State of Minnesota v. State of Wisconsin
Headline: Court establishes the Minnesota–Wisconsin boundary through Lower and Upper St. Louis Bay and the St. Louis River, orders an 1846-chart-based survey, and appoints commissioners to mark and report the line.
Holding: The Court ordered that the true boundary between Minnesota and Wisconsin in St. Louis Bay and the St. Louis River be fixed according to the 1846 Meade chart, and appointed commissioners to survey, monument, and report the line.
- Creates a fixed surveyed boundary between Minnesota and Wisconsin in St. Louis Bay and River.
- Requires commissioners to mark the line with monuments and file a report by May 1, 1921.
- Allows the Chief Justice to fill any commissioner vacancies to complete the survey.
Summary
Background
The dispute in this case is between the States of Minnesota and Wisconsin over the true boundary line through Lower St. Louis Bay, Upper St. Louis Bay, and the St. Louis River from Upper St. Louis Bay to the “Falls.” The Court found the proper boundary must be determined by reference to the situation as it existed in 1846 and to the Meade chart (Minnesota’s Exhibit No. 1), which the Court accepted as evidence.
Reasoning
The core question was where the boundary actually runs through the bays and river. The Court described the line in detail, tracing it from a point midway between Rice’s Point and Connor’s Point through the deep channel to Upper St. Louis Bay, then by a defined route south of Grassy Point, westward along a course at least eight feet deep east of Fisherman’s Island (the red trace A-B-C on the Meade chart), and following the deep channel past Big Island up to the Falls. The Court appointed three named, competent commissioners to run, locate, monument, and record that line, required them to take oaths, authorized ordinary survey methods, and instructed them to consider the Court’s March 8, 1920 opinion and the Meade chart.
Real world impact
The order requires a field survey and physical marking of the boundary, with an itemized report and expense statement due by May 1, 1921. The clerk must send authenticated copies of the decree and opinion to each State’s governor and to the commissioners. The Chief Justice may fill any commissioner vacancies. Other matters are reserved until the commission’s report is filed.
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