The Borden Base Line is a historic
survey line (7.42 miles, long) running north–south through
Hatfield and
South Deerfield, Massachusetts. It was completed in 1831. It was designated a
National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the
American Society of Civil Engineers in 1981.
The baseline measurement was the first project of its kind undertaken in America, and essential for Massachusetts' pioneering Trigonometrical Survey, performed under chief engineer Robert Treat Paine. Its careful measurement was critical since the accuracy of the whole triangulation network depended on it.
The baseline was measured with greater accuracy than previously possible by using a new measuring device invented by
Simeon Borden
Simeon Borden (January 29, 1798 – October 28, 1856) was an American inventor, engineer, and noted surveyor.
Borden was born in Freetown, now Fall River, Massachusetts, to Simeon and Amey Briggs Borden, he was the 4th great gra ...
, which employed a bi-metallic measuring instrument to provide constant readings despite temperature variations. His apparatus was long, enclosed in a tube, and employed with four compound microscopes.
Borden was a highly competent engineer whose ability was widely recognized. Indeed, the entire project became generally known as the Borden Survey. He measured the baseline with a nominal accuracy of better than one part in 5 million. As Professor A. D. Butterfield has written, "The work performed and results obtained far surpassed in magnitude and attainment of any previous work of this kind in America."
It appears that the north end of the baseline lies just south of the intersection of today's Route 116 and Route 5 in
South Deerfield, Massachusetts. According to the Valley Historians, the south end is still marked by a copper plug set into a boulder, located in the back yard of the house at 30 Bridge Street,
Hatfield, Massachusetts.
See also
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Surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
External links
American Society of Civil Engineers -Borden baseline 1831 landmark
References
* Butterfield, A. D., "History and Development of Triangulation in Massachusetts", in ''The Journal of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute'', Volume I, Nos. 3 and 4, pp. 285–299 and 335–355, 1898.
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* {{cite web , url=http://vhist.com/ma/ma_bor_baseline.htm , title=Notes on the Borden Baseline , author= , website=Valley Historians , date=December 31, 2006 , access-date=January 30, 2022
Surveying
Geography of the United States
Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
Hatfield, Massachusetts
Deerfield, Massachusetts