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Map of Rutland County, VT 1854
Home Contents Original Wall Map Historical Sketch Typical Map Download Paper Booklet
An Historical
Sketch of The Map |
The Map of Rutland County, Vermont
1854 is an important historical document. It was the result of the most
comprehensive survey made to that date of the 25 towns in Rutland County.
The map attempts to pinpoint the names and locations of every residence,
workplace, church and school.
This map is the first of eleven Vermont county maps created in the 1850s - a
period of extraordinary map-making in America. The author of this map, J.
Chace Jr., was also responsible for the Windham County map(1856) and for
several county maps in nearby New York and New Hampshire. Little is known
about him or the others credited on the map’s face, but it may be that they
were associated with Robert Pearsall Smith, a prolific publisher of such
maps. Smith had map production facilities in Phildelphia, and in 1853 was
credited as co-publisher of a New York county map with James Scott - the
publisher of the Rutland County map.
We do know the general methods used for these county map projects. |
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 mapping for decades
afterwards.
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Publication was often 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 mmap testimonials. 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 -- about 3’ x 4 1/2' -- 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.
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| .P.S. I am seeking more interesting facts
about the original publication of this map, or notes on curious facts
depicted on it. Please email the
publisher with any information you may have. Thanks. D. Allen,
July, 2005. |
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