Contemporary letters referencing the Price-Strother map
Aaron Burr was most renowned for being Vice President during Jefferson’s first term, and while in that office, killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Continue reading
The earliest review located thus far was published in The Monthly Anthology, and Boston Review in April 1808.[1] Was it an original review, or was it a reprint of an earlier review? Continue reading
General Assembly Petitions, Committee Reports, and Resolutions Pertaining to the 1808 Price-Strother map of North Carolina: 1790-1799.
These records, listed chronologically, were obtained from manuscript documents in the North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC, and from published journals of the House and Senate. Continue reading
In earlier blog posts, we’ve discussed the resurrection of the plates for the 1833 MacRae-Brazier map and their use by Wellington Williams to publish a “new” map of North Carolina in 1854. The following episode involved their use by an unknown publisher (J.H. French?) for a bizarre map that turned out to be a publisher’s mock up for the map that is the subject of today’s post. What does a minister have to do with all of this?
In a previous post, we discussed Wellington Williams’s publication in 1854 of a (not so) new map of North Carolina, printed from the resurrected copper plates of the 1833 MacRae-Brazier map. Those plates had more lives than a cat. Their next reincarnation resulted in one of the strangest North Carolina maps ever published. That is the topic of this North Carolina Map Blog post. Continue reading
We’ll return to the Map Wars series in a few weeks. In the meantime, please enjoy this tidbit. Fielding Lucas, Jr., was one of the great American map publishers of the early 19th century. Not only did he compile and publish his own atlases, he also drew maps for other publishers. One example of the latter is a Geographical, Historical, And Statistical Map Of North Carolina, published in 1822-1827 atlases by Carey & Lea, shown here…
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There are, of course, numerous examples of maps whose publication history far outlived their accuracy from either a physical or political geographic perspective. One of the best examples from North Carolina is the 1833 MacRae-Brazier map.
1833 MacRae-Brazier map of North Carolina
Note: Analogous to the Star Wars movies, we’re starting in the middle of the story. We’ll eventually circle around to Episode I, the story of the original MacRae-Brazier map. The fact that I’m starting in the middle of the story is what prompted the post title; this mid 19th century commercial cartographic competition did not involve light sabres or other weaponry. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog post… Continue reading
The early 1830s spawned a flurry of interest in building railroads in North Carolina. Many more companies were formed and railroads proposed than were actually constructed. That would be an outstanding topic to cover but, for now, this brief post is limited to an annotation on an 1832 manuscript map drawn to illustrate a potential route of what eventually became the North Carolina Railroad. Continue reading
In 1847, the North Carolina legislature approved the incorporation of the Caldwell and Ashe Turnpike. The purpose of this thoroughfare was to facilitate trade between western Virginia, Tennessee, and even Kentucky with North Carolina via a route through what is now Watauga and Caldwell counties.This scenic toll road connected Johnson City, TN, with Lenoir, North Carolina, the latter now home to a Google data center. The Caldwell and Ashe Turnpike was completed within a few years and persists today on our State highway map as U.S. Highway 321. What did it look like on the great North Carolina wall maps of the 1850s? Continue reading
A variety of maps, including political maps, terrain/topographic maps, and transportation maps all share at least one thing in common: They receive far more attention than geological maps. Yet, some of the most colorful and attractive maps are those depicting our geology. Continue reading
Although neither rare nor of great historical significance, a certain style United States regional map, centered on the Carolinas, captured my attention a few years ago after observing the remarkable frequency with which many of these maps were attributed to non-existent translations of a work by François-Alexandre-Frédéric, duke de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt. These maps cover the Carolinas and portions of surrounding states. Continue reading
Although this blogger doesn’t pretend to understand the complexities of civil subdivisions and local government in the northern States, one can state with reasonable accuracy that townships (some States refer to them as towns) have been an important geopolitical unit for several hundred years in New England. In North Carolina, the county has been the basic geopolitical subdivision since the establishment of Albemarle County in 1664. Yet we also have townships. Where did they come from and what use are they? Continue reading