Minnesota Land Management Information Center Metadata Directory

Metadata Summary
Minnesota Timberland Survey Records

Originator | Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC), Minnesota Planning
Abstract | Minnesota's timber resources as detailed by the Reports of Estimates and Appraisals of the Timber Commissioners Board, 1895 - 1905. These records comprise approximately 2,900 pages, with plat maps and assessments indicating the extent, value and condition of timber resources on state owned land in the forested northern half of Minnesota. Each page has a section map and thirteen questions to be answered by the surveyor. The directions were to trace swamps, roads and lakes on the section map. Also there was to be an estimate on every 40 acres or lot which would include the number of thousand board feet or ties. Mention some where that MHS holds the paper records and the reference # at MHS. Reports of Estimates and Appraisals of the Timber Commissioners Board, dating from 1895-1905 The Board of Timber Commisioners was created by the legislature inf 1895 and was composed of the governor, the state auditor and state treasurer. Its overall charge was the care, conservation and sale of state timber. Most of this timber was situated on school, indemnity school and swamp lands. It accomplished these functions by issuing permits to cut timber on state lands, receiving settlements for other types os authorized timber cutting, determining and penalizing instances of illega cutting (timber trespass), and coordinating with the Surveyor General of Logs and Lumber to appraise the logs actually harvested. The law required a current (within three years) estimate and appraisal of timber prior to the issuance of a cutting permits. Timber estimators were to personally enter their reports of these ezaminations into a book kept by the land commissioner, to be known as the record of appraisals and to constitute 'the original recored of such examinations, estimates and appraisals,' and specified the information that was to be recorded. These and other records are held at the MHS. They reflect the difficulties goverment faced inf the oversight of disparate and scattered parcels of land, as well as the haphazard nature of 19th century record keeping. Withing that context, the Reports of Estimates and Appraisals of the Timber Commissioners Board represents the most coherent, accurate and broadest data set available. As such, they can serve as a benchmark against which to measure other collections. Ideally, as other sets are identified and digitized, they can together establish a critical mass of information which will allow the comparative anaysis of the environment in Minnesota across time, from the 1850s to today.
Time Period of Content Date | 1900
Currentness Reference | 1895 - 1905
Access Constraints | None
Use Constraints |
Browse Graphic File Name | none available
Distributor Contact Person |
Distributor Organization | Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC)
Distributor Voice Phone | 651-296-1211
Ordering Instructions |
Online Linkage | none available

Full Metadata Record
These metadata were created using the Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines .

Go to Section:
1. Identification Information
2. Data Quality Information
3. Spatial Data Organization Information
4. Spatial Reference Information
5. Entity and Attribute Information
6. Distribution Information
7. Metadata Reference Information

