State Engineer and Surveyor

The office of the State Engineer and Surveyor was established by the State Constitution of 1846. The office replaced the office of the Surveyor General, assuming its duties as well as responsibility for surveying and engineering work not required by the former officer but which became increasingly important in ensuing years. Under the terms of the Constitution, the State Engineer and Surveyor was to be elected (at a general election) for a term of two years. There was a requirement that the position be filled by a practicing engineer; this is revealing of a time when the infrastructure and transportation industry were in a period of great physical expansion, technological development, and economic competition.

Over the course of eighty years the office of the State Engineer and Surveyor was involved in some measure with responsibilities for the three main parts of the state's transportation network: canals, railroads, and highways. The job placed the State Engineer and Surveyor at the head of a diversified field of operations encompassing civil, mechanical, electrical, sanitary, hydraulic, and chemical engineering. In addition the State Engineer and Surveyor had responsibilities as a member of several commissions and boards: the Canal Board; the State Board of Canvassers; the State Board of Equalization and Assessment; the State Highway Commission; the Commission on Barge Canal Operation; The New York Water Power Commission; the New York Bridge and Tunnel Commission; and the Salt Water Bays Commission.

The State Engineer and Surveyor also worked in cooperation with other agencies on related matters. For example, he cooperated with the Attorney General in the preparation of claims brought against the state by preparing maps, surveys, and furnishing other technical evidence. He also supervised topographic and hydrographic survey work of the state in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey. The first incumbent, Charles B. Stuart of Geneva, assumed office on January 1, 1848. The office's first annual report appeared in 1850 covering work for the year 1849. The office never relinquished the duty handed down through the Surveyor General, to survey and map the land.

The State Engineer and Surveyor's office was often cited in law as a depository for copies of maps or surveys. This was true in the case of surveys of the location and areas of detached portions of state lands in several upstate counties done in accordance with the Adirondack Survey (Laws of 1883, Chapter 499). Similarly, the Laws of 1886 (Chapter 414) provided that upon completion of the State Survey (Laws of 1876, Chapter 193 et. al.) all records were to be deposited in the Office of the State Engineer and Surveyor and that the arrangements for prosecution of the required work (to put them in their most permanent and complete form and to prepare for printing such of them as should be published) be made with his advice and approval.

As for another purview of the Surveyor General's office, that of establishing and maintaining state boundaries, a law of 1887 (Chapter 421) required that State Engineer and Surveyor to inspect and examine state boundary monuments, and, every three years, to examine all monuments upon state boundaries, make a detailed report to the legislature, and (in cooperation with adjoining states) to restore and replace damaged or displaced boundary monuments and set suitable stone monuments where they might be lacking, at points where the state boundary is intersected by the boundary of any towns or counties of the state, or by any highway. The State Engineer and Surveyor also had responsibility for the sale of lands under the waters of the state and other state lands (when directed by the Commissioners of the Land Office). Area boundaries are also implicit in work done by the State Board of Canvassers, having jurisdiction over the canvass of election returns, and for the State Board of Equalization and Assessment, concerned with the assessment of state taxes among the various counties.

In addition to assuming the duties of the Surveyor General, the State Engineer and Surveyor had responsibilities for the state's developing infrastructure. In the 1800s the state was heavily involved in the development of the canals. There were several distinct periods of canal development, and the creation of the office occurred during the period of the first enlargement of the main branches of the system (including continuance of construction of the lateral canals). The history of the office is bound up with increased demands for fiscal accountability for monies expended and contracts awarded, as well as shared responsibilities with several other offices and commissions for planning and execution of work. The State Engineer and Surveyor supervised the Canal Engineering Department and appointed division and resident engineers.

After the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, a Canal Board was established to fix tolls, make regulations, and hire employees (Laws of 1826, Chapter 314). The State Engineer and Surveyor worked with the Canal Board which had jurisdiction over the construction and maintenance of the canal system, and in fact the employees of the Canal Board worked at the direction of the State Engineer and Surveyor (Laws of 1848, Chapter 72). An 1876 constitutional amendment created the office of Superintendent of Public Works, appointed by the governor. The superintendent was charged with executing all laws relating to maintenance and navigation of the canals except for those performed by the State Engineer and Surveyor, who continued to prepare maps, plans, and estimates for canal construction and improvement and remained deeply involved in canal work.

