The Goal of this StoryMap was to digitize historical maps of the city of Boston to document a period of rapid land reclamation in the history of the city. For this, four historical maps from the Dave Rumsey Collection, a historical map archive, were used from the years 1856 to 1903. These maps, through finding and marking a common boundary, could be directly compared to each other and provide an active timeline and statistics of land reclamation during this time period.
Figure 1: Population of Boston from 1850-1910 (Census Figures)
Since the formation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Boston has been the major port in the New England region, and a pivotal site for Atlantic trade into the Old World. Founded in 1630 by colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the city was chosen for its natural harbor and strategic location. During the pre-Revolutionary period, Boston became a vital trading port for the British colonies and was the 3rd largest city in the colonies.
Digitizing Preparation
This is the bounding box of the city, which was created from the areas on which the four historical maps overlapped. The edges of this box were created by the areas that were included in all Four historical maps.
Time Line of the Historical Maps of Boston
Figure 2: Boston reclaimed land consistently, expanding between each of the 4 digitized maps
Further Work
Puleo, Stephen (2010): A city so grand. The rise of an American metropolis, Boston 1850-1900. Boston: Beacon Press.
