HISTORY OF COOPERATIVE TOPOGRAPHIC MAPPING IN OHIO

For nearly 100 years (1900–1997), the State of Ohio was involved in three different statewide cooperative topographic-mapping projects: mapping topography at 1:62,500 scale; mapping topography at 1:24,000 scale; and creation of 1:24,000-scale, vector-based elevation contours for use in geographic information systems (GIS). Each of these three projects involved a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the State of Ohio.

The first project was mapping topography at 1:62,500 scale and ran from 1900 to 1916. Led by the Ohio Cooperative Topographic Survey, the project used plane table and telescopic alidade technology to map topography. From 1957 to 1963, the second project conducted topographic mapping at 1:24,000 scale. This project was led by the Ohio Geological Survey and used aerial photogrammetry to map the topography. The final project involved converting the 1:24,000-scale topographic maps to digital vector data. This project was headed by the Ohio Geographically Referenced Information Program and ran from 1993 to 1997. The first two projects created new and more accurate representations of the surface of the earth, while the final project converted the existing paper maps into digital data.

All the projects had several common characteristics. Each project used existing maps or data to demonstrate the usefulness of the program to the State of Ohio and potential organizations that might politically or financially support the project. Additionally, each project involved cooperative funding between the State of Ohio and the USGS and had outside support, either political or financial, from other government agencies and professional organizations. Finally, each project had an identifiable leader at the state level to guide the project to completion. These common characteristics led Ohio to have a significant distinction—for almost a 100-year period, Ohio became the first medium to large state in the United States (in terms of area) to have complete and updated topographic maps and data using the latest technology.