Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Map of Florida

Scarce map of the Florida Territory issued just a few years after its organization as a U.S. possession.

The Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819 saw, among other things, the transfer of the Spanish colonies of East and West Florida to the possession of the United States. Three years later, the area was incorporated as a new unorganized territory, and this is one of the earliest obtainable maps to show that new American entity.

Only two large counties are outlined, Escambia and St. John’s, and the prior colonial distinction of East and West Florida remain. A few scattered forts and two roads are noted, connecting the agricultural colony of Rollstown (then abandoned) to St. Augustine and Ivitachua (near Tallahassee). The rest of the state is largely blank with the exception of geographic features like rivers and swamps. However, waves of settlement in subsequent decades would quickly fill in these “empty” areas, and a series of wars with the Seminoles would ultimately see the practical end to indigenous habitation (with a few notable exceptions) by 1860. Surrounding the map are numerous paragraphs providing interesting contemporary details on the state’s history, population, climate, geography, and economy.

The image was drawn by Fielding Lucas, Jr. and engraved by Young & Delleker. It was issued as plate No. 37 in Carey & Lea’s Complete Historical, Chronological, and Geographical American Atlas. The popular volume was issued in six different editions across three separate languages between 1822 and 1827 – this is one of the earlier examples published around 1823.