Supreme Court decree of March 12, 1936. The true azimuths and distances, in statute miles between successive points, are given in the compact.

This agreement on the boundaries of the three States was approved by Congress in 1948 (62 Stat. 1152).

On March 3, 1847, a supplementary act for the admission of Wisconsin was passed by Congress, in which the western boundary of the proposed State was described as follows:

That the assent of Congress is hereby given to the change of boundary proposed in the first article of said constitution, to wit: leaving the boundary line prescribed in the act of Congress entitled "An Act to enable the People of Wisconsin Territory to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the Admission of such State into the Union," at the first rapids in the river St. Louis; thence in a direct line southwardly to a point fifteen miles east of the most easterly point of Lake St. Croix; thence due south to the main channel of the Mississippi River or Lake Pepin; thence down the said main channel, as prescribed in said act. Had this act been accepted, it would have given the State an area considerably less than it now has.

The first constitution, completed December 16, 1846 (Quaife, 1919, p. 732-753), accepted the boundaries as described in the enabling act of August 6, 1846, but proposed that Congress consent to the change as described in the later act above referred to. This constitution was rejected by popular vote April 5, 1847 (14,119 ayes, 20,231 noes)—not, however, because of unsatisfactory boundaries.

A second constitution dated February 1, 1848, with the boundaries also as described in the act of August 6, 1846, was accepted by the people but with the proviso (art. 2, sec. 1) that, if Congress approved, the boundary line should run southwesterly from the foot of the rapids of the St. Louis River to the mouth of the Rum River, thence down the Mississippi River as previously described. This boundary would have added materially to the area of the State had it been accepted by Congress.

Congress accepted the constitution dated February 1, 1848, without action on the proviso and by act approved May 29, 1848 (9 Stat. L. 233), admitted Wisconsin as a State.

The admission of Wisconsin to statehood left an area of more than 30,000 square miles west of the St. Croix River, east and north of the Mississippi River, practically without a government. The settlers organized a temporary government and elected a Delegate to Congress who was admitted as the representative of the "Territory of Wisconsin." This area became a part of the Territory of Minnesota by congressional act of March 3, 1849.

The State of Minnesota in 1916 instituted a suit against Wisconsin in the U.S. Supreme Court to have that part of the State boundary

line from St. Louis Bay up the St. Louis River to the falls near Fond du Lac finally determined. The Court handed down an opinion March 8, 1920 (252 U.S. 273), and on October 11, 1920 (254 U.S. 14), appointed commissioners to survey and mark the line. The survey was made on ice during the winter of 1920-21, and the commissioners' report was confirmed by the Court February 7, 1922. The line surveyed (258 U.S. 149) was 18.4 miles in length and was almost entirely over water. Rectangular coordinates were computed for each angle, and suitable reference marks were established on shore.

The meridian boundary between Wisconsin and Minnesota from the St. Louis River to the St. Croix River was surveyed and marked in 1852 under the General Land Office, by George R. Stuntz, deputy surveyor. (General Land Office, Wisconsin field notes, v. 37, 133.) For the southern boundary, see Illinois, page 187.

IOWA

Iowa was organized as a Territory by act of June 12, 1838, effective July 3, from a portion of Wisconsin Territory. (See figs. 19 and 22.) The limits were defined as follows in the act (5 Stat. L. 235) creating it:

all that part of the present Territory of Wisconsin which lies west of the Mississippi river, and west of a line drawn due north from the headwaters or sources of the Mississippi to the Territorial line.

The approximate position of the outlet of Lake Itasca, which is generally accepted as the source of the Mississippi (see footnote, p. 38), is lat 47°15' N., long 95°12′ W. The river runs northwestward for about 6 miles before it turns east. The north-south boundary line across the western part of the Lake of the Woods is in long 95°09'11.6" W. (p. 21).

The lawmakers in Congress in writing the act creating the Territory of Iowa evidently had in mind their troubles over the OhioMichigan boundary, and to avoid any future question as to the power of Congress they reserved the right to divide the new Territory into two or more Territories or to attach any part of it to any other State or Territory.

