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County errors


rogbarn

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I'm just going to throw out these possibilities...

 

Is there a chance that KC0132 was set and then the county was split? Was Jersey County established from parts of Greene County? I don't know much (anything really) about your area, especially the chronology of the benchmark dates vs. the county establishment dates, but this could be a possibility, and the mark's county listing may have not been updated. A nearby county I work in occasionally was split from another county in the 1930's. If we need county maps, benchmark data, or other records that were recorded BEFORE the split, it is necessary to go to the parent county for that info. I would imagine that if a new county was established, it's possible that a benchmark or two didn't get updated. (However I've found benchmarks in both the newer and older counties near me and haven't found any listed wrong. They've all been updated correctly.)

 

Or, is it nearby a county line? We've all found marks with coordinates that are more than a few hundred feet off. (I found one last week that was 0.21 miles off!) Is the mark so close to the county line that the coordinates for the mark are in one county while the mark is actually in another? (Of course this is assuming that Greene & Jersey counties are adjacent to each other.)

 

This doesn't change the fact that the county listing for KC0132 is wrong. If it's in Jersey County, it's not in Greene County. Period. These are just some possibilities as to the 'why' they might be wrong.

 

... or maybe someone just goofed.

 

Keep on Caching!

- Kewaneh

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K&S makes several excellent points here. Any one of them may be true here. I doubt it is a case of counties splitting, but I will have to do just a little bit of research to confirm that. I do know that KC0132 is very near the border between Jersey and Greene Counties, so it may in fact be in Greene County even though the coordinates map to Jersey. We are headed in that direction today, so I may be able to find out. Thanks for the comments.

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quote:
Originally posted by RogBarn:

I do know that KC0132 is very near the border between Jersey and Greene Counties, so it may in fact be in Greene County


 

It actually doesn't look that close. Greene County appears to be more than 2.5 miles North. As a matter of fact, KC0133, KC0134 and KC0135 are all north of KC0132 and still (correctly) listed as Jersey County.

 

It looks like you've found another county error...but we'll watch for your on-scene report.

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I checked out KC0132 after a long but very sucessful day of benchmark hunting with happycycler. We did not actually look for KC0132 since it and several other along this road are placed on rock ledges that are overgrown with vegatation at this time of year. However, I did note that the boundary between Jersey and Greene Counties is the Macoupin Creek. The description for KC0132 specifically mentions that it is 2.7 miles south of a bridge over Macoupin Creek. So, as K&S notes, it is firmly inside Jersey County.

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I've just finished a patch for GPSBabel that, along with some files I made from Census Bureau data and the GPX files from BMGPX, will essentially automate finding candidates for inclusion in this thread. If anyone is interested, I can provide more details and maybe even a pre-beta build of GPSBabel with the polygon filter included.

 

I'll warn you, though, you're likely to find a lot of errors. Here's the list of benchmarks that claim to be in Allen County, Indiana but are not. Some of these are only a whisker outside of the county, but some are obviously wrong. Obviously, this is all based on the coordinates. I haven't examined the descriptions on any of them. Note, too, that some of these are in the wrong state.

 

(Edit: having read the descriptions, some were correct and have been removed from the list. I had 3 false positives, which means there are likely false negatives as well. GPSBabel also tells me that there are 22 marks within 100m of the county line, so those should probably be checked by hand. Obviously the coordinates aren't that great an indicator of these things. And a whisker is 11 feet, as evidenced by LA0899: ... ABOUT 2.1 MILES WEST ALONG THE WELLS-ALLEN COUNTY LINE ROAD FROM THE POST OFFICE AT ZANESVILLE ... 11 FEET SOUTH OF THE CENTER LINE OF THE ROAD ...)

 

41.047913N 84.803133W MD1797/763 -- actually Paulding Co., OH

41.281111N 84.764167W MD0302/A 122 -- actually Defiance Co., OH

41.019444N 85.335833W MD0802/J 190 -- actually Whitley Co.

40.916944N 85.321389W LA0899/S 188 -- actually Wells Co.

40.904722N 84.976667W LA0657/W 221 -- actually Adams Co.

40.904722N 84.976667W LA0658/W 221 RESET 1957 -- actually Adams Co.

 

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[This message was edited by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy on July 20, 2003 at 07:16 AM.]

