In
class today we concluded our discussion on Colvin’s survey and journal writings
on the Adirondacks. I found it extremely interesting that one person’s writing
could so heavily influence governmental action and lead to the creation of the
Adirondack Forest Preserve and the Adirondack State Park. I also noted that he has a connection to
Hamilton College, which I decided to learn more about.
Verplanck Colvin always had an association to the upstate New York region. He was
born in Albany in 1847. He loved the outdoors and topography, translating to
his interest in the Adirondack region. He also studied law for a time under his
father. Colvin concluded many
explorations and surveys of the region, correcting already created maps as
well. He climbed and made the first accurate measurement of Mount Marcy,
concluding it was 5,344 feet above sea level. During his career he climbed and
measured all the highest peaks in the Adirondacks. He also found lakes never
discovered in the Moose and Beaver River regions in 1876.
In
1881, as the guest of President Darling, Colvin began lecturing on higher
surveying and geodesy at Hamilton College. Geodesy, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “a branch of applied mathematics concerned with the determination of the size and shape of the earth and the exact positions of points on its surface and with the description of variations of its gravity field.” He obtained the job from his friend and Hamilton
Professor C. H. F. Peters, attributed to discovering thirty-six minor planets
in our solar system.
Hamilton
College has a deep history in this region and hosted many famous Professors.
Colvin is a very interesting one and we are lucky to have had a man who was so
deeply devoted to the preservation of the Adirondack region.
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| Verplanck Colvin Survey Marker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verplanck_Colvin#mediaviewer/File:Verplanck_Colvin_bolt.jpg |
Sources and more information:
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