Toledo War of 1835, Toledo Strip, Fulton Survey Line

The information on this page relates to the Toledo War of 1835, the Toledo Strip, the Fulton Survey Line, and the Twelve Mile Square Reservation along with selected Internet resources. While the domain name for this site is Toledo War.com, much of the content currently focuses around the Fulton Survey Line and how it relates to the Toledo War. This includes a physical and photographic survey of the line as it now appears in Northwest Ohio. A physical survey of the Twelve Mile Square Reservations is also documented below.

The Toledo War of 1835, also known as the Battle of Phillips Crossing and the Ohio-Michigan Boundary War, (or the Michigan-Ohio War if you are from Michigan) was a historical dispute over the boundary line between Michigan and Ohio. The disputed boundaries formed what was called the Toledo Strip. Much of present Toledo, Ohio falls within this strip.

The dispute was caused by several factors, including the reliance on poorly created maps, which placed the southern tip of Lake Michigan incorrectly, the vague language of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and the resulting varied interpretations by Michigan and Ohio, along an unhealthy dose of politics, and egos.

There are links below to several web sites relating to the Toledo War. It is of special interest to note that various facts are presented differently between these sites. Ohio ultimately won the disputed 486 square mile Toledo Strip, while Michigan was awarded the western two thirds of the Upper Peninsula in return. Many sites however, erroneously state that Michigan was awarded the entire Upper Peninsula. Also note the differences at these web sites regarding any physically conflicts of the war. These include various stories of a pig or a horse being the only causality, and accounts of the stabbing of a Michigan Monroe County deputy sheriff. It is also interesting to note the differences in facts and their presentation between those sites representing either a Michigan or an Ohio perspective. Historically described, as a "comic-opera," the Toledo War was even the premise of a local musical comedy presented by the Theatrical Organization of Metropolitan Toledo, called "The War of Toledo" in conjunction with Ohio's 2003 Bicentennial celebrations. (If you are doing a student report on the Toledo War, you may well consider these differences as a theme for your paper.)

The Fulton Survey, (1818, by John A. Fulton) is a line which forms the southern boundary of the Toledo Strip. The Fulton Line was a survey a portion of a line known as the Ordinance Line of 1787, in an area that is now Northwest Ohio. Current USGS topographic maps identify the line as the Fulton Line in Ohio and as the Old Indian Treaty Boundary in Indiana. (see links below) The line was later resurveyed as the Talcott Line. In Indiana, the Ordinance Line is also known as the Indiana Territory Boundary Line.

The Toledo Strip was 486 square mile area bounded on the north by the current Ohio-Michigan boundary, established by the Harris Survey, on the south by the Fulton Survey, and on the west by a 5 mile section along the current Ohio-Indiana Boundary. The east end of the strip was bounded by the shore of Lake Erie. The strip was approximately 8 miles in latitude at the intersection of the current Ohio-Michigan boundary and the west end of Lake Erie. Incredibly, the final resolution of the Ohio-Michigan boundary within the waters of Lake Erie was not resolved until a 1973 Supreme Court decision. Many people in Lucas County do not realize that this puts the northeast corner of the county in Lake Erie on the International Boundary line with Canada and Essex County of Ontario Province. This decision also split Turtle Island, (Lucas County's only remaining natural island), with Michigan, making it the northern most land mass on the Ohio-Michigan Border.

That fact and the following trivia could make interesting test questions. How many counties border Lucas County? Seven counties border Lucas County; Essex, Fulton, Henry, Lenawee, Monroe, Ottawa, and Wood. Six border it by land; All the previous counties except Essex. Three counties border it along the Ohio border; Lenawee, Monroe, and Essex. Two counties surround it by land on the Ohio-Michigan border; Lenawee and Monroe. Four counties border it in Ohio; Fulton, Henry, Ottawa, and Wood. One borders it along the International Line; Essex county in Ontario Canada. Essex county also has the distinction of being the only county that borders Lucas County entirely in Lake Erie.

The Fulton Line touches Williams, Fulton, Lucas and Ottawa Counties in Ohio. (Note that Fulton County was named after Robert Fulton the steam ship inventory, not John Fulton the surveyor.) At the Indiana border, the western end of the Line in Ohio starts in a private wooded lot, and proceeds east forming a township boundary in Williams County. The eastern end of the Line forms the current boundaries between Lucas County to the north and Wood and Ottawa Counties to the south, and ends at the edge of Lake Erie in the Crane Creek State Park after crossing the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area.

