1875. Take another look.
In 1875, Caroline County Surveyor John B. Isler published an offical map of the county “by an Act of Congress”. Ten years ago, we found a ragged paper copy of the Isler map at the Denton public library, scanned it, and published the first ever Caroline County 1875 interactive web map.
There were problems.
The paper map measured 3 x 5 feet, and we were using a small desktop scanner – one small section at a time. The map was badly creased and worn at the folds. And it turns out that Mr. Isler was not that great of a surveyor or cartographer. So things didn’t line up. (They still don’t line up perfectly. More about that another day.)
1875 re-stretched.
So we re-worked Isler. This time we started with a high-resolution digital map from the Library of Congress Map Collection.
We used high-end geographic information system (GIS) software to digitally stretch (georeference or geo-rectify) the Isler map over today’s web map.
Try it out like this:
Zoom in and out. Move around in the map.
Turn on “swipe” to compare 1875 and today.
Turn on the modern roads overlay or change the basemap to satellite imagery.
[ Doing this on your phone? Or want to see it full screen? Try the map here instead. ]
Explore Where You Are: 1670-2021
Family Names Search – A Map to Show the Way
This article shows you how to use the Choptank River Heritage Family Search Map to find names of persons who owned farms and businesses in Caroline County in the 1890s.
I know your name but can’t recall where we met.
1670 map of the Choptank – How good was it?
USGS does the Shore
For map geeks only: Choptank watershed 1898-1944 from KML
Check in @1875