Defining a State
New Exhibition Showcases North Carolina Maps
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Oct. 11 - A collection of maps showcasing the development of our state is set to open at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Louis Round Wilson Library.
The exhibition, "Defining a State: A Selection of Maps of North Carolina, 1776 - 1860," draws on the UNC library's collections to trace the economic, geographic and political shifts that shaped the state between the American Revolution and the Civil War.
The opening reception at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19 will feature remarks by Bob Anthony, curator of the library's North Carolina Collection, and Jay Lester, a Chapel Hill map enthusiast. "Defining a State" will be on display in the North Carolina Collection Gallery in Wilson Library through Jan. 31, 2007. The exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public.
The majority of the 28 items on exhibit will be from the North Carolina Collection, Anthony said. "Defining a State," he said, is a follow-up to a 1997 exhibition that focused on maps of the region created prior to 1776.
Of the 250,000 printed items in the North Carolina Collection, nearly 5,500 are maps - an important component of a collection meant to provide tools for researchers to study the history and culture of the state, Anthony said. It is one of the largest state-focused collections found in an academic research library, he said.
Neil Fulghum, keeper of the North Carolina Collection Gallery, said the biggest challenge in composing the exhibition was deciding which maps to show. He, Anthony, and Lester made the selections, keeping interpretive and physical quality in mind.
The maps reveal in detail the evolution in cartographers' understanding of the geographic layout of the state, Fulghum said. Marked changes also can be noted in where county lines are drawn, as well as the extent and pace of development across the state, particularly in western North Carolina.
"It's surprising how complex the agrarian state of North Carolina became between 1776 and the Civil War," Fulghum said. "It makes you appreciate the substantial changes that were occurring in the South." As such, Fulghum said, the exhibition has appeal beyond cartography enthusiasts.
"People who may be interested in a whole range of things can derive a lot of information from this exhibition," Fulghum said of the selection's ability to speak to those interested in the evolution of everything from population shifts and trading patterns to the development of railroads in North Carolina.
The exhibition also illustrates a sea change in the origin of map-making in United States. Before the mid-1790s, Fulghum said, nearly every map depicting the Americas was produced in European countries vested in exploring the so-called "New World." That had changed by the early decades of the nineteenth century.
"You see the transition from a European monopoly in map-making to a cartographic industry in which maps of increasing quantity and quality were being produced in the United States," Fulghum said. This shift figures prominently as a topic in the "Defining a State" exhibition.
In addition to maps from the North Carolina Collection, the exhibition also includes a 1793 hand-drawn map from the University Archives depicting UNC's original campus before its development. Pieces such as an atlas by noted cartographer Fielding Lucas, Jr. round out the exhibit.
"It's a nice blend of local, state, and regional history," Fulghum said.
The North Carolina Collection Gallery (962-1172) is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For information about the opening reception, contact Liza Terll (962-4207).
