Question about markings on an old map.
December 30, 2014 11:50 PM Subscribe
Hello! I'm researching an old mill site. The plat map has some markings on it that I don't understand.
The image I am referencing is here. It is, obviously, a zoomed in map. I am researching this old mill site in Michigan, and the map is from 1896. Do you see the two marks that cross the river and the railroad - they kind of look like fish hooks or something. Any idea what these marks signify? I don't know if they mark a crossing, or if they mark a change in geographic level - like maybe the elevation changes a bit, or something.
The mill was in operation from about 1850 to 1920, and old documents describe that it had an "8 foot fall" from the dam - which is to the left- through the head race- which is the stream that runs under the mill itself - to the waterwheel or turbine, which would have been under the mill building as well. The mill site has been completely remodeled since the mill went out of use - it's completely flat now (I live across the street from the site so I'm pretty familiar with the modern geography). However, that long of a head race and that deep of a fall, along with the way the dam was constructed, suggests that there had to be some change in height along there somewhere.
I've looked through the book where I got the map, and they never define that mark anywhere.
Any help is appreciated, thanks!
The image I am referencing is here. It is, obviously, a zoomed in map. I am researching this old mill site in Michigan, and the map is from 1896. Do you see the two marks that cross the river and the railroad - they kind of look like fish hooks or something. Any idea what these marks signify? I don't know if they mark a crossing, or if they mark a change in geographic level - like maybe the elevation changes a bit, or something.
The mill was in operation from about 1850 to 1920, and old documents describe that it had an "8 foot fall" from the dam - which is to the left- through the head race- which is the stream that runs under the mill itself - to the waterwheel or turbine, which would have been under the mill building as well. The mill site has been completely remodeled since the mill went out of use - it's completely flat now (I live across the street from the site so I'm pretty familiar with the modern geography). However, that long of a head race and that deep of a fall, along with the way the dam was constructed, suggests that there had to be some change in height along there somewhere.
I've looked through the book where I got the map, and they never define that mark anywhere.
Any help is appreciated, thanks!
Response by poster: Thanks! That clears up that little mystery. Appreciate it!
posted by disclaimer at 1:37 AM on December 31, 2014
posted by disclaimer at 1:37 AM on December 31, 2014
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posted by Knappster at 12:15 AM on December 31, 2014 [2 favorites]