Abstract
To date, four historic maps of Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan are recognized: de Lotbiniere's Plan and Description (1749), the Magra Map (1766), the Nordberg Map (1769), and the Crown Collection Map (circa 1766-1769). These maps are all different in a number of important map features, including scale, style, technique, and portrayal of the type and detail of information included on the map, especially the accuracy of the location and size of structures within the fort. This paper also demonstrates the wealth of social, cultural and architectural information contained within the four existing historic maps. In conjunction these maps have both aided and confounded archaeologists and historians in their interpretation of daily life at this important pre-Revolutionary outpost. Finally, the four maps of Fort Michilimackinac are representative of the evolving technical innovations in thematic cartography that occurred during the mid-18th century and of the historical insights to be gained from investigations in cultural cartography.
Recommended Citation
Sambrook, Richard Alan
(1992)
"Thematic Innovation on the North American Colonial Frontier: Comparisons of the Four Historic Maps of Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan 1749-1769,"
The Geographical Bulletin: Vol. 34:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/thegeographicalbulletin/vol34/iss1/4