CHAPTER IX. 



TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPS OF THE STATE. 



,NE of the first essentials to a knowledge of the natural resources 

 of a state is an acquaintance with its topographical features in 

 relation to population. The position of villages, mountains, roads, 

 streams, lakes, etc., must be known before any kind of important com 

 mercial transactions can be effected. Our predecessors understood the 

 importance of maps, since they commenced a century since to order their 

 construction, long before many other states seemed to appreciate their 

 importance. But a new one is needed now. We have endeavored to 

 construct one that is reliable, drawing upon our own private resources for 

 want of public patronage. It is employed as the base chart for repre 

 senting the geology in this report. 



In view of the importance of maps to the progress of civilization, I 

 have thought it best to sketch the history of the official charts of New 

 Hampshire, describing those in particular which have been published 

 under legislative sanction, and stating the most important improvements 

 in the one constructed under our direction. 



The first known map of the state was edited by Joseph Blanchard and 

 Samuel Langdon, and published at Portsmouth in 1761. I have not been 

 able to find a copy of it anywhere, and therefore will not attempt to 

 describe it. The next was Holland s. Dr. William Prescott, of Concord, 

 possesses a copy of this, which has preserved much of its original fresh 



