3 messages. Also: I belive the Red River boundary between Texas and Oklahoma has a very long, complex, and bitter history. There have been past commissions. I have not looked at this in a long time, but it should be well covered in the literature (boundary studies and historical geography) The boundary was a major problem in the post Civil War period. Some money must be involved for this to become a major problem today. Wonder what it is? All the boundary problems in this country are only studied and litigated when the profit is high enought for one side.---------Johnnie Also: To elaborate on P. Andrew's comments in the second message below: Dr. DeVorsey is one of the leading experts on historical boundaries in the United States. He has been an expert witness in many boundary cases. However I am sure the South Carolina folk did/do not view him as helpful in the GA/SC boundary case, as Dr. DeVorsey was an expert witness for Georgia. (The reason for the GA/SC case, which involved only the mouth of the Savannah River, was mining rights off the coast. The court compromise upheld most of the SC claims. There are much earlier GA/SC boundary cases. There are currently major problems with the Tennessee - Georgia boundary. One of the early land frauds in the U.S. saw Georgia sell land that was later found to be in other states - well Georgia saw no reason why it could not sell Mississippi River bottom lands!).-----------------Johnnie ------------------------------------------Johnnie ----------------------------------------------------------------------- >Date: Tue, 09 Jan 1996 21:06:57 -0500 (EST) >From: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: Oklahoma-Texas Border Commission Linda Zellmer wrote, " There was an interesting article in Sunday's _Denver Post_ about a new commission that has been appointed to determine the CORRECT location of the Texas-Oklahoma Border, which is technically the south side of the Red River as it was some time in the 1830s (I think the date is correct, I am writing this from memory). Of course, trying to determine the location of the river at that time is difficult, if not impossible." Interesting. If that definition of the border is accurate, it would be an exception to a long-established system for defining river borders. On the Mississippi, for example, state borders usually follow the middle of the river until there is a meander cut-off or unless an island moves across the stream by natural processes. Speculating, I would imagine that the trouble with the Texas border, like so many Texan legal peculiarities, is connected to its status as an "independent" republic before joining the United States. -Frank E. Reed Clockwork Software, Inc. http://www.clockwk.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996 08:50:19 -0400 (EDT) >From: [log in to unmask] (Paige Andrew) >Subject: Re: Oklahoma-Texas Border Commission Linda, Perhaps a call to Dr. Louis DeVorsey at the University of Georgia would be helpful. He was, from my understanding, a big help in helping to clarify the centuries-old border dispute between Georgia and South Carolina. Johnnie can probably give you more details and/or suggest other experts who helped with the GA/SC border "resolution". Paige >----------------------------Original message---------------------------- >Hello All, > > There was an interesting article in Sunday's _Denver Post_ about a >new commission that has been appointed to determine the CORRECT >location of the Texas-Oklahoma Border, which is technically the south >side of the Red River as it was some time in the 1830s (I think the >date is correct, I am writing this from memory). > > Of course, trying to determine the location of the river at that >time is difficult, if not impossible. However, the question of the >border's location causes all kinds of confusion--who answers >emergency calls (police, fire and ambulance), taxation, and so on. > >Anyway, this commission has until 1998 to address the problem. There >have been other commissions in the past that were unsuccessful. > >Any ideas from map people? > >Linda Zellmer >University of Wyoming > Mr. Paige G. Andrew Maps/Nonbook Cataloger E506 Pattee Library Pennsylvania State University Libraries The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 [log in to unmask] phone: 814-865-1755 fax: 814-863-7293 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >From: "Tom" <[log in to unmask]> >Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996 09:04:59 EST >Subject: Re: Oklahoma-Texas Border Commission Linda, et al: They may have to activate their National Guard units to occupy contested territory. I seem to remember something like that happenning between Indiana and Kentucky along the Ohio River to protect a New Albany power plant from annexation. Tom Tom Hanley, Department of Chemistry and Geology, Columbus College, 4225 University Ave., Columbus, Georgia 31907-5645. email: [log in to unmask] phone: 706-568-2075 (secretary and answering machine). 706-568-2074 (office) FAX: 706-569-3133 ___________________________________________________________________