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  • | Map

    Railroad Travel Rates, 1800-1930

    This series of maps from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States shows the progressive decrease in travel time by depicting the time required to travel from New York to various western locations in 1800, 1830, 1857, AND 1930.

  • | Map

    The James J. Hill Railroads, 1914

    This map from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States depicts the vast railroad system James J. Hill owned in 1914.

  • | Map

    The New England Railroad System, 1914

    This map from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States depicts the New England railroad system in 1914, including the New York, New Haven, and Hartford, the Boston and Maine, and the Maine Central railroads.

  • | Map

    Map Showing the Centers Of Population, 1790-1920

    These two maps from the 1925 Statistical Atlas of the United States offer regional and national geographical representations of the changing centers of population in the United States from 1790 to 1920.

  • | Map

    The United State Railroad System, 1890

    This map from the 1898 Statistical Atlas of the United States depicts the entire United States railroad system in 1890. The accompanying table charts the increase in railroad mileage from 1830 to 1890.

  • | Map

    New York Daily Tribune, May 12, 1862

    This front page image illustrates the importance of maps of space and resources (including railroads) to readers of Civil War-era newspapers. Note the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad running up the center of the larger map; a number of other rail lines criss-cross the map.

  • | Map

    The Seat of War in Eastern Virginia

    During the Peninsula Campaign, the New York Daily Tribune provides readers with a detailed picture of the eastern Virginia; the Table of Distances at the bottom of the map further informs readers about the space and landscape being described in reports and dispatches. Note the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad running up the center of the image; a number of other rail lines criss-cross the map.

  • | Map

    Norfolk and Vicinity

    In the wake of the Battle of Hampton Roads, the New York Daily Tribune prints a map of the waterways and fortifications near Norfolk, Virginia.

  • | Map

    The Defenses of Yorktown

    In the wake of the Seige of Yorktown (April 5 - May 4, 1862), readers of the New York Daily Tribune are provided with a map and description of the city's defenses, even as they read about the retreat of rebel forces from Yorktown.

  • | Map

    Movements near Corinth, Mississippi

    Although small, this map illustrates the interconnection of railroads and battle lines in the South.

  • | Map

    The Seat of War in Eastern Virginia

    This map from the front page of the May 6, 1862, New York Daily Tribune helped Americans unfamiliar with the geography of eastern Virginia sort out the landscape and resources associated with the names of towns and railroad junctions coming from newspaper reports. The constant flow of war information and visual representations like this map kept Americans abreast of far-away developments.

  • | Map

    The Battle of Camden, North Carolina / Fort Macon and Vicinity

    Also known as the Battle of South Mills, the Battle of Camden depicted here took place April 19 and the seige of Fort Macon lasted from March 23 to April 26; both were part of General Ambrose Burnside's North Carolina Expedition. On May 6, 1862, these New York Daily Tribune maps provided readers with detailed images of fields of battle and transportation resources hundreds of miles of away - bringing images of warfare and the geography of an enemy region into their homes.

  • | Map

    Field of Operations on the Potomac

    This map from the New York Daily Tribune is an example of the methods newspapers used to help Americans visualize the geography of warfare — shaping their perceptions of the war and the landscapes on which it was fought. This map illustrates the position of Union forces along the Potomac just days before many of the troops headed south to begin the Peninsula Campaign.

  • | Map

    Railroad access trend line by state, 1861

    Using a fifteen-mile buffer around the railroad networks for each state in 1861, and an algorithm to distribute a county?s population across the landscape, this estimate of the percentage of county residents who had access to the railroad depots shows the South?s advances in the 1850s. The addition of more railroad miles reached a point of diminishing returns in every state.

  • | Map

    Railroads and war zone counties, 1861?1865

    If the presence of the Union army and/or a battle constituted a war zone, then only in Virginia did the Civil War?s destruction touch the majority of counties. Vast sections of the South remained out of the war zone, but over the course of the war destruction tended to follow closely along the pathways of the major lines of communication and transportation. From Paul F. Paskoff, ?Measures of War: A Quantitative Examination of the Civil War?s Destructiveness in the Confederacy,? Civil War History, Vol. 54, No. 1 (March 2008). (Reproduced with permission of Paul F. Paskoff)

  • | Letter

    Letter from D. F. Jewell to George P. Cather, September 30, 1927

    In his September 20, 1927 letter to George P. Cather, D.F. Jewell asks about the possibility of buying or leasing some of Cather's land or selling or trading his own.

  • | Letter

    Letter from E. D. Crabb to George P. Cather, March 16, 1923

    On March 16, 1923 E.D. Crabb writes to George P. Cather inquiring about renting a quarter section of his land for two or three years for the purpose of raising winter wheat on it. Crabb, a resident of Colby, Kansas, additionally listed his location as "East View Ranch - Home of Pure Bred Aberdeen-Angus Cattle", indicating an establishment in Kansas. Combined with his request of only renting for a short time, Crabb's request marks a shift from earlier land transactions where owners moved to a new location for the sake of land. Crabb apparently believed he could administrate from afar.

  • | Letter

    Letter from Samuel Lincoln to George P. Cather, September 28, 1901

    On September 28, 1901, Samuel Lincoln writes to George P. Cather proposing a buyout of a quarter section of Lincoln's land in Thomas County, Kansas. After assuring Cather that he is not another "land shark", Lincoln also offers to buy Cather's adjoining land if Cather is not interested in buying his. Lincoln feels that he cannot successfully sell or rent such a small parcel of land and that it would be more valuable combined with another holding. The 160 acres of land that originally drew settlers to railroad land as a great opportunity now appeared too small a portion to be of any value on its own.

  • | Letter

    Letter from D. F. Shipre to George P. Cather, September 23, 1901

    A year and a half after sending his first letter to George P. Cather, D.F. Shipre writes again on in September 1901, to inquire about purchasing or leasing land adjoining his current spread. He tells Cather that he wants the land as pasture for his cattle and estimates paying a higher price for the land than he did in his first letter. Inquiring about Cather's slow response and fearing it is because Cather distrusts land agents, Shipre informs Cather that he is only a farmer and a poor one at that.

  • | Letter

    Letter from D. F. Shipre to George P. Cather, March 3, 1900

    On March 3, 1900, D.F. Shipre of Quickville, Kansas writes to George P. Cather about the possibility of buying or leasing the land adjoining his current property. He estimates the cost at $100-$175 per quarter section (about 160 acres).