Information from a source that helps us test a claim.
source
A document, object, image, or account we can examine.
inference
An explanation based on clues; it still needs checking.
migration
Moving from one place to another to live.
immigrant
A person who moves to another country to live.
estimate
An approximate amount, based on available information.
oral history
A recorded interview about someone’s memories and experiences.
community
People connected by a place, relationships, or shared activities.
ancestry
Family origins across generations.
primary source
Evidence created by someone who experienced a time or event.
Choose · notice · investigate
1700s maps
Compare eighteenth-century coastal maps, island surveys, and state boundaries. Distinguish a map’s publication date from the date of a voyage it depicts.
These maps are grouped by the date of the original map. A preview may show a later photograph or facsimile (a copy). Check the caption for both dates. The 1500s maps show wider regions, before Massachusetts existed as a colony or state.
Showing 7 of 7 resources
Part of New England — [1706]Leventhal Map & Education Center / Boston Public Library; Thornton, John, 1641-1708 Image source ↗
historical
Part of New England
regional · 1700s
Read an early coastal map with land and water details.
A question to investigate
How does its coastline compare with a modern map?
Dig deeper · grades 6–8
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
[Chart of Nantucket Island and the eastern half of Martha's Vineyard] — 1776Leventhal Map & Education Center / Boston Public Library; Des Barres, Joseph F. W. (Joseph Frederick Wallet), 1722-1824 Image source ↗
historical
Nantucket and eastern Martha’s Vineyard
Vineyard · 1700s
Study an eighteenth-century chart of the two islands.
A question to investigate
What information would help a ship avoid shallow water?
Dig deeper · grades 6–8
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
Map of the island of Martha's Vineyard with its dependencies — [1782]Massachusetts Historical Society / Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center; St. John de Crèvecoeur, J. Hector, 1735-1813 Image source ↗
historical
Martha’s Vineyard and its dependencies
Vineyard · 1700s
See how the island was drawn in an eighteenth-century printed map.
A question to investigate
Which neighboring islands are included?
Dig deeper · grades 6–8
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
Plan of Edgartown and Tisbury, made by Benjamin Smith, dated June 1, 1795. — 1795Leventhal Map & Education Center / Massachusetts Archives; Smith, Benjamin Image source ↗
historical
Edgartown and Tisbury survey
Vineyard · 1700s
Explore an island town survey made in 1795.
A question to investigate
How do the town divisions compare with today?
Dig deeper · grades 6–8
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
Map of the commonwealth of Massachusetts exclusive of the district of Maine : compiled pursuant to an act of the General Court from actual surveys of the several towns, &c. Taken by their order — [1795?]Leventhal Map & Education Center / American Antiquarian Society; Carleton, Osgood, 1742-1816, Carleton, Osgood, 1742-1816, Norman, John, 1748?-1817, Norman, William, -1807 Image source ↗
historical
Massachusetts without the District of Maine
statewide · 1700s
Study a state map made when Maine was still part of Massachusetts.
A question to investigate
Why does the title mention land that is not shown?
Dig deeper · grades 6–8
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
Map of the District of Maine Massachusetts : compiled from actual surveys made by order of the General Court, and under the inspection of agents of their appointment — [ca. 1799]Leventhal Map & Education Center / American Antiquarian Society; Carleton, Osgood, 1742-1816, Hill, Samuel, approximately 1766-1804, Callender, Joseph, 1751-1821, Graham, George, active 1788-1813 Image source ↗
historical
District of Maine, Massachusetts
regional · 1700s
Study a map of Maine before it became a separate state.
A question to investigate
How can a map title reveal a changed political border?
Dig deeper · grades 6–8
Compare the map’s creator, date, purpose, scale, and missing information with a second map. Explain what changed and what stayed connected.
Published in 1706, more than a century after Gosnold’s 1602 voyage.University of Virginia Special Collections, F7 .G67 1706, via Encyclopedia Virginia Image source ↗
exploration
Gosnold’s 1602 expedition, mapped in 1706
Gosnold / North Atlantic / Cape Cod · 1700s
This Dutch map retells an earlier voyage. It is evidence of how the voyage was presented in 1706, not a map made aboard Gosnold’s ship. The meeting scene is an artist’s later depiction.
A question to investigate
How does knowing the map’s publication date change what it can tell us?
Sources checked September 23, 2026. Open the source for current programs, hours, access, and map updates. Historical maps may contain outdated language or incomplete representations of Native homelands.
![[Chart of Nantucket Island and the eastern half of Martha's Vineyard]](assets/atlas-exact/7h149z539.jpg)
