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Masschusetts:
State Maps
Counties:
Barnstable, Dukes & Nantucket
Berkshire
Bristol
Essex
Franklin
Hampden
Hampshire
Middlesex
Norfolk
Suffolk
Plymouth
Worcester
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Bird's Eye View of
Greenfield, MA 1877
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More on
the Bird's Eye View |
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This remarkable document , which appears to be a
hybrid map-photograph, is in fact an artist-created rendering of
what a photographer might see from the air. Called a "bird’s eye
view" this map was a commercial product made by skilled mapmakers
whose special talent included the ability to draw immensely
detailed views like this without benefit of a photograph or a
nearby mountain (if none were available). In this case we have
Rocky Mountain, and the author would certainly have availed
himself of the view from the top, but he did not have to. Maps
like these were produced for many cities without nearby
prominences.
Note the careful detail – down to doors and
windows – of the hundreds of houses shown here. On this view we
see the new location of the Troy & Greenfield Railroad and the new
Union Passenger station which served both railroads. Note that
Miles Street does not exist yet. The careful reader will note the
old Petty Plain railroad route on the left side (a faint trace
arcing to the left). The undeveloped
street extending north from Pleasant Street is Davis Street. The village
of Greenfield is growing rapidly at this time. |
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