The Fulton Line is still identified on current maps (see topographical map links below) along with physical evidence of the Line in the form of survey markers, tree lines, jogs in roads, property boundaries, township boundaries, county boundaries, and most significantly the Old State Line Road in Fulton and Lucas Counties. (see table below)

Many years of development has obscured any obvious evidence of the Line as it cuts across what is now commonly known as the "South End" of Toledo, including areas where it intersects various State of Ohio properties and the Toledo Zoo. Nevertheless one notable feature along the entire length of the Line, including through Toledo, is the fact that many north-south roads either do not cross the linet, or do so in an offset manner. Some roads are offset even when no other intersecting roads exist at the Line. Upon careful inspection, these features can even be identified in aerial and satellite pictures. (see links below)

These offsets are a result of the intersection of two different land surveys in the area. Each survey used their own baselines to establish their townships boundaries, according to the provisions of the US Public Land Survey (USPLS).

The Michigan Survey (also see Michigan Survey), of 1815 established townships of six square miles each, in the territory of Michigan. The southern boundary of this survey was the Fulton Line, which was where Michigan assumed their southern border to be.

Four years later, in 1819, another survey called the Congress Lands Survey, was made in Ohio, south of the Fulton Line.

While these two surveys shared the Fulton Line as their east/west intersection border, their different baselines caused them to not share common north/south township and section boundary lines along the Line. Since roads were typically built along the one mile square section borders within a township, the roads following the north/south section borders within each survey were offset along the Fulton Line.

To further complicate matters, a smaller and older survey intersects both of the larger surveys above, to create similar township offsets around it. This was the 1805 survey of the "Twelve Mile Square Reservation" (also know as the Twelve Mile Reserve). This Reservation was established by the 1795, Treaty of Greenville, and is described as, "One piece twelve miles square, at the British fort, on the Miami of the Lake, at the foot of the rapids." This was one of 16 areas ceded by the Indians to the United States. (see Map of Surveys in Ohio from: http://www.ca.blm.gov/pa/cadastral/meridian.html) This Reservation, surveyed separately, and before the above surveys, contained its own township sections, therefore the roads around it's border, (especially on the north) exhibit similar characteristics as those along the Fulton Line. The Fulton Line itself, actually intersects the east and west borders of this Reservation.

The offset of Crissey Road at it's intersection with Dorr Street, marking the northwest corner of this Reservation, can easily be identified on maps and aerial pictures. A physical survey of the northwest corner was not practical as it exists on private property. (Search the AREIS system for parcel 6503818. The northwest corner of this parcel is the northwest corner of the Reservation.) Dorr Street and Crissey Road form most of the northern, and part of the western border of the Reservation respectively. Crissey Road dead ends in Monclova Township, as the western Reservation border continues south, where a small section of the Monclova township border follows it. (see Topographic map of northwest corner of Twelve Mile Square Reservation.)

From topographic maps it is unclear where the northeast corner is located. Extending the north and east borders on the topographic maps, place this corner in the city of Toledo at the end of Cherry Street where it becomes the Martin Luther King Bridge (fka Cherry St. Bridge) at the Maumee River's edge. It is unlikely that any kind of marker remains at this corner of the Reservation. (see Topographic map of northeast corner of Twelve Mile Square Reservation.)

Part of the east boundary is Yondota Street in Toledo, and then becomes Tracy Road which extends south to the southeast corner where it intersects Dowling Road. Several physical inspections of this corner have not reveal any survey markers. Dowling Road forms most of the southern border of the Reservation, east of the Maumee River. This corner is also easily identified on maps and aerial pictures. Dowling Road is offset at this corner similar to Crissy Road in the opposite Reservation corner. (see Topographic map of southeast corner of Twelve Mile Square Reservation. )

