Title:

Witness trees of the Monongahela National Forest: 1752-1899

Author(s):

Thomas-Van Gundy, Melissa A.; Strager, Michael P.

Publication Year:

2014

How to Cite:

These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the citation below when citing the data:

Thomas-Van Gundy, Melissa A.; Strager, Michael P. 2014. Witness trees of the Monongahela National Forest: 1752-1899. Updated 15 September 2016. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2014-0022

Abstract:

This data publication contains a shapefile of points created from 1930s maps of the first land grants within the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) proclamation boundary. Corner or witness trees are those trees listed in a land survey to describe the survey corner for future re-establishment of the corner or property line. Witness trees listed in the deeds were added as attributes to the digital point locations. Deed dates range from 1752 to 1899. If no trees were listed in the deed to witness the corner, the corner was created in the point file, but no species was assigned. The deeds and surveys were created under the metes and bounds method of land survey common in the colonial era. The entire area was not surveyed in any systematic method as is found in the Western United States so there are areas of the MNF with no witness trees. Also included are the scanned images of the maps used to create the database of corner points. Each map covers a portion of the Monongahela National Forest, WV and includes latitude and longitude reference lines. On each map are the individual parcels of land drawn by draftsmen in the 1930s from the original deeds or grants. With each tract is the name of the grantee, the data of the deed or grant, the size of the tract of land (in acres), and a unique identification number that references the deed/grant from which the sketch was made. This data publication also includes two location maps (north and south) showing the location and area covered by the individual map sheets. The base map is a 1936 map of the Monongahela National Forest, WV produced by the USDA Forest Service.

Keywords:

boundaries; location; society; Ecology, Ecosystems, & Environment; Geography; Landscape ecology; Environment and People; History; European settlement; witness trees; forest composition; Monongahela National Forest; West Virginia

Related publications:

• Thomas-Van Gundy, Melissa A.; Strager, Michael P. 2012. European settlement-era vegetation of the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-GTR-101. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 39 p. https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/41448
• Thomas-Van Gundy, Melissa A.; Nowacki, Gregory J. 2013. The use of witness trees as pyro-indicators for mapping past fire conditions. Forest Ecology and Management. 304: 333-344. https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/43747
• Thomas-Van Gundy, Melissa A.; Strager, Michael P.; Rentch, James. 2012. Site characteristics of red spruce witness tree locations in the uplands of West Virginia, USA. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 139(4): 391-405. https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/42805
• Thomas-Van Gundy, Melissa A.; Strager, Michael P. 2011. Site characteristics of American chestnut, oak, and hickory witness trees on the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. In: Fei, Songlin; Lhotka, John M.; Stringer, Jeffrey W.; Gottschalk, Kurt W.; Miller, Gary W., eds. Proceedings, 17th central hardwood forest conference; 2010 April 5-7; Lexington, KY; Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-78. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/38055

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  • RDS-2014-0022_Maps.zip (8.41 GB; Checksum)

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