1846
Mitchell Map No. 15
Oregon Territory and Upper California
with insert map of
The Columbia River from the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean
which locates
Oregon City, Ft. Vancouver, a mission on the Columbia, Mt. Hood,
and Mt. St. Helens at a height of 13, 300 feet.
also shown is
The Great Salt Lake
This is an original (1846) but smaller school atlas version of Mitchell’s well-known map, which is itself based largely on John C. Frémont’s map of 1845.
Note: Mormon leader Bingham Young relying on the reports of Western explorers like Frémont, led the vanguard of his Mormon company to the Salt Lake Valley, because of its remoteness and then being outside the boundaries of the United States.
Upper California was then the Mexican province of Alto California and a faction of American immigrants in the province desired to free themselves from Mexican rule. There was often discussion about becoming a Republic or allowing annexation to France, Great Britain, or the United States. If fact for twenty-five days in 1846 the northern counties of California proclaimed itself the Republic of California, before they would eventually join up with the expanding United States.
This edition has the US/Canadian boundary as we know it today with the notation “Boundary of 1846.” Upper California extends eastward to the Rio Grande and Oregon Territory to the Continental Divide. The map delineates the Oregon Route (Oregon Trail) in good detail as it winds from the Sweetwater River through South Pass to Oregon City.
The Oregon Territory, was valuable to both the U.S. and Britain. At first, the territory was split among both nations. Drawn by the Willamette Valley and its vast resources, settlers moved west to the Oregon territory (U.S.). President James K. Polk made it his goal to enforce manifest destiny, no matter what the cost. He told the British the Oregon Territory would not be shared. The signing of the treaty in 1846 was important to Manifest Destiny because it showed the U.S. was willing to fight for westward expansion
The map also shows where numerous Indian tribes and villages and forts are located. An early depiction of the Great Basin is here called the Great Interior Basin of California.
This rare, significantly important historical map
is from
This map comes from
Mitchell's School Atlas
Second Revised Edition
Designed to Accompany
Mitchell's School & Family Geography
1848
Thomas, Cowperthwait & Company
Philadelphia
Samuel Augustus Mitchell
(1790-1868)
Samuel Augustus Mitchell was a renown American geographer. Born in Connecticut he worked as a geography teacher but soon realizing there were only poor quality geographical resources available to teachers he turned to publishing. He moved to Philadelphia, a major center for publishing at the time, around 1830 and founded his company. It becoming one of the leading map and atlas publishers of the nineteenth century. His son S. Augustus Mitchell become owner in 1860.
Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co.
An American publishing company based in Philadelphia. They were part of the flowering of American atlas and map publishing in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Originally a school publisher, they expanded to sell many geographic materials and published many famous works.
A great addition to any collection of
antiques
maps
history
educational history
***
Great for Framing
It has a very rich patina that would frame up with an antique quality.
Approximate Sizes:
Page: 9.3" x 11.6"
Image: 7.9" x 10.3