Old Maps PO Box
54 West
Chesterfield, NH 03466
For Immediate Release October 26, 2005
1850s Vermont Road Maps
issued on CDROM
Vermont’s history in the mid-1800’s
comes alive with a new computerized series of old maps.
David Allen of West Chesterfield, NH has transferred all of
the 1850s Vermont county maps from wall-sized maps to CDs
which can be read by home computer. These are some of the
oldest comprehensive road maps in Vermont. They show the
locations of all the houses that existed at the time, with
the homeowners’ names – an invaluable resource for those
doing old house research or family genealogy. Hikers and
hunters find the old maps useful - many of the old roads can
still be found as trails in the woods today.
The mid-1800’s was a period of
extraordinary map-making in America. Urban publishers,
such as H.F. Walling of New York City, would employ
surveyors to measure the roads and take names of property
owners as each home was noted. Prominent citizens
often paid a sponsorship to have their homes or businesses
featured in a sketch in the margins. The location and
configuration of each factory, business, church and school
was also mapped.
The original maps, often seen hanging
in town halls or stored in attics, are county-wide wall maps
measuring about 5 feet square. They were printed using
multiple printing plates, assembled and transferred onto a
cloth backing. They were then colored, varnished, and
mounted on wooden rollers.
Although many copies of the original
maps were made and sold, few good quality copies exist
today. Mr. Allen researched each county map, obtained
copies where available, and reviewed copies archived at the
Library of Congress. The maps were scanned at high
resolution and are presented as individual town and village
maps. There are more than 500 maps of Vermont’s villages
and towns as they existed 150 years ago contained on the
eleven county CDs.
The CDROM editions are available for
purchase on a county basis, corresponding to the original
wall maps. In addition to PDF files of the old maps, some
modern road maps are included for comparison.
Additional information about these
maps, as well as similar maps of New Hampshire and
Massachusetts can be found at the web site
www.old-maps.com or by calling the publisher, David
Allen, at 413-772-2801 (days).
List
of Vermont 1850s County Maps
County(s)
Year Surveyor Publisher
Rutland 1854 Chace, J., Jr. Chace &
Scott
Windsor
1855/6 Doton, Hosea n.a
Bennington
1856 Rice, E. & Harwood, C.E. Peckham, C.B. / H.F.
Walling
Windham
1856 Chace, J., Jr.
McClellan, C., & Co.
Addison
1857 Walling, H.F. Baker,
Wm. & Co.
Franklin & Grand Isle
1857 Walling, H.F. Baker,
Tilden & Chittenden
1857 Walling, H.F. Baker,
Tilden & Washington
1858
Walling, H.F. Baker & Tilden
Caledonia
1858
Walling, H.F. Baker & Tilden
Orange
1858 Walling, H.F. Baker &
Tilden
Orleans, Lamoille & Essex
1859 Walling, H.F. Loomis &
May
More facts on the 1850s Maps and These CD Reproductions
There are 11 separate maps for
Vermont’s 14 counties in the mid 1800s. Franklin and
Grand-Isle counties are combined onto a single map as are
Orleans, Lamoille and Essex Counties.
The 1850s maps were the very first
road maps ever made for most of Vermont. Only a
few large settlements such as downtown Burlington,
Brattleboro, and Rutland were mapped in detail before these
maps. I know of no complete town maps prior to these
comprehensive county maps. The US government topographical
maps (USGS maps) weren’t begun until the end of the century.
Many people are aware of the “Beers” atlases of the
1869-1872 period which are of the same type, though
published in a more convenient atlas form. That format
has led to the Beers maps being more widely used today. There are
significant
differences between the Beers atlases and the 1850s maps.
Lots of homeowner names are different, and some houses shown
on the 1850s maps don't appear on the Beers maps. These two sets of maps straddle two transforming historical
events - the Civil War and opening of railroads – which
caused huge changes in Vermont’s population.
The CDROM “takes apart” the original
wall maps into separate town and village maps. Every Vermont
town is mapped, some with two or more maps. Larger villages
are on separate, detailed maps. These publications mark the
first time these maps have been made available in convenient
format. The originals are about 5 feet square, unwieldy to
copy, and very fragile.
Limited text is added to each CD about
the general nature of 1850s map publishing. I hope to meet
local historians for each of these counties who might be
interested in analyzing the maps for their accuracy as to
facts and roads so that later editions of the CDs can be
made more interesting by adding commentary. |