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Frank Tweedy

Deep In The Adirondack Woods, A Colvin Survey Benchmark Revealed

September 15, 2021 by Noel Sherry 4 Comments

1. Picture of Frank Tweedy, courtesy of Special Collections, Schaffer Library, Union College, 1875 As a boy growing up in the Battle Hill section of White Plains, NY, I remember my excitement at reading a brass memorial telling me “George Washington slept here.” White Plains was the site of a battle during the American Revolution.

Now as an adult I have had the thrill of learning that Verplanck Colvin surveyed Twitchell Lake and took measurements on the shore where my log cabin stands in Big Moose, NY.  That realization launched me on a quest to find a benchmark placed by one of Colvin’s surveyors on an important boundary line nearby. [Read more…] about Deep In The Adirondack Woods, A Colvin Survey Benchmark Revealed

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Big Moose, Big Moose Lake, Frank Tweedy, Hamilton County, John Brown Tract, Pigeon Lake Wilderness, surveying, Totten Crossfield Tract, Twitchell Lake, Verplanck Colvin

An Adirondack Surveyor’s Unpublished Work Reflects On A “Wild and Woolly” Career

January 14, 2021 by Noel Sherry 4 Comments

Two Topo Maps by TweedyFrank Tweedy’s four-years of Adirondack surveying under Verplanck Colvin prepared him for a 43-year career as Topographical Engineer with the US Geological Survey (1884-1927).

After completing his survey of the Beaver River Basin and the Totten & Crossfield Purchase’s western line (1876-79), Frank served as Sanitary Engineer in Newport, R. I. (1880-81) before signing on with the Northern Transcontinental Survey based in Newport (1882-83). His contributions to mapping the Rocky Mountains stand as a big part of his legacy. [Read more…] about An Adirondack Surveyor’s Unpublished Work Reflects On A “Wild and Woolly” Career

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Adirondack Park, Beaver River, Big Moose, Frank Tweedy, nature, surveying, Twitchell Lake

Adirondack Surveyor Frank Tweedy: A Botanist of Distinction

January 10, 2021 by Noel Sherry Leave a Comment

Calamagrostis canadensisAfter discovery of the corner to Townships 42 and 41 on the Totten & Crossfield Line, Adirondack surveyor Frank Tweedy and crew encountered beautiful but challenging terrain in their march southeast to Big Moose Lake, where they camped in a high beaver meadow by Ledge Pond (now Jock Pond). Tweedy recorded the following:

“A short distance beyond we met a cliff 70 feet in height and deep ravine and ledges. Climbing very difficult. Completed our work on a slope to the S. Went forward to the cutting party and camped in a beaver meadow. Saw species of Calamagrostis canadensis 5.6 [ft] in Length.” [Read more…] about Adirondack Surveyor Frank Tweedy: A Botanist of Distinction

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Mohawk Valley, Nature Tagged With: Adirondack Park, Adirondacks, botany, Frank Tweedy, Native Plants, Science, Science History, Union College, wildflowers

An Adirondack Surveyor’s Basecamp At Twitchell Lake

January 7, 2021 by Noel Sherry Leave a Comment

The First Camp on Twitchell LakeAs Frank Tweedy approached the end of his four-year stint with forest surveyor Squire Snell on Verplanck Colvin’s Adirondack Survey, Southwest Division, he was no longer a tenderfoot, but a veteran surveyor and topographer, with many miles of survey work in the Beaver River basin and six expertly drawn maps to his credit.

His southern trek to finish the Totten and Crossfield Tract boundary line necessitated a new base camp well south of Beaver River. Twitchell Lake in Big Moose was the perfect location. [Read more…] about An Adirondack Surveyor’s Basecamp At Twitchell Lake

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Park, Adirondacks, Beaver River, Big Moose, Frank Tweedy, Fulton Chain, Native Plants, surveying, Twitchell Lake

Rediscovering An Ancient Adirondack Survey Monument

December 29, 2020 by Noel Sherry 7 Comments

C1 Colvin's TwnShp 42-41 Corner MapRight out of college as a Civil Engineer, Frank Tweedy spent four seasons as part of Verplanck Colvin’s Southwest Division, producing six  topographically accurate maps of the Beaver River basin and the important Totten and Crossfield Tract border with Brown’s Tract.

