We’ve added some interesting historic maps of New Jersey, and some of the early Atlases in which these are found.
In the Map Archives, search for maps showing the early development of the state:
The Province of New Jersey, Divided into East and West, Commonly Called the Jerseys (1778), by Wm. Faden is a seminal Revolutionary War‐era map of New Jersey and into neighboring states (to Valley Forge). It shows both the East/West dividing lines between the original East and West Jerseys, and the disputed boundary with New York. This second edition adds Hopewell Borough, joining Trenton, Princetown, Rocky Hill, Pennington, Ringos, Flemings, and Hillsboro.
Map of New Jersey (1830) from Hale’s An Epitome of Universal Geography. This is a fun little schoolbook-type map showing the N.J. counties, before Mercer County was split out of its neighbors in 1838.
Colton’s New Jersey (1886) from Colton’s General Atlas Of The World is one of a plethora of editions, with extensive detail of townships, cities, towns, rivers, lakes, land forms, railroads. This also still shows the M&S railroad line, which was dismantled c. 1879.
Then in the Book Archives, search for several Atlases that are the sources for the various maps, to see the profusion of additional information that they also provide:
An Epitome of Universal Geography (1830) by N. Hale is an amazingly comprehensive work with 600 maps and 400 pages. It’s described as “A Description of the Various Countries of the Globe, With a View of Their Political Condition at the Present Time”.
The State Atlas of New Jersey (1872) by F. W. Beers is the first atlas of the state of New Jersey, “Based on State Geological Survey”. Its 120 pages include maps of counties and towns (Flemington, Lambertville, Princeton, Trenton, etc.), plus information on Distances, History, Geology, Census, etc.
Colton’s General Atlas Of The World (1886) is one of a plethora of editions, described as Containing 212 Maps And Plans, On 142 Imperial Folio Sheets, Drawn By G. Woolworth Colton, Accompanied By Geographical, Statistical, And Historical Letter‐Press Descriptions. The contents include illustrations of Flags, Principal Rivers & Mountains, Comparative Sizes of Lakes & Islands; and maps of the World, Hemispheres, Countries, U.S. States, etc.
The Geological Survey of New Jersey / Atlas of New Jersey (1888) by Julius Bein is the first topographical atlas of New Jersey, with 17 sheets of overlapping regions. This includes the Topographical Map of the Vicinity of Flemington, which comes north from Trenton and shows the topology of the entire Sourlands, from Lambertville on the Delaware to Montgomery to Neshanic. It also includes the Topographical Map of the Vicinity of Trenton, north to Flemington and east to Princeton Junction.
