Who Made the First Map of the U.S.? Check Out the Name and Remarkable Story Behind It

When the United States officially emerged as an independent country after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, it was a nation rich in promise but disstructured in design. Its boundaries were beginning to take shape, its identity carved out through a revolution. Consequently, among the many new tasks of this era, mapping the geography of this young country was an undertaking that did not simply require cartographical ability but demanded vision, patriotism, and a little bit of audacity.

So, just after the months of independence, one American stepped forward and created the very first map of the United States. But who was this historical figure behind such a momentous accomplishment? And when did his map gain recognition?

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Who Was the Man Behind America’s First Map?

So, the first map of the newly formed United States was created by Abel Buell, a remarkably versatile yet often overlooked American craftsman. He was born in 1742 in Killingworth, Connecticut, and was a man of many talents and missteps. Over his 81 years of life, he took on a dizzying number of roles: goldsmith, engraver, armsmaker, inventor, textile manufacturer, and even a convicted counterfeiter. At one point, he was branded with a "C" on his forehead for counterfeiting, had part of his ear cut off, and served jail time. Yet his ambition remained unshaken. He would go on to join the Sons of Liberty, dabble in privateering, manufacture the first printer’s type in America, and eventually create a map that would outlast him in fame.

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What Made Abel Buell’s Map So Historic?

Buell’s map, titled “A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America,” was created in 1784, only months after the Treaty of Paris was signed. Engraved on four large sheets and assembled to form a 43 x 48¼ inch image, the map was the first to be designed, printed, and published by an American within the new United States. It was also the first printed map to display the U.S. flag and the first to be copyrighted under U.S. law.

The map displayed a vision of a sprawling nation, incorporating both the official borders from the Treaty of Paris and the territorial claims of former colonies like Connecticut, which is shown stretching across to the Mississippi River. The cartouche even features patriotic symbols such as the Stars and Stripes and Connecticut’s state seal.

Was Buell’s Map Successful in His Lifetime?

Unfortunately for Buell, his groundbreaking map was not a commercial success during his lifetime. Despite the accuracy, artistic quality, and political symbolism of the map, it failed to generate the recognition or wealth he may have hoped for. Buell continued to struggle with debt and ultimately died in poverty in a New Haven almshouse. His many inventive pursuits from coin minting to textile manufacturing have never quite brought him the success he sought.

How Was his Work Finally Recognized?

It wasn’t until December 2010, which was 226 years after it was first printed, that Buell’s map achieved the fame it deserved. A surviving copy was sold at Christie’s in New York for a record $2,098,500, the highest price ever paid at auction for a single map. The buyer, philanthropist David Rubenstein, placed it on long-term loan at the Library of Congress. Only seven copies of the map are known to survive today, with some held in collections at Yale and the Connecticut Historical Society.

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Conclusion

Abel Buell's narrative is not simply a story of the misfortunes and brilliant idiocy of one man, but a representation of the American spirit at the moment of its inception. On the other hand, Buell's flaws and failures are secondary to the immediate prospect of national idealism at a hopeful moment in time. Buell made the map to extend knowledge of geography, which both immortalized the geography of a new world and projected the aspirations of a young nation at an important moment.