### Section 1 | ### Identification Information
Originator | Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC), Minnesota Planning
Title | Minnesota Timberland Survey Records
Abstract | Minnesota's timber resources as detailed by the Reports of Estimates and Appraisals of the Timber Commissioners Board, 1895 - 1905. These records comprise approximately 2,900 pages, with plat maps and assessments indicating the extent, value and condition of timber resources on state owned land in the forested northern half of Minnesota. Each page has a section map and thirteen questions to be answered by the surveyor. The directions were to trace swamps, roads and lakes on the section map. Also there was to be an estimate on every 40 acres or lot which would include the number of thousand board feet or ties. Mention some where that MHS holds the paper records and the reference # at MHS. Reports of Estimates and Appraisals of the Timber Commissioners Board, dating from 1895-1905 The Board of Timber Commisioners was created by the legislature inf 1895 and was composed of the governor, the state auditor and state treasurer. Its overall charge was the care, conservation and sale of state timber. Most of this timber was situated on school, indemnity school and swamp lands. It accomplished these functions by issuing permits to cut timber on state lands, receiving settlements for other types os authorized timber cutting, determining and penalizing instances of illega cutting (timber trespass), and coordinating with the Surveyor General of Logs and Lumber to appraise the logs actually harvested. The law required a current (within three years) estimate and appraisal of timber prior to the issuance of a cutting permits. Timber estimators were to personally enter their reports of these ezaminations into a book kept by the land commissioner, to be known as the record of appraisals and to constitute 'the original recored of such examinations, estimates and appraisals,' and specified the information that was to be recorded. These and other records are held at the MHS. They reflect the difficulties goverment faced inf the oversight of disparate and scattered parcels of land, as well as the haphazard nature of 19th century record keeping. Withing that context, the Reports of Estimates and Appraisals of the Timber Commissioners Board represents the most coherent, accurate and broadest data set available. As such, they can serve as a benchmark against which to measure other collections. Ideally, as other sets are identified and digitized, they can together establish a critical mass of information which will allow the comparative anaysis of the environment in Minnesota across time, from the 1850s to today.
Purpose | Historical timber information
Time Period of Content Date | 1900
Currentness Reference | 1895 - 1905
Progress | Complete
Maintenance and Update Frequency | None planned
Spatial Extent of Data | The NE forested area of Minnesota.
Bounding Coordinates | -95.7 -89.9 48.6 45.9
Place Keywords | Minnesota
Theme Keywords | Timberland, Survey, State
Theme Keyword Thesaurus | None
Access Constraints | None
Use Constraints |
Contact Person Information | , Minnesota Land Management Infromation Center (LMIC) 658 Cedar Street, 330 Centennial Building St. Paul, MN 55155 Phone: 651-296-1211 FAX: 651-296-1212 E-mail: none available
Browse Graphic File Name | none available
Browse Graphic File Description |
Associated Data Sets | Bearing Trees ?
### Section 2 | ### Data Quality Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Attribute Accuracy | No statistical attribue assessment has been performed.
Logical Consistency | Data have been topologically structured and verified.
Completeness |
Horizontal Positional Accuracy |
Vertical Positional Accuracy | Not applicable
Lineage | The Timberland Survey Records data set was developed at LMIC for the Historical Society with funding by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources. LMIC used the following procedure: 1. Scan the original pages a 800 pixels per inch (ppi). 2. Using the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Public Land Survey (PLS) data, geo-reference each image to corresponding PLS section. 3. Create a second geo-referenced image that is clipped to the section. 4. Heads up digitize the section map on the original scanned image: point, line & poly. 5. Geo-reference the Arc/Info coverages to the DNR PLS. 6. Enter the tabular information into two databases: Section (Page) and Quarter-Quarter Section (Map). 7. Create any derivitive products.
Source Scale Denominator | 13252
### Section 3 | ### Spatial Data Organization Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Native Data Set Environment | Arc/Info, Version 8.0.2
Geographic Reference for Tabular Data |
Spatial Object Type | Vector
Vendor Specific Object Types | Arc, Polygon, Node & Label Point
Tiling Scheme | Township, Range & Section
### Section 4 | ### Spatial Reference Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Horizontal Coordinate Scheme | UTM
Ellipsoid | GRS80
Horizontal Datum | NAD83
Horizontal Units | Meters
Distance Resolution |
Altitude Datum | Not applicable
Altitude Units | Not applicable
Depth Datum | Not applicable
Depth Units | Not applicable
UTM Zone Number | 15E
### Section 5 | ### Entity and Attribute Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Entity and Attribute Overview | 1. CODE - a four digit number composed of three parts: GSSC GENE (G) - first digit - general cover ex. Lowland SPEC (S) - middle two digits - specific cover type ex. Aspen COND (C) - last digit - conditional statement ex Dry See below for full description. 2. TYPE - a description based on the general or specific code. 3. DESC - free form text populated with any text on map relating to this field. It also was used in case a feature was unique and did not have a matching specific code. General Code: 1 - Lowland 2 - Upland 3 - Infrastructure 4 - Hydrography 5 - Political 9 - Undefined Specific Code: -cover types- 01 - Aspen 02 - Balsam 03 - Bog 04 - Bottom Land 05 - Brushy Openings 06 - Burned 07 - Clean Cut 08 - Good Farmland 09 - Hardwood 10 - Lowland 11 - Marsh 12 - Meadow 13 - Not Burned 14 - Popple 15 - Spruce 16 - Swamp 17 - Tamarac 18 - Timber 19 - Tree Cut Line 20 - Tree Grove / Forest 21 - Upland 22 - Willow 23 - Windfall 24 - Mixed Pine 25 - Mixed Pine / Brush 26 - Alder 27 - Black Ash -hydrography- 40 - Brook 41 - Lake 42 - Pond 43 - River -infrastructure- 50 - Camp 51 - Dam 52 - House 53 - Indian Farm 54 - Mine 55 - Powder House 56 - R.R. Station 57 - Railroad 58 - Road 59 - Sawmill 60 - School House 61 - Test Pit 62 - Townsite 63 - Trail 64 - Log Road -political- 70 - Correction Line 71 - Guild Line 72 - Merifian Line 73 - Not State 74 - Political Boundary -other- 99 - Undefined Conditional Code: 1 - Burned 2 - Cut 3 - Dead 4 - Dry 5 - Old 6 - Ridge 7 - Wet
Entity and Attribute Detailed Citation |
### Section 6 | ### Distribution Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Publisher | Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC), Minnesota Planning
Publication Date | 2001
Contact Person Information | , Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC) 658 Cedar Street, 330 Centennial Building St. Paul, MN 55155 Phone: 651-296-1211 FAX: 651-296-1212 E-mail: none available
Distributor's Data Set Identifier |
Distribution Liability |
Transfer Format Name | ESRI's ArcInfo coverage, ArcInfo export or ArcView shapefile
Transfer Format Version Number | 8.0.2
Transfer Size |
Ordering Instructions |
Online Linkage | none available
### Section 7 | ### Metadata Reference Information - - - - - - Go back to top
Metadata Date | 05/08/2001
Contact Person Information | Nancy Rader, Data Distribution and Coordination Specialist Minnesota Land Management Information Center (LMIC) 658 Cedar Street, 330 Centennial Building St. Paul, MN 55155 Phone: 651-296-1211 FAX: 651-296-1212 E-mail: clearinghouse@mnplan.state.mn.us
Metadata Standard Name | Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines
Metadata Standard Version | 1.2
Metadata Standard Online Linkage | http://www.lmic.state.mn.us/gc/stds/metadata.htm

This page last updated 05/08/2001.

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