The Canal Board now consisted of the superintendent of public works, the State Engineer and Surveyor, and the commissioners of the Canal Fund. It continued to handle hiring of employees and personnel matters. This coincided with a period of increasing competition with both railroads and Canadian canals which led to agitation for enlargement and commitment of money for technological improvements and modernization that would bolster efficiency. In 1898, a seven member committee was appointed to formulate canal policy. This Committee on Canals, sometimes called the Governor's Advisory Committee or simply the Canal Committee, was made up of five businessmen plus the Superintendent of Public Works and the State Engineer and Surveyor.

The 1890s saw a period of second enlargement begun with an increase in popular approval as well as legislative action in the form of the Nine Million Dollar Improvement (Laws of 1895, Chapter 79), but ending in exhaustion of funds and investigations of alleged frauds. This period was followed in the early 1900s by one of preliminary surveys, agitation for, and beginning of the final canal reconstruction. A law of 1903 (Chapter 147) directed the Canal Board to oversee improvements and enlargement of the Erie, Champlain, and Oswego Canals, generally known as the New York Barge Canal system. The Commission on Barge Canal Operation (Laws of 1912, Chapter 9) inquired into the proper methods to operate and maintain the improved canals, and what type of craft were to be used on the system.

The State Engineer and Surveyor was also given general supervision of the state's railroads, as the ex officio president of a three member Board of Railroad Commissioners (Laws of 1855, Chapter 526). When the board was abolished (Laws of 1857, Chapter 633) the records were transferred to the office of State Engineer and Surveyor, who held general supervisory powers and duties relative to the railroads of the state until they were transferred again to a Board of Railroad Commissioners (Laws of 1882, Chapter 353) consisting of three gubernatorial appointments. The Department of Highways was established in 1908 (Chapter 330) to supervise bridges and highways financed by state funds. The State Engineer and Surveyor, the Superintendent of Highways, and the Superintendent of Public Works were designated to act as highway commissioners (Laws of 1911, Chapter 646). As such they had jurisdiction over the construction, maintenance, and repair of highways. This arrangement continued until 1913 (Chapter 80) when they were replaced by a single highway commissioner.

Responsibilities in these areas extended to projects on all kinds of related structures and approaches and planning for improved use of the canals, railroads and highways, especially regarding bridges. For example, the State Engineer and Surveyor examined and approved bridge plans of those seeking permits to erect them over state canals. Membership in the New York Bridge and Tunnel Commission involved jurisdiction over construction of a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. In dealing with the infrastructure the office was also naturally involved with the evaluation and control of the state's water resources.

The State Engineer and Surveyor carried out investigations into the water power resources of the state. He had jurisdiction over construction of all locks and dams within the state where issues of public safety were involved. As part of the Water Control Commission he had jurisdiction over drainage and water supply and river control. He was also a member of the Salt Water Bays Commission, which was authorized to improve the condition of certain channels and bays on Long Island. The Water Power Commission, of which he was a member, issued licenses for the development of water power where the state had a proprietary interest. The Commission on Boundary Waters between the United States and Canada was established in 1920 to study the feasibility of a bridge between the two countries and was made up of various state officials, including the State Engineer and Surveyor. Aside from all of these special commissions, the office performed all engineering work required under the conservation laws in relation to river regulation and stream flow, and under health laws regarding sewage systems and sewage disposal.

In 1923 (Chapter 867) the Department of Public Works was established, which consolidated several offices, including the Commission on Boundary Waters, the Department of Highways, the Interstate Bridge Commission, the Trustees of Public Buildings and the Superintendent of Public Buildings. The constitutional reorganization of 1925-1926 abolished the office of State Engineer and Surveyor (along with the Canal Board) and assigned its functions to the new Department of Public Works.