Read How the States Got Their Shapes​ by Mark Stein or American Boundaries
by Bill Hubbard for more of this odds and ends boundary issues.

-------------------------------
Mitch Adelson
Cartographer
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US Geological Survey
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On Tue, Jun 6, 2017 at 9:39 AM, Kathy Stroud <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Another tidbit I’ve forgotten about.  Allegany County, NY has a notch out
> of the northeast corner. (See attached.) Local lore says that a wealthy
> politician lived in that area and he did not want to be known as a
> “Allegany Leek Eater” so he had the border changed.
>
>
>
>
>
> Kathy Stroud
>
> David and Nancy Petrone Map/GIS Librarian Knight Library
>
> 1299 University of Oregon
>
> Eugene, OR 97403-1299
>
> 541-346-3051
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On
> Behalf Of *Stone, Howard
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 06, 2017 7:58 AM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: Orphans of the Atlas
>
>
>
>
> I took a quick look at each state in Hammond's Ambassador World Atlas
> (1954), and immediately noticed the following border irregularities that
> defy common sense (I should say *my* common sense; other people's may
> vary) -- which feels that a small peninsula cut off by a straight border
> should belong to to the neighboring state. There are too many anomalies
> caused by river-flow or coastline changes, boundary disputes, and surveying
> errors to mention, so I'll ignore them.
>
>      Alabama: The southwestern corner, on South Rigolets Island east of
> Pascagoula, Miss., should be in Mississippi.
>
>      Most of the western and eastern borders are somewhat north-south but
> obviously slanted, looking too intentional to be surveying errors. I'll
> mention similar occurrences in other states, which are frequent.
>
>      Arkansas: The western border veers noticeably northwest at Fort Smith.
>      Several peninsulas and oxbows along Bull Shoals Lake on the Missouri
> border (and also where the White River crosses the state line near Eureka
> Springs) are accessible by road only through the other state. My guess is
> that they were created by the completion of Bull Shoals Dam in 1951.
>
>      California: The southern border is almost east-west, but noticeably
> slanted.
>
>      Connecticut: The western border north of Ridgefield is almost
> north-south, but noticeably slanted.  It also should continue head-on into
> that of Massachusetts about a half mile west.
>
>
>      Delaware: The western border is almost north-south, but noticeably
> slanted. And you'd expect it to meet Pennsylvania a mile east where the
> circular border meets the horizontal one.
>
>       There are two small peninsulas in Delaware on the east bank of the
> Delaware River that should be in New Jersey.  One is Finns Point, next to
> the westernmost point in N.J.  The other is about 7 miles south, opposite
> Port Penn, Delaware. They could possibly be from shoreline changes.
>
>
>
>      Georgia: The straight southern border is almost east-west, but
> noticeably slanted.
>
>      Maine: The western border is almost north-south, but noticeably
> slanted. Just like Connecticut and Delaware!
>
>      The Isles of Shoals, in both Maine and New Hampshire about 7 miles
> off the coast, are clearly closer to N.H. and should all be in that state.
>
>
>
>      Maryland: The southern border of the Eastern Shore is almost
> east-west, but noticeably slanted.
>
>      Strictly IMHO, I'd feel better if the western part of the state west
> of the narrow neck at Conococheague Creek (near Hagerstown), along with
> Frederick County and Clarke County in Virginia, were part of West Virginia.
>
>      Massachusetts: The straight northern border is almost east-west, but
> noticeably slanted.
>
>                                 The western border is somewhat
> north-south but obviously slanted.
>
>      New Hampshire: There's a small peninsula at the southern end of the
> straight part of the Maine border that juts west into Great East Lake in
> Wakefield, NH. The peninsula should be part of Maine; it's full of
> lakefront homes that are accessible by road only from that state.
>
>      New York: Most ot the northern border along the 45th Parallel is
> almost east-west, but slightly slanted.
>
>      Geographically, Staten Island looks like it should be part of New
> Jersey. What about culturally?--I've never been there, and I'm hoping that
> somebody can chime in about this.
>
>      Also geographically, Fishers Island (northeast of Long Island) should
> be part of Connecticut.
>
>      Rhode Island: The northern border is almost east-west, but noticeably
> slanted. Same thing with the short northern borders of Pawtucket and
> Tiverton, R.I.
>      Most of the southeastern border between Tiverton and the ocean is
> almost north-south, but slightly slanted.
>
>      The entire western shores of South Watuppa Pond and Sawdy Pond, along
> with the brook between them, is currently in Massachusetts south of Fall
> River.  They are cut off from the rest of the state and should be in Rhode
> Island. This isn't obvious on the map, but I know about it from living
> nearby.
>
>
>
>      Vermont: The northeastern tip east of Halls Stream juts about two
> miles into New Hampshire and should be part of that state.
>
>      Virginia: At the southeastern corner, the northern part of Knotts
> Island should be in North Carolina.
>
>      At the southwestern tip, the southern border should continue head-on
> into the southern border of Kentucky about 2 miles south.
>
>      Washington, D.C.  A small peninsula across the river from Alexandria,
> Va. and under I-295 should be in Virginia.
>
>      West Virginia: IMHO, I'd feel better if the Northern Panhandle were
> in Pennsylvania.
>
> Howard Stone
>
> Map Cataloger, Brown University Library, Providence, R.I.
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 1, 2017 at 4:11 PM, Kathy Stroud <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> While not an orphan, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House
> <http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/haskell-free-library-and-opera-house>
> is an interesting border case.
>
>
>
> http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-us-canada-border-
> runs-through-this-tiny-library
>
>
>
> *From:* Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On
> Behalf Of *Zellmer, Linda
> *Sent:* Thursday, June 01, 2017 12:10 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Orphans of the Atlas
>
>
>
> Hello,
>
> Illinois also has one, and it turns out that it was Illinois' first state
> capital -- Kaskaskia, Illinois.It can only be reached by driving into
> Missouri. The channel of the Mississippi River changed after floods in the
> 1880s, and the town ended up stranded west of the river.
>
> Linda Zellmer
>
> --
>
> Linda Zellmer
> Government Information & Data Services Librarian
> Liaison to Natural Sciences & Agriculture
> 415 Malpass Library
> Macomb, IL 61455
> [log in to unmask]
> Phone: 309-298-2723 <callto:309-298-2723>
> Fax: 309-298-2791 <callto:309-298-2791>
>
>
>