The following clause from an act passed in 1839 (5 Stat. L. 357) is supplementary to the act above quoted:

That the middle or center of the main channel of the river Mississippi shall be deemed, and is hereby declared, to be the eastern boundary line of the Territory of Iowa, so far or to such extent as the said Territory is bounded eastwardly by or upon said river.

On March 3, 1845, an act was approved for the admission of Iowa to the Union as a State, but the act required that the assent of the people of Iowa be given to it by popular vote. In this act (5 Stat. L. 742) the boundaries were given as follows:

That the following shall be the boundaries of the said State of Iowa, to wit: Beginning at the mouth of the Des Moines river, at the middle of the Mississippi, thence by the middle of the channel of that river to a parallel of latitude passing through the mouth of the Mankato or Blue-Earth river [lat 44°10' N.], thence west along the said parallel of latitude to a point where it is intersected by a meridian line, seventeen degrees and thirty minutes west of the meridian of Washington city, thence due south to the northern boundary line of the State of Missouri, thence eastwardly following that boundary to the point at which the same intersects the Des Moines river, thence by the middle of the channel of that river to the place of beginning.

These boundaries were not acceptable to the people and by a popular vote were rejected.

Another constitutional convention was held in May 1846, and Congress passed an act (9 Stat. L. 52), approved August 4, 1846, which fixed the boundaries, in accordance with the wishes of the people, as follows:

Beginning in the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi River at a point due east of the middle of the mouth of the main channel of the Des Moines River; thence up the middle of the main channel of the said Des Moines River to a point on said river where the northern boundary line of the State of Missouri, as established by the constitution of that State, adopted June twelfth, eighteen hundred and twenty, crosses the said middle of the main channel of the said Des Moines River; thence westwardly along the said northern boundary line of the State of Missouri, as established at the time aforesaid, until an extension of said line intersect the middle of the main channel of the Missouri River, thence up the middle of the main channel of the said Missouri River, to a point opposite the middle of the main channel of the Big Sioux River, according to Nicollet's map; thence up the main channel of the said Big Sioux River, according to said map, until it is intersected by the parallel of forty-three degrees and thirty minutes north latitude; thence east along said parallel of forty-three degrees and thirty minutes, until said parallel intersect the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi River; thence down the middle of the main channel of said Mississippi River to the place of beginning.

Iowa was finally declared admitted to full statehood by act of December 28, 1846 (James, 1897, p. 163–173; 9 Stat. L. 117).

The admission of Iowa appears to have left a large area to the north and west unattached, which so remained until Minnesota Territory was organized, in 1849.

The act of August 4, 1846, directed that a long-standing dispute between Missouri and Iowa Territory regarding their common boundary (U.S. Cong., 1839b) be referred to the U.S. Supreme Court for adjudication. The area claimed by both was a strip of land about 10 miles wide and 200 miles long, north of the present boundary. Missouri maintained that the clause in that State's enabling act, "the rapids of the river Des Moines," referred to rapids in the river of that name and not to rapids of a similar name in the Mississippi, also that the Indian boundary line run and marked in 1816 by authority

of the United States, known as the Sullivan line, was erroneously established. A line claimed by Missouri was run by J. C. Brown in 1837 by order of the State legislature.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1849 that the Sullivan line of 1816 is the correct boundary and ordered that it be resurveyed. The report of the commissioners appointed by the Court to re-mark the line was accepted in 1851.52

So many of the marks on this line as established in 1850 had become lost or destroyed that the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896 ordered that certain parts be reestablished, especially those between mileposts 50 and 55. (160 U.S. 688.) Accordingly 20 miles of line was resurveyed by officers of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1896, and durable monuments of granite or iron were established thereon.53

The geographic position of milepost 40 was determined as lat 40°34.4' N., long 95°51′ W. and that of No. 60 as lat 40°34.6′ N., long 93°28' W.

