Primary Resources

Changes in the Landscape of Essex County

NARA Map Analysis Worksheet

Native American Deeds
This website is sponsored by the Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds. This site lists each Essex County town and then links that town to its relevant Native American deed, thus allowing teachers and students to revisit their town’s earliest history. In addition, the site provides many historic maps and images. This Essex County resource is well worth a visit!

HawthorneInSalem.org
An award-winning website about Nathaniel Hawthorne’s life in Salem. While this site contains a lot of information about Hawthorne, teachers will find it most useful for its history of Salem as a physical space. In particular, the maps and original documents section provides a great overview of the city’s transformation from an Indian village to a bustling seaport. Some of the most pertinent maps/documents are included in the resources below.

The Library of Congress’ American Memory Website
The Library of Congress’ American Memory Website offers a digital collection of maps. While some of the most pertinent maps/images have been included in the resources below, this searchable database has hundreds of historic New England maps available.

“The Environmental History and Current Characteristics of Gloucester Harbor” by Anthony R. Wilbur and Fara Courtney.
This is a chapter of a document prepared for the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. It goes into more scientific detail than many teachers will find useful but does provide a historic overview of the uses of Gloucester Harbor.

The University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire has a collection of historic USGS maps. These maps are searchable by town and easy to read.

The University of Southern Maine’s Osher Map Library
The University of Southern Maine’s Osher Map Library provides links to other reputable online map resources and features online exhibitions about cartographic history.

“Penny Postcards from Massachusetts”
This USGen website provides historic images of many Essex County towns. Teachers may find this site useful to “zoom in” on parts of their students local landscapes to examine how the area has changed.