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This one's my favorite by far, simply because it's so far off. I estimate that it's about 150 miles from the county it's listed in, and at the other end of the alphabet (I'm betting it has something to do with the fact that Adams County's FIPS code is 001.)

 

KA2052/FAA 3I3 B

Listed in Adams Co, IN

Actually in Vigo Co, IN

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This one's weird. It's a third-order horizontal control, so one hopes they got the coordinates somewhat right. It's described as being at the Indiana Ordnance plant, 8 miles southeast of Charlestown, Indiana, with no mention of having crossed the mighty Ohio River, but the coordinates put it in Kentucky. I'm not sure what to do with it; anyone here from the Louisville area?

 

HZ2116 INDIANA ORD WKS 6014 SANI TANK

Listed in: Clark Co, IN

Actually in: Oldham Co, KY ???

 

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quote:
Originally posted by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy:

This one's weird. It's a third-order horizontal control, so one hopes they got the coordinates somewhat right. It's described as being at the Indiana Ordnance plant, 8 miles southeast of Charlestown, Indiana, with no mention of having crossed the mighty Ohio River, but the coordinates put it in Kentucky. I'm not sure what to do with it; anyone here from the Louisville area?

 

HZ2116 INDIANA ORD WKS 6014 SANI TANK

Listed in: Clark Co, IN

Actually in: Oldham Co, KY ???

 

http://parkrrrr.com/pirate.cgi.gif


 

HZ2116

 

This one looks very wrong. The ordnance plant (now called Indiana Army Ammunition Plant) is certainly in Indiana. If you look at the map, I think it's northeast of Watson IN, between the Kentucky River and route 62.

 

It will be interesting to hear how the coordinates (maybe just longitude) are so wrong.

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quote:
Originally posted by beejay&esskay:

quote:
Originally posted by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy:

This one's weird. It's a third-order horizontal control, so one hopes they got the coordinates somewhat right. It's described as being at the Indiana Ordnance plant, 8 miles southeast of Charlestown, Indiana, with no mention of having crossed the mighty Ohio River, but the coordinates put it in Kentucky. I'm not sure what to do with it; anyone here from the Louisville area?

 

HZ2116 INDIANA ORD WKS 6014 SANI TANK

Listed in: Clark Co, IN

Actually in: Oldham Co, KY ???


hz2116

 

This one looks very wrong. The ordnance plant (now called Indiana Army Ammunition Plant) is certainly in Indiana. If you look at the map, I think it's northeast of Watson IN, between the Kentucky River and route 62.

 

It will be interesting to hear how the coordinates (maybe just longitude) are so wrong.


The description says the plant is 8 miles SE of Charlestown. Topozone shows the plant pretty much directly south of Charlestown. The coordinates listed are SE of Charlestown, directly across the river from the plant. Topozone shows a water tank at the coordinates listed. Perhaps in 1947 the ordnance plant extended across the river.

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quote:
Originally posted by beejay&esskay:

In order by county? I'll check any near me. (Wayne, Fayette, Union...maybe further)


None in any of those counties. Here are the potential errors I have, in addition to the ones I've already noted. I've checked the one in Elkhart County, but I haven't checked the rest:

 

039 - Elkhart

41.410833N 86.045000W ME2092/B 170 RESET 1979

(actually in Kosciusko Co.)