The survey of the north boundary of Iowa on the parallel of 43°30′, authorized by congressional act of March 3, 1849, was completed in 1852. The position for each end of the line and for several intermediate points was determined astronomically.54

In 1943 the States of Iowa and Nebraska agreed to alter their common boundary to coincide with the main channel of the Missouri River as it was at that time. This compact was approved by Congress on July 12, 1943. (57 Stat. 494.)

A similar agreement had been made with Missouri in 1939 along the Des Moines River. (See p. 191.)

MINNESOTA

The Territory of Minnesota was organized on March 3, 1849. It comprised the portion of the former Territory of Iowa outside the limits of the present State of Iowa and extended east to the west boundary line of Wisconsin. (See fig. 22.) The terms of the act creating this Territory (9 Stat. L. 403), so far as they relate to its boundary, are as follows:

all that part of the territory of the United States which lies within the following limits, to wit: Beginning in the Mississippi River, at the point where the line of forty-three degrees and thirty minutes of north latitude crosses the same: thence running due west on said line, which is the northern boundary of the

62 For a history of the line, discussion of the case, report of commissioners, and description of the survey, see 7 Howard 660 and 10 Howard 1.

53 For a full report, which contains extracts from notes of previous surveys, see 165 U.S. 118, and U.S. Coast and Geod. Survey (1896, p. 51).

54 For an illustrated description of the survey of this line, see Iowa, Dept. of History and Archives (1929, p. 483-503).

State of Iowa, to the northwest corner of the said State of Iowa; thence southerly along the western boundary of said State to the point where said boundary strikes the Missouri River; thence up the middle of the main channel of the Missouri River to the mouth of the White-earth River; thence up the middle of the main channel of the White-earth River to the boundary line between the possessions of the United States and Great Britain; thence east and south of east along the boundary line between the possessions of the United States and Great Britain to Lake Superior; thence in a straight line to the northernmost point of the State of Wisconsin in Lake Superior; thence along the western boundary line of said State of Wisconsin to the Mississippi River; thence down the main channel of said river to the place of beginning.

Minnesota was admitted as a State on May 11, 1858, with the same boundaries that it has at present (11 Stat. L. 285). These are given in the enabling act (11 Stat. L. 166) as follows:

Beginning at the point in the center of the main channel of the Red River of the North, where the boundary line between the United States and the British Possessions crosses the same; thence up the main channel of said river to that of the Bois des Sioux River; thence [up] the main channel of said river to Lake Travers; thence up the center of said lake to the southern extremity thereof; thence in a direct line to the head of Big Stone Lake; thence through its center to its outlet; thence by a due south line to the north line of the State of Iowa; thence east along the northern boundary of said State to the main channel of the Mississippi River; thence up the main channel of said river, and following the boundary line of the State of Wisconsin, until the same intersects the Saint Louis River; thence down said river to and through Lake Superior, on the boundary line of Wisconsin and Michigan, until it intersects the dividing line between the United States and the British Possessions; thence up Pigeon River, and following said dividing line, to the place of beginning.

The western boundary line from the Big Sioux River to the Minnesota River was surveyed and marked in 1859-60 under the General Land Office. (See p. 30-31 for the survey of the northern boundary, p. 211-212 for the survey of the eastern boundary, and p. 214 for the survey of the southern boundary.)

The western boundary of Minnesota from Lake Traverse to Big Stone Lake was meandered, and the line from Big Stone Lake to the Iowa line, a distance of 124 miles 5.23 chains, was surveyed and marked in 1859 under the General Land Office. (Winchell, 1905.)

North of the 49th parallel and separated from the main part of Minnesota by the Lake of the Woods is a land area of nearly 124 square miles,55 including a number of small islands, which became U.S. territory by the treaties of 1783 and 1818. (See p. 16, 21.) The inclusion of this area in the United States resulted from the use of inaccurate maps by the treaty makers and has been described as a "politicogeographical curiosity of a boundary that a glance at the map will

This area as given on General Land Office township plats amounts to 123.87 square

miles.

776-664 O-66-15