Grant to Fund Continued Work on Historical Atlas of Maine

Contact: Media contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571

ORONO — A seven-year research project that will culminate in the publication of the “Historical Atlas of Maine” has received a $293,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

The two-year grant to the University of Maine, where the atlas is being developed, will allow research and design of the 240-page volume to be completed by 2005, in preparation for publishing the following year.

The project received $160,000 in seed money from the Maine legislature in 1999, followed by $100,000 from the University of Maine System.

“As the largest NEH grant to the University of Maine in recent years, the award will provide funds to help bring the atlas to completion,” says Stephen Hornsby, a geographer on the project and director of UMaine’s Canadian-American Center. “NEH grants are extremely competitive, so this award is national recognition of the quality of scholarly research and cartographic design contained in the atlas.”

The “Historical Atlas of Maine” project began in 1998 with the formation of a steering committee at UMaine, led by Professor of English Burton Hatlen. Joining Hatlen in the initial planning process were Northeast regional and Canadian studies scholars Jacques Ferland and geographer Stephen Hornsby, environmental and Maine historian Richard Judd, Quaternary studies scientist George Jacobson, cultural and New England historian Martha McNamara, and 19th-century U.S. historian Marli Weiner. The cartographer on the project is Mike Hermann.

More than 70 historians from throughout Maine are contributing their scholarship to the project. Their wide-ranging expertise provides the social, economic and demographic information being developed into two-page plates of the atlas. In addition to the social, economic, and demographic themes traditionally found in historical atlases, the Maine volume will also emphasize cultural and environmental history, as well as cross-border connections with Canada.

To date, 40 of the 100 plates in the atlas have been started. The NEH grant will be used to hire a second cartographer and an archivist; to provide release time for editors Judd and Hornsby; and to offer three graduate research assistantships.

The volume will be published in 2006 by University of Maine Press.

The “Historical Atlas of Maine” is modeled after three successful historical atlases published in recent years: the “Historical Atlas of Canada,” the National Geographic Society’s “Historical Atlas of the United States,” and the “New Zealand Historical Atlas.” At the heart of such volumes is the presentation of historical information using images, such as photographs, drawings, historical maps, three-dimensional renderings, topographical and other maps, charts and graphs, and satellite imagery. Scholarship from multiple disciplines in the arts, humanities and sciences makes an historical atlas comprehensive and accessible.

The “Historical Atlas of Maine” is designed to interest a variety of readers. It is expected to appeal to a popular audience with an interest in Maine and its history. In addition, the atlas will have a primary role in education, including use by school and college students learning about the culture, history and geography of Maine. Teaching modules based on the atlas are being developed for K-12 teachers.

Following print production of the atlas, researchers hope to develop an interactive CD and Web-based plate modules.