049 - Fulton

41.070833N 86.007778W ME0438/Q 177

41.070833N 85.990278W MD1286/R 177

061 - Harrison

38.356495N 86.282481W JA1780/MILLTOWN AZ MK

40.487500N 85.619722W LA1406/Y 36 RESET 1970

077 - Jefferson

38.362500N 85.642222W HZ2627/K 322 RESET

38.465833N 85.618056W HZ2628/W 1 RESET

083 - Knox

38.464722N 87.752778W JA1156/W 284

089 - Lake

41.611667N 87.215000W ME2129/P 349

091 - LaPorte

41.251389N 86.890556W ME2094/X 142 RESET 1977

41.713889N 86.914167W ME2150/Y 349

097 - Marion

39.938616N 86.047785W KA2040/METRO

39.932796N 86.044525W KA2041/METRO AZ MK

39.629266N 86.087926W KA2046/SKYWAY AZ MK

103 - Miami

40.055278N 85.442500W LA2483/P 247

111 - Newton

41.012778N 87.266667W ME1413/G 157

41.026944N 87.111944W ME1424/M 110

119 - Owen

39.163333N 86.900833W KA0366/66.8

127 - Porter

41.585627N 87.290706W ME3330/EAST 90

41.701389N 87.521944W ME3327/J 233 RESET

41.530000N 87.233333W ME3380/U 367

41.682778N 86.960000W ME2147/W 349

135 - Randolph

40.300000N 85.227778W LA1195/V 220

40.304167N 85.236667W LA1196/W 220

141 - St. Joseph

41.710000N 86.023611W ME0070/N 15

149 - Starke

41.092460N 86.607289W ME3206/BAREPORT

41.092450N 86.616911W ME3207/BAREPORT AZ MK

155 - Switzerland

38.298611N 85.775278W HZ2629/Y 322 RESET

171 - Warren

40.143056N 87.526389W LB1904/B 34

173 - Warrick

37.946944N 87.471944W HA0707/C 326

 

Again, except for Elkhart, these have not been verified on a map. I'm taking the word of my software here, though the 500m buffer zone should eliminate any cases of imprecision like those that plagued my Allen County run. I'm hoping someone can help verify these. (And the disclaimer's there for a reason. I just eliminated the two I had for Gibson County and the five I had for Posey County; my county boundary file left off some little curves in the river.)

 

[This message was edited by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy on July 21, 2003 at 10:10 AM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy:_135 - Randolph_

40.300000N 85.227778W LA1195/V 220

40.304167N 85.236667W LA1196/W 220


 

Well, Randolph isn't far.

 

LA1195

 

quote:
ABOUT 0.5 MILE WEST OF THE DELAWARE-RANDOLPH COUNTY LINE

 

And since Delaware County is west of Randolph, this should be Delaware.

 

LA1196

 

This one is further west than LA1195, so again, in Delaware County.

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quote:
Originally posted by Warm Fuzzies - _083 - Knox_

38.464722N 87.752778W JA1156/W 284.]


 

This one seems OK. Does your filter think it's in Illinois? It appears to be in Indiana on the map and Knox county is the county there. The description is on the left bank of the Wabash which is Indiana.

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quote:
Originally posted by beejay&esskay:

This one seems OK. Does your filter think it's in Illinois?


Probably. That's what happened with the Posey and Gibson county marks, too. It seems that the Census Bureau didn't do a great job of digitizing all of the curves of the Wabash, leading to lots of errors in that corner of the state.

 

pirate.cgi.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy:_097 - Marion_

39.938616N 86.047785W KA2040/METRO

39.932796N 86.044525W KA2041/METRO AZ MK

39.629266N 86.087926W KA2046/SKYWAY AZ MK


These are all incorrect.

 

KA2040 and KA2041 are at the Indianapolis Metro Airport, which is at the southern edge of Hamilton County (just north of Marion County).

 

KA2046 is at the Greenwood Municipal Airport, which is at the north edge of Johnson County (just south of Marion County). Note that KA2045 which is north of KA2046 (and at the airport) is properly listed as Johnson County.

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quote:
Originally posted by Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy:_171 - Warren_

40.143056N 87.526389W LB1904/B 34


 

This is in Vermillion County. Although the description specifically says Warren County, I believe the railroad is about 1000 feet south of the Warren County line at this point. (But this mark is also "not found" by the NGS...do they update those?)

 

(I'm also a little suspicious of LB1624. It is listed as Warren County, but it is "9 yards west of a gravel road" which looks a lot like the county line divider. So I think this could well be Vermillion County also, but I'm less confident of that.)

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JV4793 DESIGNATION - HAVRE DE GRACE LIGHTHOUSE

JV4793 STATE/COUNTY- MD/CECIL

 

Actually, the lighthouse is in Harford County. Havre de Grace is where the Susquhanna River empties into Chesapeake Bay. Cecil County is on the other side of the river. Other Havre de Grace benchmarks - at least the ones I spot-checked - are coded in the correct county.

 

I e-mailed Deb Brown who quickly replied with a note that she will be doing some database updates, including this one, this week.

