Art & Artifacts Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Wheel, Surveyor's |
Collection |
Artifact collection |
Object ID |
M1985.300.1 |
Year Range from |
1725 |
Year Range to |
1735 |
Dimension Details |
6" H x 9 3/4" W x 15 1/2" D |
Description |
Surveyor's wheel consisting of two metal dials nailed to thin slab of wood with additional mechanics underneath; device is housed in a hinged wooden box with label adhered to underside of lid. |
Place Names |
Jericho (N.Y.) |
Subject Headings |
Measuring instruments Odometers |
Personal and Corporate Names |
Willis, Samuel, 1704-1782 |
Curatorial Notes |
This peculiar box likely once played a critical role in establishing property boundaries, defining property lines and therefore wealth across colonial Long Island. A mechanized odometer, in the mid-eighteenth century this machine was a more sophisticated surveyor's tool than a standard waywise or perambulator. Attaching the odometer's side arm to a carriage wheel with a set diameter turned its internal gears, prompting its dials to measure distance traveled according to a surveyor's standard measurements of feet, "rods," and "furlongs." The design of this surveying instrument was undoubtedly derived from European scientific sources. According to its donor, this odometer originally belonged to Samuel Willis (1704-1782). Born in Westbury on Long Island, following his marriage to Mary Fry in 1728, the couple moved to Jericho, after which Willis began working as a surveyor. Historical references to known Willis surveys date between the early 1730s to the 1770s and range across Long Island communities including Bethpage, Smithtown, Oyster Bay, and Cow's Neck. Surviving survey maps created by Willis are surprisingly beautiful and visually interesting. |