Map of the Mining Lands at Newbury, near Newburyport, Essex County Massachusetts

Interesting cadastral map of mining lands in eastern Massachusetts.

This is a detailed and unusual little pocket map of the area around Newbury, Connecticut. According to the title, it’s ostensibly a mining map, but there are few references outside of a prominent mining station in the middle of town. More likely, it served to function as a real estate promotion by N. Little, the publisher, whose name appears, with other members of the Little family, quite frequently among the land owners identified on the image.

Apart from the appeal of the promised ore, the map also shows the region’s accessibility by rail via the Boston & Maine and Eastern Railroads. Important buildings and businesses are individually labeled, and the proximity to navigable water transportation via the Merrimac River to the Atlantic Ocean is also featured.