List of suspected points in along the Fulton line from Lake Erie west to the Indiana State Line
Road, Point of Interest, Benchmark, or Area Description	Latitude	Longitude	Coordinate Source *	Survey Marker Type *	Notes
Crane Creek State Park (at Lake Erie) Border of Lucas County to north and Ottawa County to south of Line.	41.62326	-83.1648	TopoZone NAD-27
Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Park Rd 1	41.62340	-83.18237	GPS avg	P
Bono-Port Clinton Road (RT2), aka Jerusalem Rd & Ottawa-Lucas County Rd (also has satellite mapping marker cross at intersection)	41.62287	-83.25985	GPS avg	P
N Elliston-Trowbridge Rd	to be rechecked			P
Nissen Rd
N Opfer-Lentz Rd
N Martin-Wiliston Rd
Short Rd
Cedar Brown Rd
Lake St
N. Curtice Rd	41.62038	-83.37033	GPS avg	P
Railroad tracks
Private drive extends north from Fostoria Rd Border of Lucas and Ottawa Counties with Lucas north of Line, and south of Line Ottawa to east and Wood to west of Line.
S Wynn Rd	41.61902	-83.42759	GPS avg	B
Coy Rd.				P	too busy
Meijer Dr				N
Meijer Cir				N
I-280
Wheeling St				N
Woodville Rd (RT 51)				N
Norcross Dr				N
Glennross Blvd				N
Drouillard Rd				N
Railroad tracks
East. Broadway				N
Tracy Rd & Florence Av (This is also the point where the Fulton Line intersects the eastern border of the "Twelve Square Mile Reservation").	41.61788	-83.52801	GPS avg	B
Owen St & Florence
Railroad tracks
Oak St & Florence				N
Stroehlein Av & Florence
Railroad tracks
Oregon Rd	41.61783	-83.53900	GPS avg	B	unusual box
I-75
Woodmore St				N
Superior St (RT 65)	41.61785	-83.54857	GPS avg	B	two boxes
End of Hannum Av in the Rossford Marina
Maumee River Border of Lucas and Wood Counties with Lucas to west, and to east Lucas north of Line and Wood to south of Line.	41.6178	-83.5694	TopoZone NAD-27
Clark Island on the Maumee River (this point often under water)	41.6178	-83.5741	TopoZone NAD-27
Broadway St				N
Toledo Zoo (the line cuts through the southern portion of the Zoo)
Amherst Dr				N
Dartmouth Dr				N
Anthony Wayne Trail (RT25)				N
Woodsdale St				N
Woodsdale Park
Railroad tracks (Norfolk & Southern)
Larc Ln in the Northwest Ohio Development Center				N
Patrick Rafter Av in the Northwest Ohio Development Center				N
Nieson Av in the Northwest Ohio Development Center
Detroit Av (US 24)				N
Research Rd in the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo
Railroad tracks (Toledo Terminal)
E Campus Dr in the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo
Hospital Dr in the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo
WE Campus Dr in the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo
Byrne Rd & Arlington Av	41.61784	-83.62582	GPS avg	B
Michelle Dr
Brigitte Dr
Nanette Dr
Juliet Dr
Swan Creek Preserve Park (This is the only place where Swan Creek crosses the Line, and it does so three times within the park.)
Airport Hwy (RT 2) & Eastgate Rd	41.61700	too busy	GPS no avg	B
Westgate Rd				N
Geer Ln				N
Champe Dr				N
Melvin Dr				N
Reynolds Rd (US 20) & Melvin Dr				N
Nela Pkwy & Melvin Dr				N
Kinder Rd				N
Glenridge Dr				N
Parkglen Ct				N
Bernath Pkwy & Tibaron Bernath Pkwy & Willowood (this is probably the correct marker of the three found here) Bernath Pkwy (north of Willowwood)	41.61687 41.61697 41.61759	-83.67632 -83.67637 -83.67633	GPS avg GPS avg GPS avg	B B B
Hidden Ridge Rd
Thunder Hollow Dr				N
Spring Hollow Dr				N
S Holland-Sylvania Rd	41.61646	-83.68429	GPS no avg	B
Corporate Av				N
I-475
McCord Rd	41.61758	-83.70340	GPS no avg	B
E Mall Dr				N
Spring Meadows Dr				N
N Mall Dr				N
Springfield High School property
Railroad tracks (Conrail)
Holloway Rd & Front St				N
Wentworth Av				N
Albon Rd	41.61764	-83.73737	GPS avg	B
Kieswitter Rd
Crissey Rd & Old State Line Road (This is also the point where the Fulton Line intersects the western border of the "Twelve Square Mile Reservation").	41.61766	-83.76160	GPS no avg	B
Irwin & Old State Line Rd
Eber & Old State Line Rd
Schwamberger Rd & Old State Line Rd				B
Whitehouse-Spencer Rd & Old State Line Rd
Garden Rd/Raab Rd & Old State Line Rd
Berkey Southern Rd (RT295) & Old State Line Rd (south)
Berkey Rd & Old State Line Rd
Berkey Southern Rd (RT295) & Old State Line Rd (north)
Lathrop Rd
Scott Rd
Wilkins Rd & Old State Line Rd	41.61747	-83.84484	GPS no avg	B
Fulton Lucas Rd & Old State Line Rd (north) Border of Lucas and Fulton Counties with Lucas to east, and to west, Lucas south of Line and Fulton north of Line.				B
Fulton Lucas Rd & Old State Line Rd (south) Border of Lucas and Fulton Counties with Fulton to west, and to east Fulton north of Line and Lucas south of Line.				B
RT64 & County/Township Road K (Old State Line Rd in Fulton County)
(additional roads to be added)
Railroad tracks (Grand Trunk Western) & Township Road K
RT109 & County/Township Road K
(additional roads to be added)
RT108 & County/Township Road K
(additional roads to be added)
RT66
Fulton Rd #25	41.61654	-84.34266	GPS no avg	P
Fulton Rd #26
Fulton Rd #27				P
(additional roads to be added)
Railroad (Norfolk & Western)
(additional roads to be added)
Ohio Turnpike (I-80/90)
(additional roads to be added)
RT49
Indiana/Ohio Border	41.61861 41.61914	-84.80582 -84.80570	TopoZone GPS eMAP		in private wooded lot NAD-27 GPS
See Indiana In Indiana the line is called the Indiana Territory Boundary Line and on USGS Topographic maps it is identified as the Old Indian Treaty Boundary. Click here to see a map of it through La Porte, Indiana.
Notes: • Some roads were included above due to estimates of their intersection with the Fulton Line, when no markers or accurate map data was found. This list of roads is edited as additional data is discovered. • GPS Latitude and Longitude readings taken from a Garmin eMap GPS. All coordinates above are in the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS-84) datum format unless noted otherwise. See links below for notes on other datum formats used by most online mapping services. • "GPS avg" means a reading was taken over time to determine an average. "GPS no avg" means only a single reading was taken. "GPS eMap" means that coordinates were estimated from the internal map of the GPS unit. "TopoZone" means that coordinates were estimated from topological maps at www.TopoZone.com Survey Marker Type: B=Benchmark (often a metal box type monument), P=Pipe, N=Searched but Not found at location. (Blank entries were not searched) Benchmark information is available at: http://www.geocaching.com/mark/ and http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/ims/NgsMap2/

