Uncategorized – Page 9 – Mapping History 317

January 22, 2024

Emma Reed, Blog Post 1: Chase County, Kansas

The Outline Map of Chase Co. Kansas, 1901 looks as though it is a relatively simple map. However, upon further investigation, it becomes apparent that it intends to increase the movement of people and settlement within the region. Since the author of this map was Warren Mortgage Company, one can imply that the intended purpose of the map was to increase settlement, and therefore increase the economic state of the County.

This map depicts important information for prospective settlers such as schools, churches, post offices, and more. Going into more detail, one gets to the heart of the map argument as seen through its depiction of railroads, wagon roads, and lot lines. These lines do not just show means of travel throughout the area, but also showcase the areas of land that settlers could live on.

PrairyErth shows Chase County from a different perspective that can help create a more holistic understanding of the region and its settlers. The map looks at Chase County more from the angle of culture and the traditions that the settlers have as it shows quotes from those who live there. Through this, viewers can come to learn about their way of life and particularly how important farming is in their community.

Finally, these maps showcase the different aspects of Chase County but they both have the end goal of increasing settlement. The Outline Map of Chase Co. Kansas, 1901 looks at the region through the lens of economics while the PrairyErth map looks at the region from the approach of culture. Both provide needed backgrounds on the County for incoming settlers but have different approaches as to achieving that.

January 22, 2024January 28, 2024

Chase County, Kansas Blog Post 1 Michael Lau

The Plat Book of Chase County, Kansas, is a property map from 1901. Published by the Warren Mortgage company, the map features no topography or latitude or longitude lines which would indicate a travel map. However, in its legend, it does indicate the various modes and methods of travel that are placed throughout Chase County. The county, however, is split into townships, with each of them being a parceled out more into differing estates. All of them numbered. Towns and cities are hatch marks, with the map taking particular focus on the transportation and the public services in each area. The Legend hinting to their priorities as schools and churches are given a symbol.

The map has several hand drawn additions and math surrounding it. It appears that the map was for investors in the region, or new homesteaders, to mortgage their land from the Warren Mortgage Company.

At the same time, this audience would either be locals or completely blind to the kind of land that they were buying, as besides whether there was a river on the property, there is no topological or ecological data present on the map. The people buying this land were thus not farmers or those who cared about the land other than for its location. O. Allen Weltzen quotes the geographer Yi Fu Tian in saying.

“A geographer studies landscape “from ‘above,'” for example, but The side view … is personal, moral, and aesthetic. A person is in the landscape … from a particular spot and not from an abstract point in space.”
– Yi Fu Tian

In other words, every map is a metaphor and a lie. Thus, what is actually on these lands that the Warren Mortgage company doesn’t want its audience to find out? William Least Heat-Moon, the focus of O. Allen Weltzen essay, finds that;

Chase County, which the Flint Hills is a part of, is not a just some blank slate for real estate and state entities to draw on, it contains a unique ecological treasure that has been recognized today, though maybe less treasured back in 1901. So what does that say about the audience for this map? Were they settlers? Homesteaders? Regular people? It almost certainly wasn’t an indigenous group, as according to Heat-Moon, their relationship with the land was certainly more emotional and spiritual than the cold calculations on the side of a blank map would seem.

Perhaps then, the priorities of those drawing the borders and buying the land were never after the richness of the land itself, but the clinical calculus of economics and progress.

Bibliography

“Kansas Memory.” Kansas Memory – Main Page, Northwest Publishing Co., www.kansasmemory.org/item/209375/page/3. Accessed 28 Jan. 2024.

Weltzien, O. Alan. “A Topographic Map of Words: Parables of Cartography in William Least Heat-Moon’s PrairyErth.” Great Plains Quarterly, vol. 19, no. 2, Spring 1999, pp. 107–122.

William Least Heat-Moon. PrairyErth: (A Deep Map). Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991. Pages 3-24.

January 22, 2024

Blog Post 1: Chase County, KS

This 1901 map of Chase County, KS looks to be meant to advertise and/ or sell land plots in Chase County. This reference map divides Chase County into grids in order to easily identify where natural landmarks like rivers and creeks lay in relation to buildings like houses, schoolhouses, and churches.

Dually, this map aims to show the openness of Chase County in an attempt to lure settlers to buy land. Many grids are completely empty and do not display any descriptions of the land’s topography or layout. The emptiness of a grid would display to the audience that the land was barren and easy to build upon and live off of.

Opens grids like 21 and 28 depicted above would lead the audience to assume the land was just a flat plot without any obstacles or landmarks in or around it.

At the top of the map the words “Warren Mortgage Company” lead me to find that this map was an advertisement and used as a tool to help sell these plots of land. It also helps explain why the detail of the map is very simple. This map is not intended to be a navigational map to lead the audience but to show the audience the availability of land plots in the county in the early 1900’s.

The Chase County area was also written about in a way to fill in these blank spaces in William Least-Heat Moon’s PrairyErth (A Deep Map).

