Sketch of the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and Parts of New Hampshire and New York
DraftsmanDrawn by
Archibald Kennedy
PrintmakerEngraved by
Morse & Tuttle
(American, 1837 - 1860)
Date1838
MediumEngraving; black printer's ink and watercolor on wove paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 17 3/4 x 20 3/8in. (45.1 x 51.8cm)
Platemark (height x width): 18 1/4 x 21 5/8in. (46.4 x 54.9cm)
Sheet (height x width): 19 1/4 x 23 5/8in. (48.9 x 60cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of Edgar T. Welles
Object number1898.9.1
DescriptionMap of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, with parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to the north, the Massachusetts Bay to the east, Long Island and the Long Island Sound to the south, and part of New York to the west. The map prominently shows the completed and constructing, chartered, and "contemplated" railroads in the area, not all of them labeled: Long Island (unlabeled); New York and New Haven (unlabeled); Housatonic; New Haven and Hartford; Hudson and Berkshire; Western; Boston and Worcester; Norwich and Borcester; Stonington; Boston and Providence; Old Colony; Fall River and New Bedford; Lowell and Nashua; Boston and Lowell; Andover Haverhill; and Eastern Railroads.
Label TextThe Massachusetts Legislature fully appreciated the way railroads were transforming the transportation of people and goods, and commissioned this map in 1838, showing the how the new railroads--all of them less than ten years old--were linking their state with their New England neighbors. The Connecticut railroads shown as "completed or constructing" include the New Haven and Hartford Railroad, the Norwich and Worcester Railroad, and the Stonington Railroad. The Housatonic Railroad is shown as "completed or constructing" as far as New Milford; beyond that it is shown as "chartered" but not yet under construction. Among those lines shown as "contemplated" are the connecting line between New York City and New Haven, and a line from New Haven to Norwich. The New York and New Haven Railroad would receive its charter in 1844 and and the line was completed in 1848. No railroad from New Haven to Norwich was ever built.
NotesCartographic Note: Scale: Almost 1/2 inch equals 5 milesStatus
Not on view
