Your Daily Dose

Hello everyone,

 

Today, I'm happy to share some old maps of South Windsor.

 

Best wishes,

 

Leith Johnson

Archivist and Research Librarian

 

 

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Old Maps

Old maps are a sometimes overlooked historical resource. Most every community has been mapped over the years, and South Windsor is no exception. The map above is from Atlas of Hartford and Tolland Counties, published in 1869 by Baker & Tilden in Hartford.  Two copies of the South Windsor map can be found in the Wood archives, including the one shown above, which is approximately 18" x 15".  The entire atlas has been digitized by the Library of Congress and is available online.

 

Maps like these offer a unique snapshot for a particular moment in the life of a community. You can see just about every house (you have to careful about what the names signify and determine if they are owners of the property, which they usually are).  In addition, mills, stores, factories, schools, churches, graveyards, districts and villages, and other points of interest are frequently marked.

 

Below is a detail from the 1869.  (Zoom in yourself and look around the entire town here.)

You may recognize the map below from its place at The Wood.  This hand drawn map of Main Street shows the locations of houses and names of their inhabitants, as well as the location of the Burying Ground (God's Acre). At some later point this map was written on in pencil to add addional names and house locations.  By John Warner Barber, c. 1800.

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