Fisher's Island Sound
PublisherPublished by
United States Coast Survey
(American, founded 1807)
SurveyorUnder the direction of
Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler
(American, 1770 - 1843)
SurveyorTriangulation by
William Harrison Swift
(American)
MakerHydrography under the direction of
George S. Blake
(American, 1802 - 1871)
SurveyorTopography by
Ferdinand H. Gerdes
(German-American, 1809 - 1884)
DraftsmanDrawn by
John B. Gluck
(American, died 1852)
PrintmakerEngraved by
John Peter Van Ness Throop
(American, 1794 - 1860)
Date1847
MediumEngraving; printer's ink on wove paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 14 x 17 1/4in. (35.6 x 43.8cm)
Sheet (height x width): 18 1/4 x 23in. (46.4 x 58.4cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1961.105.2
DescriptionChart of Fisher's Island Sound and surrounding landmasses with Fort Hill, Portersville, Mystic Bridge, Palmer's Hill, and Stonington to the north; Napatree Point and Watch Hill, Rhode Island to the east; Fisher's Island to the south, and Seaflower Reef and Potter's Reef to the east. Lighthouses and a light ship are shown. Soundings are given in feet up to eighteen feet and then in fathoms. The chart is surrounded by extensive notes and sailing directions. Scales of statute miles and nautical miles are at lower center.
Label TextJohn Winthrop, Governor of Connecticut from 1657 to 1676, was the first owner of Fisher's Island. He used it to raise sheep. The island remained in the Winthrop family until 1863. It was long the subject of a boundary dispute between Connecticut and New York and today remains part of New York State despite its proximity to Connecticut. The waters around Fisher's Island have been the site of numerous shipwrecks, including the wreck of the steamer Atlantic, which occurred off its western end in November 1846, the year before this chart was published.
NotesCartographic Note: One and a half inches equals one mileStatus
Not on view