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I just checked the current datasheet in the NGS database of the ones mentioned here. Most of them have been corrected, but some have not. Perhaps they got missed or perhaps the posting was in error and it was really OK. In any case, I thought I'd post them to see what is going on:

 

PID - county listed as - county should be

MF1823 - IL,Cook - IL,La Salle

HB1886 - IL,Gallatin - IL,Hardin

KC0132 - IL,Greene - IL,Jersey

MF1827 - IL,Ogle - IL,La Salle

HB1896 - IL,Saline - IL,Pope

HB1897 - IL,Saline - IL,Pope

HB1874 - IL,Saline - IL,Gallatin

JC1130 - IL,St Clair - IL,Monroe

MZ0437 - MA,Hampshire - MA,Berkshire

AF9497 - MO,St Louis - IL,St. Clair

AB6289 - MO,St Louis - IL,St. Clair

ML1199 - NE,Saunders - NE,Dawson

DE7297 - WI,Winnebago - WI,Stephenson

DE7296 - WI,Winnebago - WI,Stephenson

DE7266 - WI,Winnebago - WI,Stephenson

 

to this group, I'll add a new one:

 

GF0121 - MO,Boone - AR,Boone

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RogBarn and 1setter

 

Your changes have been reviewed and submitted for correction to the NGS data base with the exception of:

 

MZ0437 -- The description of the location of this mark and the definition of the county line as shown cartographically is too ambigious to determine exactly which county it's it. Therefore the county designation is left alone until such time as we are able to get an accurate legal survey of the county boundary in this area -- good luck.

 

HB1874 -- This mark is described as being on the southwest side of the route 142 which forms the boundary between Saline (to the west of the road centerline) and Gallatin counties. (to the east of the road centerline)

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quote:
Originally posted by DaveD:

MZ0437 -- The description of the location of this mark and the definition of the county line as shown cartographically is too ambigious to determine exactly which county it's it. Therefore the county designation is left alone until such time as we are able to get an accurate legal survey of the county boundary in this area -- good luck.


Well, it sure is interesting when you start researching the net to see what can be found. First, I found a History of the B&A Railroad which mentions the building of seven stone arch bridges between 1838 and 1841. Also, this stretch has the steepest grade on the Western Railroad at 1.61%. BTW, it was called Western because it was formed to connect Worcester, Mass to the New York state line. icon_smile.gif

I also found the Town of Becket home page which mentions that the northern boundary is the West Branch of the Westfield River.

Still, all of this is still too ambigous for anything definitive. Given it's remote location along the railroad, I seriously doubt anyone is going to visit this benchmark any time soon. icon_biggrin.gif

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I had originally posted these in the "Major datasheet error" thread the end of June, without a response. Since this thread has come back to life, and the topic is appropriate, I'll post them here:

 

I've begun checking PA's counties for county errors or incorrectly scaled coords. I've had Rog double check this first list and he agrees with my conclusions.

 

PID - Listed County - Coord County

JV1945 - PA, ADAMS - Franklin

JV2088 - PA, ADAMS - Cumberland

JV2089 - PA, ADAMS - Cumberland

KW1968 - PA, ADAMS - Cumberland

KW2089 - PA, ADAMS - Cumberland

KW2091 - PA, ADAMS - Cumberland

 

All of these should be incorrect counties. The descriptions seem to match the location and coords listed on the datasheets.

 

Greg

N 39 54.705'

W 77 33.137'

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The last time I checked, all of the ones that Fuzzy mentioned earlier in this thread in Indiana have not been corrected.

 

Also, JC1817 had it's coordinates corrected but it still states MO/ST LOUIS and it should be MO/C OF ST LOUIS.

 

While on the topic of county errors, apparently, they don't show up in the monthly datasheet updates. I can understand how it might be difficult to remove one, but should it at least be added to the correct county's file?

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DaveD: I see that the county for AF9497 and AB6289 has been changed from MO,St Louis to IL,Monroe. When I map the coordinates in MapQuest, it clearly shows they are in northeastern St. Clair County. Can this be corrected?

Also, note my corrections that I made within this thread after your last post on Friday.

Thanks Dave! icon_biggrin.gif

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I have reviewed the changes you noted and I agree. I have passed this along for correction in the database. It would appear that when I sent the corrections forward for AF9497 and AB6289 they were confused with another change request and inadvertently changed to the wrong county.

