Crazy Border
 

Something has been bugging me since we returned from Vancouver -

Could someone tell me why four blocks on the headland near the ferry terminal in Richmond were left in the US. The rest of what is a very small headland is in Canada - I know this will have something to do with the 49th parallel but was there an arguement - is there buried treasure here that Uncle Sam knows about? Do the locals have to go through border controls twice a day?

It is a modern day enigma - to me anyway

Please help!

Yes, it has everything to do with the 49th and Point Roberts isn't the only location in Canada with this oddity. There are a couple of other spots I believe one in Minnesota and elsewhere. There was great dispute and the Americans wanted the 49th to be the dividing line. Unfortunately Vancouver Island in part is below the 49th so there was compromise made there. I think it goes back to the old 54 - 40 or fight. 49 was the compromise. Residents do have to cross the border and drive to Blaine if they want to shop in the US. As a matter of fact the senior high school students are bussed everyday to Blaine. They did make provisions to give the school buses priority at the border however. Crazy I know. My aunt has a summer home there but is Canadian so she has to check in and out to be sure she doesn't spend more than her six months there. (more for Canadian medical reasons)

Thanks Traveller69

I did think the whole thing was simply a misprint on our map!

Point Roberts has a few American gas stations, a pub, an American grocery store, but that's about it. Not much there except homes. Lots of summer beach homes. I had a friend who lived there because he desperately wanted to live in Vancouver, but being an American without a work visa, couldn't legally get work without immigrating. So his home was in Point Roberts, but he did all his living in Vancouver. His daughter was one of those poor students who had to bus to Blaine every morning. I guess it's only a half hour bus ride down the highway, so it could be worse.

If my memory serves me correctly from my University days taking a cartology course (the history of mapping).... the present day unusual border situations between the United States and Canada are a function of politicians located far from western Canada making decisions based on a what was perceived as an accurate map. The simplified (and now known as inaccurate) map they were working from did not show Point Roberts and a small portion of land near Lake of the Woods accurately. The politicians of the day were working with the best knowledge available at the time and drew the border line based on that map. When the border was actually surveyed the discrepancies appeared and were resolved amicably between the U.S. and British governments. (The British were still setting foreign policy for what would become Canada.) I hope this helps.

Here's a little article from the internet on the border:

http://geography.about.com/od/politi...440orfight.htm

It seems that 54 degrees 40 minutes was the original northern border of the Oregon territories. Above was the southern boundary of Russian controlled Alaska.

James Polk won the Presidency in 1844 and part of his platform was to fight for the whole Oregon territory. Alas, he gave it up so we have to cross the friggin' border to go to Vancouver, Whistler, and other beautiful places.

Actually, I'd be even more happy if we could just unite the entire northwest into its own nation, Cascadia. But, more realistically, it would be good if our borders were easier to cross, as they were before 9/11.

Sorry everyone!

I now realise that years ago the map drawing department of our colonial dept made mistakes that resulted in :
1 The Iraq war
2 The current rest in India/ Pakistan
3 The Israeli problem
4 Multiple border disputes around Africa
5. That very strange oddity in BC

Has Canada not offered to buy back Point Roberts

I have just realised that this is little story like those that set Bill Bryson on his monumental travel writing career.

I think I have a start.

Good start indeed.

I don't think the pleasure boaters will let Canada buy back Point Roberts. The marina is too close to great cruising to let it fall into Canadian hands.

PS, Markrosy, Do you know about the Pig War?

For a really strange story of the border, it is hard to beat Fort Montgomery ("fort Blunder") near Rouses Point NY
http://www.wptz.com/asseenon/2626338/detail.html

Isn't there a place on the New Brunswick/Maine border with buildings on the dividing line? Maybe a library?

The pig war sounds fascinating - will investigate!

Sally--
There is a building with an Opera House (upstairs)/library (downstairs) that straddles the border at Derby Line, Vt. and Stanstead QC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haskell...nd_Opera_House
There are also several streets in the town connecting the two countries without border crossings but plans to change that.

I have lived most of my life (as have my Dad and Grandad in Washington State and none of us ever knew this.
Thanks for mentioning and I have had some fun looking this up.
We are coincidently visiting Vancouver Canada this summer August and we are going to look into visitng Point Roberts..