Map of Massachusetts Proper. Compiled from Actual Surveys made by Order of the General Court and under the inspection of Agents of their appointment.

Map of Massachusetts Proper. Compiled from Actual Surveys made by Order of the General Court and under the inspection of Agents of their appointment.

Massachusetts --Maps.

Railroads--Massachusetts--Maps.

Boston: B. & J. Loring, 1802. This map, published in 1802, is the second edition of the first official map of Massachusetts entitied, Map of Massachusetts Proper, originally published in 1801. The idea for a state map began to take shape in 1791 when Osgood Carleton, one of the first professional mapmakers in America, suggested a regional map of Southern New England based on town surveys. The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) supported the idea and helped persuade the Massachusetts General Court (the state legislature) to pass a state mapping law in 1794. Osgood Carleton produced the original design of the state map using information gathered from town surveys and information supplied by MHS.

Osgood Carleton; engraved by Joseph Callender and Samuel Hil

Massachusetts Historical Society, www.masshist.org

1802

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