News
October 26, 2001
Early Washington Maps Collection now online
This significant CONTENTdm Collection developed by the Washington State
University and University of Washington Libraries contains nearly 400
maps offering rich insight to 300 years of Pacific Northwest history.
Users may zoom in and out of the maps to gain more detail, or download
the MrSID® viewer to work with a full resolution version. Following
is the formal announcement introducing this Collection.
"We are very pleased to announce a new on-line resource: Early
Washington Maps: A Digital Collection, a collaboration between
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections at the Washington State
University Libraries and the University of Washington Libraries.
http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/xmaps.html
Spanning three hundred years, Early Washington Maps: A Digital
Collection includes maps of both sea and land faring explorers, from
early nautical charts of the western coast, to the exploits of the
Jesuit Missionary, Pierre Jean DeSmet. It documents the struggle
between Britain and America for the ownership of the region, and the
further development of one of the last frontiers on the continent.
Some of the digital collection's maps delineate the boundaries under
dispute within the years 1818 and 1846, culminating in a peaceful
compromise and the decision of the 49th parallel as the northern
border of the United States. The digital collection also shows the
efforts of the U.S. government to survey the land, for both federal
and private use, under the watchful, trained eye of the General Land
Office and the Corps of Topographical Engineers. Finally, this
database showcases the hopes placed on the land of not only the
country, but of individual citizens as well, with maps platting out
new towns, railroad tracks, and roads.
This project was made possible through a LSTA grant distributed by the
Washington State Library."
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