ARKVILLE – Rick Brooks, a long-time surveyor and historian of his trade, will present “The Hardenburgh Patent, A Surveyor’s Journey” Saturday, Oct. 21 at 3 p.m. in the Catskill Watershed Corp.’s auditorium on County Rte. 38 (Arkville cut-off road).
Admission to the program, offered by the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown, is by donation.
A third-generation surveyor, Brooks has spent his entire career in and around the Catskill Mountain region and is well versed in Patent history. He will also lead a field walk on Sunday, Oct. 22 to demonstrate tools and techniques and show how surveyors read and measure the land. To register for the walk (there is a $10 fee) call 845-586-4973.
On display at the October 21 event will be antique maps, survey instruments and chains used to spur settlement of the Hardenburgh Patent wilderness. The 1.5-million-acre patent was granted in 1708 by Edward Hyde (Lord Cornbury) to eight men, Johannes Hardenburgh among them. These patentees and their successors intended to enrich themselves by getting homesteaders to settle their lands and pay rent for the privilege. But first the patent had to be divided and mapped by intrepid surveyors such as William Cockburn and Jehu Burr, among others.
Brooks will offer a short history of the patent and its evolution, explaining how surveyors guided European development in the mountains where indigenous people had lived, fished and hunted for centuries. Attendees will learn how to interpret early maps and deeds, whose language has descended through the generations to today’s legal documents. He will also reference the work of more recent but no less legendary surveyors including his uncle, Ed West, and the late Norman VanValkenburgh.
Prior to the illustrated talk, the Catskill Water Discovery Center adjacent to the CWC auditorium will be open from 1 to 3 for those interested in learning about the New York City water system and watershed.
Richard C. Brooks was licensed to practice his profession in 1984. He currently serves as a Senior Project Manager for Control Point Associates, formerly Brooks & Brooks Land Surveyors. The firm was formed in 1990 when he and his wife Patricia P. Brooks, LS combined their respective family surveying businesses.
For information about the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown and its programs, and to view local history articles and photographs, visit mtownhistory.org.