Featured Item: The Upper Territories of the United States

By Kathleen Weessies

Featured Item: Upper Territories of the United States

What is the item?

Mathew Carey made this map in 1814 at his publishing house in Philadelphia to add to his frequently-updated atlases. The map was made at an interesting time - just after the War of 1812 but before many American settlers had moved west. Michigan, Indiana and Illinois were legally territories at this point. Ohio had become a state 11 years prior. Land we now call Wisconsin and Minnesota were labeled Northwestern Territory.

What BTAA Library submitted the item?

University of Minnesota

The Upper Territories of the United States by Mathew Carey

The 6-mile square tract of land negotiated with the Pottawatomies in the Treaty of Greenville.

Interesting tidbits:

• Mathew Carey, who drew the map, ardently supported the idea of the United States building up its Navy. He sometimes used his maps to promote his views, such as drawing attention to the country’s vast inland waters.
• This map was made shortly after the War of 1812, which took place, in part, in and around Lake Erie.
• Few European Americans lived in the western Great Lakes at this time, but recognizing the strategic placement of the ‘Chicage’ River, the United States government had negotiated a 6-mile-square tract in 1795 for building a military fort.

Have questions about this item, the BTAA geoportal, or maps and geospatial data in general? Please don’t hesitate to contact our project team!

Kathleen Weessies is the Head of the Map Library at Michigan State University