Old Northwest Territory Maps – Vintage Great Lakes Maps

Louisiana (French North America)

Wisconsin Historical Society

Vincenzo Coronelli 1695

This is one of the more important and well-known maps of North America from the 17th century. Coronelli used reports of early explorers in the Great Lakes area to create one of the earliest detailed maps of that region. Although Coronelli was a well-known cartographer in his time, his work was often dismissed after his death. It was centuries later that historians rediscovered his work and have shown him to have been an influential figure in his day. (Description from Website). Old maps of the Great Lakes.

Bowles Map

Darlington Digital Library

Hand-drawn 1755

Copy of a 1755 map of frontier areas west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Map of the Ohio River Valley and surrounding area

Darlington Digital Library

London: Thomas Jeffries 1755

– Vintage Great Lakes Maps

A map of the British and French settlements in North America

Library of Congress American Memory

John Lodge 175?

Covers the eastern half of North America from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. Shows boundaries, cities and towns, forts, Indian villages and tribal territory, and “Earl Granville’s Property.” Vintage Great Lakes Maps

North America

Darlington Digital Library

London: Thomas Jefferys 1755

North America: from the French of Mr. d’Anville, improved with the back settlements of Virginia and course of Ohio, illustrated with geographical and historical remarks. Includes text on the “French incroachments” and “English title to their settlements on the continent”. (Description from website). Great Lakes historical maps.

A New and Accurate Map of the English Empire in North America Representing their Rightful Claim as Confirm’d by Charters, and the Formal Surrender of their Indian Friends, likewise the Encroachments of the French, with the Several Forts they have Unjustly Erected Therein – Vintage Great Lakes Maps

Indiana Historical Society Collections

London: Herbert & Sayer. 1755

– Vintage Great Lakes Maps.

“Amerique Septentrionale avec les Routes, Distances en miles, Limites et Etablissements” – Historical Maps of the Great Lakes

Alabama Maps Collection

John Mitchell 1756

Mitchell map of British and French dominions in North America. Historical Maps of the Great Lakes.

An Accurate Map of the Present Seat of War, Between Great Britain and Her Colonies in North America – Old Northwest Map

Indiana Historical Society Collections

London: Herbert & Sayer 1776

Old Northwest Map.

[Northeastern part of North America] – Old Northwest Map

NYPL Digital Gallery

France: Robert de Vaugondy 1783?

Old Northwest Map.

A Map of the Back Settlements – Old Northwest Territory Map

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Library

London: Stockdale 1794

The area of coverage is the Old Northwest. Old Northwest Territory Map

A Map of the North Western Territory – Old Northwest Territory Map

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Library

Boston: Hill. 1796

Great Lakes historical maps.

A General Map of the River Ohio – Old Northwest Map

David Rumsey Map Collection

Paris: Collot, George H. V. 1796

A series of four maps showing the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to the Mississippi River.

A new map of part of the United States of North America exhibiting the Western Territory, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia &c., also the Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario & Erie, with upper and lower Canada &c – Historical Great Lakes Map

Indiana Historical Society Collections

London: J. Cary. 1805

Vintage Great Lakes map.

Map of the Seat of War in North America

David Rumsey Collection

Philadelphia: Melish 1813

Covers from Labrador to Michigan and Ohio.

Upper Territories of the United StatesOld Northwest Territories Maps

Wisconsin Historical Society

Philadelphia: Kneass & Delleker

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided that one or two states should be created from the area west of Lake Michigan and extending down to the the lake’s southern tip–the “upper territories” shown on this map. That would have placed Wisconsin’s boundary 90 miles further south than it is now. When Illinois became a state in 1818, it wanted access to the lake and managed to have its boundary moved north, depriving the future state of Wisconsin of the city of Chicago. (description from website).

Map of the States of Indiana, and Ohio, with Part of Michigan Territory, ca. 1820s – Old Northwest Map

Lewis University Historic Maps

London: Hinton & Sinupkin & Marshall 1820s

Map of the States of Ohio, Indiana & Illinois and Part of Michigan Territory – Old Northwest Maps

Philadelphia: Finley 1827

High-resolution image of a well-preserved color map.

Western States & TerritoriesOld Northwest Maps

Wisconsin Historical Society

Philadelphia: J.H. Young 1832

Historic Great Lakes maps.

Guide through Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin & Iowa: showing the township lines of the United States surveys, location of cities, towns, villages, post hamlets, canals, rail and stage roads

Wisconsin Historical Society

NY: Smith, John Calvin 1839

This lovely hand-colored map was removed from J.H. Colton’s Western Tourist and Emigrant’s Guide (New York, 1839). Inset tables list steamboat routes and distances by water, and a vignette of Maidens Rock, on Lake Pepin, appears near the lower margin. This copy retains its elaborate printed border; boundaries and regions are highlighted with water-color. (Description from website).

Map of the Western States – Old Northwest Maps

Wisconsin Historical Society

NY: Atwood, John M. 1849

This map graphically displays the contrasting degrees of settlement in the states and territories of the Old Northwest.

Map of the La Crosse and Milwaukee Rail Road and Connections

Collection

NY: Colton, J.H. 1855

Map of the northeastern and north-central United States indicating major drainage, larger cities, state boundaries, and the railroad network.

Indian Land Areas Judicially Established 1978 and American Indian Reservations

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs

U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs 2015

Zoom in to at least 100%. All American Indian lands in the 48 states are shown and identified by number. A table at the lower left lists all tribes associated with land areas on the map, and a table on the right side lists all federally recognized tribal entities for which no reservation exists.

American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States

American Indians and Alaska Natives in Alaska

U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Census Bureau 2011

These two large maps, produced by the U.S. Census Bureau from 2010 census data, show the location of American Indian lands throughout the U.S. The first link shows the 48 states, and the second is for Alaska only. Inset charts show the populations of the ten largest tribal groupings.

Tribal Lands and Midwest Region Service Facilities

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Website – Accessed November 2019

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, a federal agency that assists federally recognized tribes, created this map that shows where their offices in the Midwestern states are located, and the locations of Native American tribal lands. Included here are the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri.

The Ohio and Mississippi Pilot consisting of a set of charts of those rivers

representing their channels, islands, ripples, rapids, shoals, bars, rocks, &c accompanied with directions for the use of navigators,to which is added a Geography of the States and Territories west and south of the Allegheny Mountains

Gilleland, J.C.

Pittsburg: Patterson & Lambdin 1820

Early Maps of the Ohio Valley : a Selection of Maps, Plans, and Views Made by Indians and Colonials from 1673 to 1783

Brown, Lloyd A., comp.

Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press 1959

This contains descriptions of and information about over 50 early maps, but does not contain copies of the maps.

Early Maps of Ohio and the West – Maps of the Historic Great Lakes

Baldwin, Charles Candee

Cleveland, Western Reserve and Northern Ohio Historical Society 1875

1875 catalog of existing maps of the Great Lakes region.

Discovery and Exploration

Library of Congress

Various publishers and years of publication

More than 100 historic maps, most reflecting the European Age of Discoveries in North America, from the late 15th to the 17th centuries. Included are 18th and 19th century maps documenting the exploration of the interior of the continent, such as the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Old Maps Online

This is a collaborative portal for accessing a number of online map collections worldwide. U.S. collections include;
The David Rumsey Collection
Harvard Library Collection
New York Public Library Collection
Leventhal Map Center at Boston Public Library
North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

France in America

Library of Congress

Various publishers and years of publication

More than 100 maps from the French colonial era in North America, many of which portray the Great Lakes region.