Digital Image Collections: Morris County Atlases
1868 Atlas of Morris County, published by Frederick W. Beers
1887 Atlas of Morris County, published by Elisha Robinson
1910 Atlas of Part of Morris County, published by August H. Mueller
With the industrialization of the east coast and western migration to settle America’s heartland, in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th century, county atlases became very popular. These atlases kept Americans apprised of new roads and rail lines leading to new towns and cities, but they also showed property ownership, which usually included the individual’s name and often the footprint of their house. To create further appeal to individuals, the publishers of these county atlases would include artistic renderings of homes, businesses, and civic buildings. It became a point of pride to own a large county atlas that showed your home.
Today, not only are these county atlases aesthetically pleasing, but they are an important source of information for historians and genealogists. County atlases show the development of communities in new streets, railroads, the realignment of waterways, and the trend from residential to commercial districts.
