{"product_id":"old-map-of-kentucky-by-mitchell-1855-louisville-lexington-ohio-river-railroads-steamboat-routes","title":"Old Map of Kentucky by Mitchell, 1855: Louisville, Lexington, Ohio River, Railroads, Steamboat Routes","description":"\u003cp\u003eA New Map of Kentucky, issued in 1855, presents the Commonwealth in a vivid, full-color composition crowned by an ornate title cartouche. Samuel Augustus Mitchell captures both political and physical geography with uncommon clarity: counties crisply distinguished, state capital prominently denoted, and an elegant web of roads, railroads, and stage lines coursing across the Bluegrass. Hachured relief models the undulating terrain, giving visual depth to mountains, river valleys, and the celebrated knobs. Distances are carefully annotated along principal routes, while a prime meridian fixed at Washington aligns the sheet to an American center of calculation. Published by Thomas, Cowperthwait \u0026amp; Co., the map embodies the mid-nineteenth century’s drive to render the United States intelligible to merchants, migrants, and policymakers at a glance, without sacrificing grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTransportation, commerce, and connection animate this sheet. Mitchell highlights stagecoach corridors with mileages that knit courthouse towns to river ports, while the burgeoning rail network threads steel through the interior—linking Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Frankfort, Bowling Green, Paducah, Henderson, and Richmond in a modern lattice of movement. At the map’s crown, a steamboat route examination sets out principal river passages, a practical gazetteer for navigating the Ohio and its tributaries to the Falls of the Ohio and beyond. The careful hierarchy of symbols—bold lines for railroads, finer tracery for roads, emphatic nodes at key depots—conveys how Kentuckians traveled, traded, and communicated on the eve of the railroad age’s dominance. Distances and bearings transform geography into itinerary, turning landscape into logistics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTopography is rendered with hachures that ripple across the sheet, from the rugged eastern highlands to the softly rolling Bluegrass. The Ohio River forms a commanding, serrated boundary to the north, its banks punctuated by Louisville, Covington, Henderson, and other river towns; to the far west, channels lead toward the Mississippi, while southward the line with Tennessee grounds the Commonwealth. Major waterways—the Kentucky, Licking, Green, and Cumberland rivers—meander through counties and across road grids, their valleys clearly modeled by slope and shadow. This union of relief and hydrography makes farming districts, mineral uplands, and travel corridors instantly legible. Even the iconic impediment at the Falls of the Ohio appears with contextual detail, fusing landscape and livelihood into a single cartographic narrative.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSamuel Augustus Mitchell stands among the nineteenth century’s most influential American cartographers, renowned for marrying accuracy to accessibility. His 1855 Kentucky reflects a practice he and his publishers, Thomas, Cowperthwait \u0026amp; Co., perfected: regularly updating atlases so that civic boundaries, transport lines, and towns kept pace with a nation in motion. The decision to fix the prime meridian at Washington underscores an American vantage point—centering calculation, mileage tables, and route descriptions on the capital rather than Greenwich. Clear engraving and strong color wash produce an instantly readable hierarchy, while marginal references to adjoining states situate Kentucky within the greater Ohio and Mississippi valleys. The result is a document equally fit for the countinghouse, the courthouse, and the parlor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUrban and regional detail rewards close study. Louisville commands the river frontier at the Falls, its prominence complemented by an inset that isolates navigational complexity; Lexington, heart of the Bluegrass, receives its own focused plan, charting streets and approaches with merchant-friendly precision. Covington faces Cincinnati across the Ohio, a hinge between Kentucky and the nation’s industrial heartland. Frankfort, clearly marked as state capital, anchors governance amid rich hinterlands, while Bowling Green, Paducah, Henderson, and Richmond punctuate overland and riverine circuits. An additional inset for Williamsburg gathers the southeast into clear relief. Together, these vignettes and labels convert names into places and places into prospects—an antebellum portrait of movement, opportunity, and identity across the Commonwealth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCities and towns on this map\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLouisville\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLexington\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCovington\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBowling Green\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRichmond\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrankfort\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePaducah\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHenderson\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotable Features \u0026amp; Landmarks\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSteamboat routes shown at the top.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHachured relief illustrating terrain depth.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eState capitals marked clearly.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNetwork of railroads illustrated.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMajor towns and cities labeled.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTitle cartouche displaying the name of the map prominently.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInsets showing detailed maps of Lexington, Falls of Ohio, and Williamsburg.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical and design context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreated by Samuel Augustus Mitchell in 1855.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMapmaker\/Publisher: Samuel Augustus Mitchell; published by Thomas, Cowperthwait \u0026amp; Co.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrime meridian fixed at Washington.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReflects the practice of regularly updating atlases.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProvides a snapshot of Kentucky’s geographical landscape in the mid-19th century.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReflective of expanding transportation networks of that era.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMitchell was a prominent cartographer known for producing detailed and accurate maps during the 19th century.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the \u003ca href=\"\/es\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003ebest old maps\u003c\/a\u003e to see if something else catches your eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease \u003ca href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003econtact me\u003c\/a\u003e to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex\/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":57855596528000,"sku":"UM00272789A","price":75.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":57855596560768,"sku":"UM00272790A","price":200.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":57855596593536,"sku":"UM00272791A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":57855596626304,"sku":"UM00272792A","price":75.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":57855596659072,"sku":"UM00272793A","price":200.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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