Links to web sites about the Toledo War, the Toledo Strip and the Fulton Line, with special attention paid to those sites containing conflicting information as described above.

SITE/PAGE NAME: Ohio History, The Scholarly Journal of the Ohio Historical Society (Links updated 10/07/2003)
http://publications.ohiohistory.org - Vol. 4, pg 127, Ohio History
Boundary Line Between Ohio and Indiana, and Between Ohio and Michigan by T. C. Mendenhall and A. A. Graham
The technical aspects of the border dispute are detailed in this document from page 127 through page 198.
http://publications.ohiohistory.org - Vol. 4, pg 199, Ohio History
The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute by Tod B. Galloway
Page 199 shows a map of Harris and Fulton lines defining the Toledo Strip. This is the only document I have found thus far which gives actual coordinates of Fulton Line. (References to these coordinates start on page 195 in the previous link.)

SITE/PAGE NAME: Toledo - Britannica.com
Even the Britannicca gets the land trade-off story wrong in one of their articles. However in a second article they get it right.
Britannica.com is a premium subscription service, therefore direct links to these articles are not available.
http://www.britannicca.com/

SITE/PAGE NAME: Stevens Thomson Mason, Michigan Historical Museum (the 22 year old "Boy" Governor)
http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/techstuf/settling/mason.html

SITE/PAGE NAME: Lucas County Auditor's Real Estate Information System Online - AREIS
http://www.co.lucas.oh.us/Areis/areismain.asp Once at the site, click on "AREIS Online" to use this Java based database. This free site is operated by the auditor of Lucas County in Ohio, and provides data, maps and aerial pictures of every parcel of land in the county. (As of 10.2003, Turtle Island is the only part of Lucas County that is missing an aerial picture.) You may use the Search to find points along the Fulton line. Use "Old State Line" and "Fulton Lucas" in an " Intersection" Search for the west end of the county. Use "Old State Line" and "Crissey" to see the east end of Old State Line Road. Using an " Address" search, enter "15200 VELER RD" see the east end of the county along the Fulton Line. (See "Aerial and Satellite Pictures" below for similar systems for other counties.)

