Joseph C. Brown
Encyclopedia
Joseph C. Brown was a surveyor
in the United States
who made several major surveys in the Louisiana Territory
.
Among his notable surveys:
In addition to his surveying duties he was a sheriff of St. Louis County, Missouri
as well as county engineer.
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who made several major surveys in the Louisiana Territory
Louisiana Territory
The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805 until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed to Missouri Territory...
.
Among his notable surveys:
- Initial point of the Fifth Principal MeridianFifth Principal MeridianThe Fifth Principal Meridian starts from the old mouth of the Arkansas River, and, with the base line running west from the old mouth of the St. Francis River, governs the surveys in Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, North Dakota; those in Minnesota, west of the Mississippi River and west of the third...
(1815) - Brown established the initial point of the Fifth Principal Meridian which was to be used for surveying lands in the Louisiana PurchaseLouisiana PurchaseThe Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
in the states of ArkansasArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
and North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
. Brown established the baselineBaseline (surveying)In the United States Public Land Survey System, a baseline is the principal east-west line that divides survey townships between north and south. The baseline meets its corresponding meridian at the point of origin, or initial point, for the land survey...
on October 27, 1815 at the mouth of the Mississippi RiverMississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Prospect Robbins surveyed north from the mouth of the Arkansas RiverArkansas RiverThe Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
on the Mississippi. Where the two lines met was the Initial Point which is in Louisiana Purchase State ParkLouisiana Purchase State ParkLouisiana Purchase State Park, in Arkansas near Blackton, Arkansas, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993 under the title Beginning Point of the Louisiana Purchase Survey., It is the point from which the lands acquired through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 were subsequently surveyed. A...
in Arkansas. - First plat of St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
(1815-1818) - Brown's starting point in the survey was the home of Auguste Chouteau - Indiana Territory Line between Missouri and Indian TerritoryIndian TerritoryThe Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
(1823) - Brown surveys the line south from its origin at the confluence of the Kansas RiverKansas RiverThe Kansas River is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwestern-most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwestern-most portion of the extensive Mississippi River drainage. Its name come from the Kanza people who once inhabited the area...
and Missouri RiverMissouri RiverThe Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
and then surveys the Missouri-Arkansas line. Virtually all Native Americans south of the Iowa line were to be moved west of line. - Santa Fe TrailSanta Fe TrailThe Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...
(1825) - Honey War line (1836) Brown's most controversial survey was the resurvey of the Sullivan LineSullivan LineThe Sullivan Line is the border between Missouri and Iowa.The line was initially created to establish the limits of Native American territory ; disputes over the boundary were to erupt into the Honey War; and the boundary was to be the basis for the Iowa portion of the Mormon Trail.In 1804, in the...
, which caused Missouri to claim its border extended 13 miles into Iowa. When Missouri tax collectors attempted to collect revenue from the new territory they were run out of the state. In the process they cut down three trees with honey bee hives for partial payment. The source of the debate was the definition of the Des Moines RapidsDes Moines RapidsThe Des Moines Rapids between Nauvoo, Illinois and Keokuk, Iowa-Hamilton, Illinois is one of two major rapids on the Mississippi River that limited Steamboat traffic on the river through the early 19th century....
. When Missouri entered the Union in 1820 it said its border extended from the rapids on the River Des MoinesDes Moines RiverThe Des Moines River is a tributary river of the Mississippi River, approximately long to its farther headwaters, in the upper Midwestern United States...
. Brown couldn't find the rapids at the said intersection with the river-and hence-said the rapids were further north. The Supreme Court was to repudiate what was called "Brown's Line" and uphold the Sullivan Line as the border (although resurveyed).
In addition to his surveying duties he was a sheriff of St. Louis County, Missouri
St. Louis County, Missouri
St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its county seat is Clayton. St. Louis County is part of the St. Louis Metro Area wherein the independent City of St. Louis and its suburbs in St. Louis County, as well as the surrounding counties in both Missouri and Illinois all...
as well as county engineer.