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quote:
Originally posted by DaveD:

Honolulu County, officially the City and County of Honolulu, comprises Oahu and the small islands northwest of Kauai and Niihau extending from Nihoa to Kure except for Midway. Prior to 1959 Palmyra, located about 1000 miles south of the Hawaiian chain, also was included.


Ohhhhhky. Is that officially or just the way it's lumped together in the database? I thought the state had some responsibility, but I didn't think it was part of Honolulu county. It is the largest with the most resources but Kauai county is closer.
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What about counties that you cant find ever existing?

I pose this benchmark, and some of the ones associated with it: LY0538

 

Where does the old county and route fit in?

I cant find them anywhere. It appeard to be located in passaic county near route 511. Any ideas?

 

KARMA: Its everywhere you are going to be.

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Fuzzy and b&e:

Here is the list of county errors in Indiana that I got from various posts you made. I just checked the NGS site and they are still listed as you mentioned. Have you guys ever confirmed that these are indeed a problem? Can you provide the correct county where there isn't one provided? I suspect that will help DaveD get them corrected.

Thanks.

 

PID - listed county - actual county

HZ2116 - IN,Clark - KY,Oldham

JA1611 - IN,Daviess - IN,Greene

JA1612 - IN,Daviess - IN,Greene

JA1613 - IN,Daviess - IN,Greene

JA1614 - IN,Daviess - IN,Greene

ME2092 - IN,Elkhart - ??

ME0438 - IN,Fulton - ??

MD1286 - IN,Fulton - ??

JA1780 - IN,Harrison - ??

LA1406 - IN,Harrison - ??

HZ2627 - IN,Jefferson - ??

HZ2628 - IN,Jefferson - ??

JA1156 - IN,Knox - ??

ME2129 - IN,Lake - ??

ME2094 - IN,La Porte - ??

ME2150 - IN,La Porte - ??

KA2040 - IN,Marion - IN,Hamilton

KA2041 - IN,Marion - IN,Hamilton

KA2046 - IN,Marion - IN,Johnson

LA2483 - IN,Miami - ??

ME1413 - IN,Newton - ??

ME1424 - IN,Newton - ??

KA0366 - IN,Owen - ??

ME3330 - IN,Porter - ??

ME3327 - IN,Porter - ??

ME3380 - IN,Porter - ??

ME2147 - IN,Porter - ??

LA1195 - IN,Randolph - IN,Delaware

LA1196 - IN,Randolph - IN,Delaware

ME0070 - IN,St. Joseph - ??

ME3206 - IN,Starke - ??

ME3207 - IN,Starke - ??

HZ2629 - IN,Switzerland - ??

LB1904 - IN,Warren - IN,Vermillion

HA0707 - IN,Warrick - ??

LB1624 - IN,Warren - IN,Vermillion

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quote:
Originally posted by roasteroo:

its listed in browns county. where does that fit in?


Near the top of the geocaching benchmark listing for LY0538, directly under "Details for Benchmark LY0538", it says "In PASSAIC county, NJ". This is the "officially" (if there is such a thing) listed county. In the description from 1942, it mentions Browns and the Post Office at Browns County. There is a town (according to MapQuest) named Browns at the appropriate location. I don't know if they wrote the word "County" in by mistake or what but if you just leave that word out, the description reads accurately.

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DaveD hadn't responded to any of the Indiana errors so I wasn't sure what was happening with them. I wasn't sure if he was waiting for a complete, less confusing, list like you just provided or whether there was some other issue. (I e-mailed him, admittedly while he was on vacation, and heard nothing back.)

 

If he's waiting for a complete list with correct county, I would be willing to commit to doing that.

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posted September 29, 2003 09:13 AM

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by roasteroo:

its listed in browns county. where does that fit in?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Near the top of the geocaching benchmark listing for LY0538, directly under "Details for Benchmark LY0538", it says "In PASSAIC county, NJ". This is the "officially" (if there is such a thing) listed county. In the description from 1942, it mentions Browns and the Post Office at Browns County. There is a town (according to MapQuest) named Browns at the appropriate location. I don't know if they wrote the word "County" in by mistake or what but if you just leave that word out, the description reads accurately.

 

Everything is accurate except the PO @ browns, no such thing at time of monumentation. PO was HEWIIT then. Also route 532 I cant find existing either. This on has perplexed me for a while b/c it is closest to my house.

 

KARMA: Its everywhere you are going to be.

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