Maps of Georgia, 1814-1864
For Matthew Carey, his cartographers, and engravers updating their Georgia maps for a new atlas involved added another tier or two of counties, and by 1814 the county boundaries had became an essential part of any large-scale Georgia map.
The first wall map of the state of Georgia, it shows towns, roads, military posts, Indian villages. Existing counties and Indian boundaries are shown in color. Tables list post offices, statistics relating to the individual counties, and geological information.
This was the first American atlas modeled on that of Le Sage’s volume published in Florence, Italy (1806) that focused on European countries and world history. C. V. Lavoisne later produced similar volumes in London. Carey and Lea extended this concept to the U.S. states and the countries of Latin America. Fielding Lucas drew this and several other maps in this volume. He published his own American Atlas in 1822 that only included the maps without the text material.
The Georgia data appears to be based on the 1820 census and includes statistics and information about population, climate, education, history, government, etc. The entry on religion simply reads: “The baptists and methodists are by far the most numerous religious denominations. There are but few settled minister in the state.” As this 1822 maps shows, the Cherokees still retained their land in the northwest corner of Georgia, while the Lower
Creeks owned a strip of tribal property between the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers. Both groups lost their land during the two ensuing decades.
J. H. Young’s map provides detailed information about Georgia on the eve of major railroad construction and the creation of Atlanta. It shows stagecoach roads, distances between towns, counties, waterways, and even land lots. A proposed canal connects Savannah with the Ocmulgee, Oconee, and Altamaha Rivers. Charts give the mileage for steamboat travel from the coast to Augusta and to Columbus and the distances by ship from Savannah to Charleston and to Picolata, Florida on the St. John’s River, a site of military action during the Second Seminole War earlier in the decade.
“Georgia.” Engraved by G. W. Boynton. 1838. In T. G. Bradford, A General Atlas Of The World, With A Separate Map Of Each Of The United States Of America. Edited By S.G. Goodrich. Boston, C.D. Strong ... 1841 by C.D. Strong ... Massachusetts. B.W. Thayer & Co.’s Lithogy, Boston, 1841.
This large map (62 x 53 inches) delineates counties, roads, railroads, and factories. It lists governors and their terms of office. Illustrations feature public buildings, colleges, and scenic points such as Toccoa Falls. The land lots, apparently for the original counties of Irwin and Appling, are shown in the area between the Altamaha River and the Florida boundary. W. T. Sherman allegedly used this map to plan his “March to the Sea.”
“Lloyd’s topographical map of Georgia from state surveys before the war showing railways, stations, villages, mills, &c. James T. Lloyd. New York, J. T. Lloyd, 1864.”