But I will concentrate on one. In 2010 as a mem ber of the Civil War Exhibit Commi ee, I was assigned a 50 page, original county survey map from the Miami County Register of Deeds office. It covered only our county, part of Kansas Territory not yet named. The internet source that the Kansas State Hist. Society Librarian, Linn Frederickson referred me to states “No. 1 Sketch of the Public Survey of Kansas & Nebraska (scale 18 miles to an inch) Surveyor Generals Office Wyandot Nov. 8, 1855 J. Calhoun Surveyor General”. This map sketch began about 20 miles west of what would be Sioux City Iowa and extended south along the Sixth Meridian Line to Oklahoma line. This map outline covered about the eastern one forth of Kansas. John C. Calhoun later became President Andrew Jackson’s Vice President. Remember this big map is the results of the 1854 U.S. Governments’ Establishment of The Kansas Nebraska Act to allow the new state’s voters to decide if they wanted to be a Slave or Free State. The resul ng county maps were sent to the Pro-Slavery first Lecompton Legislature Office. That Museum may have copies. Dr. David Lykens represented this county. On close examina on, I found that each two pages of the county map covered six square miles or 36 sec ons covering the en re area between two townships and two ranges. The sec on numbers run across back and forth 1 through 36. If you are a land owner you would understand what this means: the SE 1/4th of the SE 1/4th of Sec on 6, Township 18 and Range 24, describes where I live east of Block. Smaller land masses are described inLots. The big problem of trying to joined the two page sec ons together into one map, is that the bo om has a two inch wide descrip on showing the surveyor, contract date, when surveyed and acres; such as for township 18-range 23 shows Miami Land 14,027.42, PKP and W Trusts 8,477.65 for a total of 22,505.09 acres of Indian land. These acreage figures were used for Indian Trea es and Head right Payments. The Miami land of Treaty of Nov.28, 1840 shows 324,796 acres which included Linn County. It had shrunk to 70,640 acres a er the 1857 survey. This comes from the Bert Anson story en tled “The Miami Indians” with map notes by Harold Long. To combine the 25 sec ons, I either cut off or ghtly folded under the bo om descrip on 2 inches and lined up the county road lines, trails and creeks and they are almost iden cal to today’s lines. It became quickly evident that the top three sec ons mainly in Shawnee land and down to Wea are all off to the right by one half mile. That is why the highway curves one half mile. Also Township 15 goes 3 miles into Johnson County and Range 25 run 1 and 1/2 miles into Missouri. Range 21 goes into 4 miles into Franklin County and Township 19 runs into Linn County 3 miles. These maps pages were scotch taped together and made-up on a 5 foot by 3 foot wide sheet of meat wrapping paper. The approximate half way line is Range 24 which is the same as the Block Road. The full map measure 54 inches square when the halves are joined together. The halves were copied by a 3 foot wide copier. When I showed the newly copied map to the Civil War Commi ee, they were not interested. Because the original pages are small, 8 inch by 13 inches, the le ering also is very small. What is special about this map? The old Military road runs down from Jaudon Store near Belton, Missouri into corner of N.E. Miami County to about Drexel, Missouri and exits out the very southeast corner of Miami Coun ty. It shows the exact route. Next I no ced two small areas along Sugar and Middle Creeks labeled “Sca ering Timber”. Those areas are now covered with brush. That surely means that the en re area of eastern Kansas

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