His maps and field books received high marks from his boss, and they recorded several moments of exciting discovery on his part, first as he closed ranks with the Eastern Division crew, completing a survey Line from Lowville to Lake Champlain; and then with shouts of victory at finding “The Great Corner” of Totten & Crossfield’s million-acre land Purchase. [Read more…] about Rediscovering An Ancient Adirondack Survey Monument

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Park, Adirondacks, Beaver River, Brown's Tract, Frank Tweedy, hiking, John Brown Tract, nature, surveying, Totten Crossfield Tract, Twitchell Lake, Verplanck Colvin, Wildlife

Early Adirondack Surveys: The Great Corner & An Ancient Boundary

December 14, 2020 by Noel Sherry 14 Comments

Frank Tweedys 3 T and C Line MapsIn 1876, Frank Tweedy was a tenderfoot surveyor right out of college. By 1878, he had two years’ experience under his belt, mentored by veteran surveyor Squire Snell heading the Southwestern Division of the Adirondack Survey.

Frank successfully led a dozen-man crew up the Beaver River from the hamlet of Number Four past Raquette Lake, producing three maps of that 29-mile trek for his boss, Verplanck Colvin. [Read more…] about Early Adirondack Surveys: The Great Corner & An Ancient Boundary

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondack Park, Adirondacks, Beaver River, Frank Tweedy, Macomb’s Purchase, surveying, Totten Crossfield Tract, wilderness

Frank Tweedy: A Tenderfoot Becomes An Experienced Surveyor

December 2, 2020 by Noel Sherry 8 Comments

Frank TweedyFrank Tweedy landed his dream job after graduating from Union College as Civil Engineer in 1875. Verplanck Colvin, Superintendent of the Adirondack Survey, needed a topographer to work under veteran forest surveyor Squire Snell in his Southwestern Division and so he hired Tweedy.

Colvin was taking a big chance on a tenderfoot surveyor, but for Tweedy this was the chance of a lifetime to learn from a renowned cartographer and his expert woodsmen. “Tenderfoot” became the subtitle of the autobiography Frank later penned. [Read more…] about Frank Tweedy: A Tenderfoot Becomes An Experienced Surveyor

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Adirondacks, Beaver River, Frank Tweedy, Hamilton County, surveying, Verplanck Colvin, wilderness

Verplanck Colvin’s Survey of Twitchell Lake

May 12, 2020 by Noel Sherry 3 Comments

Verplank Colvin Memorial at Beaver RiverCamp owners at Twitchell Lake in the Adirondacks have made a tradition of hiking the seven-mile trail north to the isolated hamlet of Beaver River for an annual Octoberfest celebration.

On our 2007 excursion, I stopped at a large stone with a bronze plaque reading: “In Tribute to Verplanck Colvin (1847-1920), Land Surveyor, Founder and Champion of the New York State Forest Preserve and the Adirondack Park, remembered by his friends and admirers on the Centennial of the Adirondack Park, May 20, 1992.” [Read more…] about Verplanck Colvin’s Survey of Twitchell Lake

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Nature Tagged With: Adirondacks, Beaver River, camping, Frank Tweedy, hiking, surveying, Twitchell Lake, Verplanck Colvin

Hiram Burke, Noted Adirondack Guide of Twitchell Lake

May 5, 2020 by Noel Sherry 3 Comments

Burke Shanty on Twitchell LakeMany of the lakes in John Brown’s Tract had guides who took their sporting parties to their own fishing or hunting camps north and south of the Beaver River. This is how lakes like Hitchcock, Beach, and Salmon got their names. [Read more…] about Hiram Burke, Noted Adirondack Guide of Twitchell Lake

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondack Guides, Adirondack Park, Adirondacks, Big Moose, Frank Tweedy, John Brown Tract, Lewis County, Lowville, Twitchell Lake

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