Finding Katahdin Document Packets, Chapter 4, Section 4
Chapter 4, page 118-121.
When Maine became a state in 1820, both Britain and the U.S. were beginning to realize the value of Maine's natural resources and quickly moved to claim the area.
Charles T. Jackson, in the first Geology of the State of Maine, wrote, "At a time when the boundary line between the British provinces and the United States is proposed to be drawn, it is certainly a matter of no small importance that we should know accurately the nature and value of the district in dispute."