Least- Heat Moon’s PrairyErth holds quotes about and accounts from the Chase County area that detail the land and how it is more than just empty plots on a map. While maps like the 1901 account by the Warren Mortgage Company can be helpful for audiences looking to buy land and settle in the Chase County area, it is important to note that it does not display the fullness and detail of each inch of land.

January 22, 2024

Riley Filipowicz Blog Post 1

I noticed a few things when I first took a look at this map. I notice it is an outline of Chase County which is located in central Kansas. It was created in 1901 and looks to be owned by the Warren Mortage Group. When I realized this map was either created or sponsored by a mortgage company a lot more really stood out to me. The key includes things like houses, post offices, and churches. A mortgage company is obviously trying to sell and promote areas in Chase County to new or potential buyers.

Westward expanision was easier than ever in 1901 and this map shows that. I think the mortgage group is trying to use the map to show what areas were heavily populated and what they had to offer. For example, Cottonwood falls looks to have tons of habited areas. That can be shown by looking at the map and noticing all the figures placed there. I also think the railroad going through this area further strengthens that this was a heavily populated spot in Chase County.

I think this map could further convey its message by possibly showing a prediction of what this area is going to look like. It could also show suggestions from the Warren Mortage Company on what areas they think would be good to buy property.

January 22, 2024

Evan Murphy Blog Post 1: Mapped Interpretations of Chase County, KS

The Outline Map of Chase Co. Kansas. 1901 was created to attempt to increase settlement in the county in the southeast quadrant of the state. The scan of the map that was provided even contains a stamp of the Warren Mortgage Company seen below. The map’s purpose is to enable and convince people to settle in Kansas in the early 20th century, and holds little mention of the difficulties that may arise while attempting to cultivate the land.

“Plat book, Chase County, Kansas – 2,” Kansas Memory, Northwest Publishing Co, 1901, https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/209375/page/3.

This massively incomplete mapping interpretation of the prairie misinformed those who purchased plots of land, setting them up for failure. Those who purchased land in the great planes were ill equipped to farm in the region due to a shortage of information on the soil types and farming techniques that should be used. The quick sale of these and other similar plots of land in conjunction with lackluster information on how to farm the land likely aided in the severity of the Dust Bowl within Kansas a few decades after the creation of the map.

Although this type of map is important for the sale of land it lacks the fundamental understanding of the climate and soil needed for farmers to succeed in the region. William Least Heat-Moon created a more helpful sort of scientific historical collage map consisting of information provided by many different sources. This information was made available at different times, some of which was available before the 1901 map was created, but much of it was not. Although this information was publicly available, it was not all in one place. For example, these two quotes on the first page of the written map would have allowed for a more complete understanding of the gumption needed to cultivate land in Kansas.

William Least Heat-Moon, PrairyErth (London: Andre Deutsch, 1991), 3. https://steppingintothemap.com/mappinghistory/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/P-William-Least-Heat-Moon-%E2%80%9CFrom-the-Commonplace-Book-Crossing%E2%80%9DPrairyErth-Houghton-Mifflin-2001.pdf.

Heat-Moon’s approach to mapping portrays a more complete view of the world through the combination of multiple sources. This provides an in-depth understanding of the climate and soil of southeastern Kansas that is difficult to convey to someone that has never been there. Overall, I feel as if Heat-Moon’s approach to mapping Chase County Kansas can be applied broadly to many parts of the great state. Had a map of this approach been available to potential settlers it certainly would have made them aware of the challenges they were going to undergo. This more complete and robust mapping attempt could have been helpful to settlers and reduced improper farming practices throughout the state of Kansas.

January 21, 2024

Andrew Merfeld 1/22 – Weekly Blog Post

The map given to us of Chase Co. Kansas looks to me like it is an outline of Chase County in the southeast quadrant of the State of Kansas. I have circled my assumption in red in the picture below.

Just by looking at the title of the map, you can tell that William East had a very broad idea of the land he is depicting. It is to my understanding that East was trying to show the different resources that are available in certain areas of the county. If you take a look at the key, you can see that he is only depicting railroads, sources of water, houses, churches, houses, and the post office.

Its to my understanding that East is trying to show people who are unfamiliar with the area, certain things that are in the country in relation to lots or land they may be looking to purchase. Going off of that, you can tell this is a depiction of land that is either owned, or trying to be sold, by the lot number that is in each box.

Here you can see random lots in which I circled which may be either up for sale or already owned.

Tying this all together, I think this is an outline of the Chase Co. in Kansas that is supposed to be used by people who are looking to buy land, so that they can see the resources that are close, or far, from wherever they may be looking to buy.

I think that something East left out that could be the lack of elevation depicted. In order for potential homeowners to truly know what they are getting into just by looking at a map, I would think it would be beneficial to know how elevated the land may be, in order to prevent flooding, etc. I also believe the map is a snapshot in time. I don’t see any elements that suggest there has been change in time according to the key.

In my opinion, I think in order for the map to fully convey its message, it would need some sort of elevation element, so homeowners can know what to expect when looking at a certain lot.

January 11, 2024

Hello Class

Hello everyone, this is where you add posts for either the weekly discussion or the mapping practicums

Don’t forget to add “tags” – either “Final Project,” ” Practicum,” or “Weekly Blog”