A Map of Parts of Jefferson and Lewis Counties, in the State of New York. Drawn on Stone, by H. Van Merrbeke [ca. 1855?]. Plat Map, 18 1/2 X 24, with Town Boundaries and Lakes and Rivers Colored and with Sections of Lots Washed in Yellow and Green

S.N, 1855. Single Sheet. Very Good. Meerbeke, H. Van. Folded in quarters, some spotty foxing and light dust-soiling in margins. With a couple of ink annotations in a contemporary hand relating to earlier land transactions of Chaissain(?) and G. & R. Morris. Map supported with posterboard and protected with plastic sleeve. 1855 Single Sheet. 18 1/2 x 24 inches. Being territory about 25 miles northeast of Watertown, N.Y. and 65 miles north of Utica, lying in the townships of Antwerp, Philadelphia, leRay, Wilna and Diana, an area which includes present-day Fort Drum and remains one of the most sparsely populated in the state. The land has been divided here into approximately 900 numbered lots of 440 acres each. The routes of the Odgensburg and the St. Lawrence turnpikes are given, as is the "Military Road" from Sacketts Harbor to Ogdensburg passing through Alexandria to the west. The Indian River bisects the map from west to east while a portion of the Black River forms the southwest boundary and the Oswegatchee River passes through the eastern edge. Someone has pencilled a date of "ca. 1855" and this seems about right: the township of Antwerp, e.g., was incorporated in 1853. Communities noted include Evans Mills, Leraysville, Felts Mills and Great Bend on the Black River, Champion and Carthage (both being outside the southern boundary here), Wilna, Natural Bridge, Lewisburg, Harrisburg, Antwerp, Theresa (outside the western boundary), and Philadelphia. For some reason, the largest lake here, "Lake Joseph or Diana" (now Lake Bonaparte) has been left uncolored.