Rand McNally & Co.'s sectional map of the Dakota and the Black Hills
The Dakota Territories; Railroad networks in major U.S. cities; Westward expansion in the 1870s
Full Title: "Rand McNally & Co.'s sectional map of the Dakota and the Black Hills. Printed expressly for J. Bride & Co.'s Great American 25 Cent package, 767 and 769 Broadway, New York City. A.W. Barber, Del. Rand McNally & Co. Printers, engravers and electrotypers, 79 Madison Street, Chicago. (with 8 insets). (on verso) Rand McNally & Co.'s new railway guide map."
From the David Ramsey Collection Notes: “This is one of the earliest Rand McNally maps that we have seen. The date of 1873 is determined from the only date on the map, in the inset map of Cincinnati. Uncolored sectional map with 8 insets: New mining map of Utah, St. Louis, Railroads around Baltimore and Washington, Philadelphia, New York and vicinity, Chicago, Railroad around Cincinnati, 1872-3, Denver. Showing boundaries of township, counties, states and territories, and detail diagram of township numbering system. Includes references, illustrations and advertisements. Relief shown by hachures. Prime meridian is Greenwich.”
My description: This map provides a view into the settlement and organization of the Dakota territories. It depicts the division of the territories into townships and counties. The division into townships ceases about halfway across the territories moving East to West, allowing us to see how at this time, in the 1870s, the land in the Western part of the Dakotas had yet to be surveyed and settled.
The map also provides extensive information about railway lines in U.S. cities (St. Louis, Baltimore and Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver). The placement of these railway networks next to the map of the Dakota Territories implies an intention on the part of the map-maker to tell a story of how the cities connect, or soon will, to the sparsely populated territories. Indeed, the bottom right (Southeast) corner of the main portion of the map shows a rail line into Yankton, a town in the territories, with a note that says, "Chicago to Yankton, 575 Miles 31 Hours."
Finally, the advertisements for revolvers and watches sold by "J. Bride & Co.," a New York retailer, indicate a particular audience for the map: Easterners looking to go West to the Dakota territories. Seeing as Theodore Roosevelt was a New Yorker who did just that, this map seems to speak faithfully to Roosevelt's historical moment.
Rand McNally & Co.
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Rand McNally & Co.
1873
English
Historical Map
Scope:
Main map: Dakota Territory (regional)
Insets: city-wide/metropolis
(United States) Weather Map. January 1, 1901
This weather map is published by the US Department of Agriculture. Observations were taken from 8am to 8pm where barometers reduced to Sea Level and 32degrees Fahrenheit. The heavy dotted lines inclose ares of marked changes in temperature during the past 24 hours. Shaded areas show regions of precipitation during the pat 12 hours. Arrows point in the direction the wind is blowing. The use of symbols is interesting here, as they indicate weather being clear, partly cloudy, cloudy, with rain, snow, etc. The amount of text that accompanies the map reflects the weather conditions and general forecast. It is interesting that these maps had to be published daily based on a network of national sites communicating climate data back and forth.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1901
45x58cm, scale not given
English
Atlas Map
United States