   
   
Vermont:
Railroad Maps
Addison Co
Bennington Co
Caledonia Co
Chittenden Co
Franklin/Grand Isle
Orange County
OrleansLamoilleEssex
Rutland Co
Washington Co
Windham Co
Windsor Co
County / Town List
***Buy Complete Set
*** Book Stores
EarlyMapsBrattleboro
1860 State Map
Topo Maps- Old
*** Bird'sEyeViews
1950s Press Release
Beers Press Release
More on Maps
Beers Atlas
Using Old Maps
Railroad Maps
1796 Whitelaw
Lotting Plans List
Just One Town |
|
|
|
Map of Bennington County, VT 1856
Home Contents Original Wall Map Historical Sketch Typical Map Download Maps Paper Edition
Historical
Sketch of The Map |
| The Map of Bennington County,
Vermont 1856 is an important historical document. It was the result of
the most comprehensive survey made to that date of the 17 towns in
Bennington County. The map pinpoints the names and locations of every
residence, workplace, church and school. |
This map is one of several Vermont county maps created in the 1850s- a
period of extraordinary map-making in America. Businessmen from New York and
Philadelphia were the leaders of the county map-making effort. Few details
of this map's origins are known, but we do know the general methods used for
these projects. Publication was announced in local newspapers, and local
offices were set up where advance orders for the new map could be taken. A
typical mid-1850s price was five dollars per copy. Prominent citizens
allowed their names to be used in the map's advertisements, testifying to
the merits of the map, and no doubt assuring it of financial success. Some
paid extra for the honor of having their homes and businesses featured in
engravings in the margins of the map.
The map was printed on four separate sheets (probably on large stone
printing plates) and assembled and glued together onto a cloth backing.
Each copy was then hand-colored in several different hues, varnished, and
mounted on wooden rollers. |
The large size -- 4' x 5' -- has often proved an impediment to display.
Copies have commonly been placed in storage, usually in attics, where they
have suffered from the effects of heat and leaky roofs. Originals in
good condition today are rare items. |
 |
Roads were measured with a wheel odometer, similar to the wheelbarrow-like
device pictured here, or one drawn by horse and buggy. The surveyor would
ask the names of farmstead owners as he passed by, and would surely add a
brief sales pitch for the new map... after all, the map would carry the
name of the resident, engraved upon it. The original road surveys for this
privately-produced map were the most comprehensive yet made. This map
served as the basis for later maps until the end of the century. |
|
|
|
|