SITE/PAGE NAME: TopoZone - Get a Map! (Link updated 11/14/2003)
http://www.topozone.com/viewmaps.asp Their USGS Topographic maps clearly identify the Fulton Line by name in several places from Indiana east to Lake Erie. In Indiana look for Use latitude 41.6 and longitudes from -83.2 through -84.8 to travel west along the Fulton Line in Ohio to Indiana. From there look for the Indiana Territory Boundary Line which continues west to the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Please note that by default, GPS units use the "World Geodetic System 1984" (WGS-84). The TopoZone site can be set to display maps using the WGS-84 data system, however they default to the NAD-27 initially use it.

SITE/PAGE NAME: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (Link added 10/07/2003)
http://www.davidrumsey.com Numerous maps of Ohio are available at this site that clearly show the historical disputed Ohio and Michigan Boundaries.
Although there are several ways to view the maps from this site, a downloadable viewer provides the best means to explore these maps.
Two maps stand out as the best to view the disputed Ohio-Michigan boundaries.
Do a SEARCH using "by keywords", for "Ohio 1922" and for "Ohio 1835" to find the following two maps:
- "Carey, H.C. ; L... , Map Of Ohio., 1822, National Atlas" - This map clearly indicates both boundaries, and shows Williams, Henry and Wood as the northern most counties of Ohio extending only to the Fulton Line, while Fulton, Lucas, and Ottawa counties do not yet exist. Also note that the Maumee River and Maumee Bay are called by their original names of Miami River and Miami Bay. Lawrenceville marks the current location of Toledo. Cedar Island on this map, no longer exists.
- "Burr, David H.,..., Ohio., 1835, World Atlas" - While this map show the counties similar to the map above, it does not even mention the current Ohio border. Port Lawrence marks the current location of Toledo. Turtle Island is called Turkey Island on this map and Button Island no longer exists.

SITE/PAGE NAME: MultiMAP.com (Link updated 01/27/2003)
http://www.multimap.com This United Kingdom based mapping service provides a unique service not available in similar services found within the States. You can input an address to get a geo coordinate. Look in the "Map Information" window to see the latitude and longitude results for your search. You may also click and point on maps for similar results.

SITE/PAGE NAME: Tiger Map Server Browser
http://tiger.census.gov/cgi-bin/mapbrowse-tbl One unique feature of this service is the ability to place a map marker at a specific latitude and longitude. (Use latitude 41.6 and longitudes from -84.8 through -83.2 to travel the Fulton Line across Ohio. Please note that by default, GPS units use the "World Geodetic System 1984" (WGS-84) while these maps use the "North American Datum 1927" (NAD-27 CONUS). The difference between these datums can be as much as 100-200 meters within the continental U.S. However most GPS units can be programmed to also work in NAD-27.)

SITE/PAGE NAME: The National Atlas of the United States of America
http://nationalatlas.gov/natlas/natlasstart.asp
This mapping service allows interactive map layering, with multitude of choices.

SITE/PAGE NAME: Lucas County AREIS Log On Page
http://co.lucas.oh.us/AREIS/areismain.asp
Also see AREIS info for maps above. The aerial pictures provided by this site give greater detail and are usually ,ore recent than those provided by the Microsoft Terraserver site below. Once an area has been selected, use the "Maps" function from the left side bar at the site, then click the "Aerial Photos" checkbox.

SITE/PAGE NAME: Microsoft Terraserver Satellite Pictures
http://terraserver-usa.com The most predominant visible feature is the Old State Line Road, which follows the Line in Lucas and Fulton Counties. See the chart above for coordinates. For points west of the Old State Line Road, look for North-South roads with jogs in them to identify the Line. Upon closer inspection, the Line can also still be identified by tree lines, and property line borders in this area and for points from the Maumee River to Lake Erie. Between Old State Line Road and the Maumee River, no obvious features are evident in these pictures. (Use latitude 41.6 and longitudes from -84.8 through -83.2 to travel east along the Fulton Line in Ohio.)