This map of the eastern United States is notable for its inclusion of numerous fascinating place names, chief among them the proposed state of Franklinia in eastern Tennessee. In 1785, settlers in present-day western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee organized a state government to be named in honor of Benjamin Franklin. Congress turned down their appeal, but the fledgling state maintained a legislature and governor until 1788. This ephemeral state appeared on only a small number of maps into the early part of the 19th century, this being a relatively late example.

Another uncommon regional name here is New Iberia, the original Spanish settlement in the region of New Madrid, Missouri. A small region labeled Indiana appears in what is now West Virginia. This land was a major contention between the private Indiana Land Company and the State of Virginia in the latter part of the 18th century. The argument over ownership of the property resulted in the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Indiana Land Company lost its claim to the land. Bounty Land Grants for the Ohio Company and the Army Company appear north of the Ohio River, while land grants for the Illnois, Wabash, and New Jersey companies are delineated in present-day Illinois. The large Western Territory takes up present-day Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and part of Ohio. Present-day Mississippi and Alabama is an unnamed territory dominated by the Chicasaws, Creeks, Choctaws, and Muskogees. West of the Mississippi is a vast Louisiana Territory. Published by Samuel & George Neele.

References: Dotson & Baker (OWA) #31.1.

Condition: A

A nice impression with contemporary color.