June, 2001
GIS Utilization of Historic Timberland Survey Records

Overview of the CD Set

This 3-CD set contains the following information created by 
scanning the "Reports of Estimates and Appraisals of the
Timber Commissioners Board, dating from 1895-1905":

Disk #1:  The original, processed, non-georeferenced scanned images. 
Each page contains a map and text notes.

Disk #2:  Geo-referenced versions of the images from Disk #1. 
Two versions are provided:  the full page and the map clipped from 
the full page.

Disk #3:  Files created for use with geographic information systems 
(GIS) software. These include vector files created from the maps 
and database files created from the surveyors' text notes.

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Contents of Disk #1

DISK #1: Scanned pages of "Reports of Estimates and Appraisals of the
Timber Commissioners Board, dating from 1895-1905."

Organized by county, this disk contains the processed, non-georeferenced
scanned images prepared for the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) by
Perfect Image of Kirkland, WA. The 800 DPI, black and white images have been
stored in a TIFF, Group IV Fax format (compatible with most common
graphics software). Each image is named based on which of the Report’s
volumes and pages it came from (v<vol>p<page>.tif). For example:

vb1p0047.tif is from Volume B1, page 47.

Perfect Image processed the raw scans to de-speckle and straighten
them. De-speckling was done at a very low level to ensure no data
loss. De-speckling removes artifacts often introduced by the scanning
process and results in a cleaner image. When necessary, images were
rotated to produce a 'straight' page. Note: These images display each
section as a perfect square which often does not match reality; see Disk #2 
for the geo-referenced versions.

A total of 2,506 pages were scanned from the four volumes of the Report.
Each image has been placed in a directory (four character county 
abbreviation) named for the county it falls within. Any image that could
not be identified by a specific township, range or section has been 
placed in the directory titled 'Unkn' (Unknown).

Number of images by volume:

  Vol A  - 488 pages
  Vol B1 - 500 pages
  Vol B2 - 796 pages
  Vol C  - 722 pages

Number of images by county:

  Aitk (Aitkin)        431 pages
  Beck (Becker)         42 pages
  Belt (Beltrami)      188 pages
  Carl (Carlton)       103 pages
  Cass (Cass)          145 pages
  Clea (Clearwater)     62 pages
  Cook (Cook)           44 pages
  Crow (Crow Wing)      49 pages
  Hubb (Hubbard)       142 pages
  Itas (Itasca)        510 pages
  Kana (Kanabec)         5 pages
  Kooc (Koochiching)    35 pages
  Lake (Lake)           69 pages
  Mill (Mille Lacs)     22 pages
  Morr (Morrison)       15 pages
  Pine (Pine)           58 pages
  Stlo (St. Louis)     574 pages
  Todd (Todd)            6 pages
  Wade (Wadena)          2 pages
  Unkn (Unknown)         4 pages (no known TRS location)

Please note:
 
  1. See CD #3 for FGDC compliant metadata and important web links.

  2. See CD #3 for tables containing a cross reference between TRS
     (township, range and section) and Volume/Page.

Credits:

This project was a joint effort of the State Archives Department of the 
Minnesota Historical Society and the Land Management Information Center
of Minnesota Planning's Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning. The
advisory board members were: Betsy Daub, Minnesota Audubon Society;
Kathryn Fernholz, Community Forestry Resource Center, Institute for
Agriculture and Trade Policy; Steve Friedman, Department of Forest
Resources, University of Minnesota; Clyde Hanson, Sierra Club; Steve
Lane, Division of Forestry, Department of Natural Resources; Tim O’Hara,
Timber Producers Association; Gaylord Paulson, Division of Forestry, 
Department of Natural Resources; and Jack Rajala, Rajala Companies. John
Hoshal and Norman Anderson represented the Land Management Information
Center; Bob Horton represented the State Archives.

Funding was provided by the Minnesota Future Resources Fund as recommended
by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources.

For more information about this project, updates to the information found
on this disk, examples of how the data is used with GIS tools and other
related data, contact:

Robert Horton
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd. West
St. Paul, MN 55102-1906

Tel: 651-215-5866
Fax: 651-296-9961
E-mail: robert.horton@mnhs.org
URL: http://www.mnhs.org

or

John Hoshal, GIS Applications Manager
Land Management Information Center
Suite 330, 658 Cedar St.
St. Paul, MN  55155

Tel: (651) 296-1202
Fax: (651) 296-1212
E-mail: john.hoshal@state.mn.us
URL: http://www.lmic.state.mn.us

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6.14.01
ReadMe_CD1.txt
LMIC
