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Monument One

Coordinates: 45°56′36″N 67°46′52″W / 45.9434°N 67.7812°W / 45.9434; -67.7812
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Monument One
Map
45°56′36″N 67°46′52″W / 45.9434°N 67.7812°W / 45.9434; -67.7812
LocationMonument Brook, Amity, Maine
Typeboundary marker
Materialcast iron obelisk, concrete base
Height14 feet (4.3 m)
Beginning date1797
Completion date1843
Restored date1972

Monument One is a boundary marker on the Maine–New Brunswick border in the town of Amity, Maine. It was erected in 1843, the first permanent marker on the Canada–United States border.

Construction

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Surveyors erected the first marker in 1797, consisting of iron hoops around a yellow birch tree, with a stake in the ground nearby.

A square cedar post was installed on July 31, 1817. The permanent cast iron marker was installed in 1843, after the signing of the Webster–Ashburton Treaty. A concrete base was added in 1972. [1]

Inscriptions

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The inscription on one side reads "Treaty of Washington, Boundary August 9th, 1842". On the other two sides of the marker are the names of the US and British Commissioners,[2] Lieutenant James B. B. Estcourt and Albert Smith.

Location

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Monument One marks the headwaters of the St. Croix River and the south end of the "North Line", which runs straight north for 78 miles (126 km).[3] It is at the western corner of Richmond Parish and North Lake Parish and near the rural community of Monument.[4]

Access

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Access is difficult, as no main roads run to the site. A logging road, accessible from Monument Road, passes nearby, but there is no path to the monument, only a trail marked by pink ribbons. Crossing a wetland area is necessary to approach the monument itself.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Shane Fowler; Poitras, Jacques (Aug 4, 2017). "Monument One: A trek to the start of the border". CBC News. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  2. ^ Chip Gagnon (23 Oct 2011). "The Border Dispute: How the Maine-New Brunswick border was finalized". www.upperstjohn.com. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  3. ^ "On the Boundary, Part 1: Maine". The Lay of the Land. The Center for Land Use Interpretation. 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  4. ^ NB Survey Control Network Map
  5. ^ Nathan DeLong (August 4, 2017). "Tough trek in to history at the Maine-N.B. border". www.telegraphjournal.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2017 – via Google Cache.
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