This is the FIRST LARGE SCALE MAP OF SOUTH CAROLINA made after the establishment of the United States and the first official map of the state. Constructed from local manuscript surveys and compiled for use by state officials, it remained the foundation map for South Carolina until the Civil War. There is a large inset of Charleston Harbour showing flooded areas, shoals and channels.

The official mapping of the United States began with the formation of the General Land Office in the late 18th century, and its formal organisation in 1812. The first “official” maps of individual states were produced by dedicated individuals like Osgood Carleton (Maine & Massachusetts, 1795); Simeon DeWitt (New York, 1802); and Rev. James Madison (Virginia, 1807). Later, state governments, recognising the need for accurate maps, authorised the collection of local surveys and their compilation into “official” maps of the states. These hung in government offices and courthouses and were considered authoritative in settling boundary disputes.

State civil and military engineer Major John Wilson was assigned the task of creating this ambitious map of South Carolina based on new surveys which had just been completed by the state. It “was an expensive project,” writes Ristow, “the total expenditure for the state map was upwards of ninety thousand dollars.” It was printed by Henry Tanner, who wrote in his Memoir that, “Wilson’s map is decidedly one of our best and most scientific maps, and was used in correcting the adjoining parts of Georgia and North Carolina.”

The Wilson map is one of the first true “official” maps, in that it was wholly conceived of and executed under the auspices of a state government. As such it is one of the IMPORTANT FOUNDATIONS IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN MAP PUBLICATION, as well as a key work in the mapping of the American southeast. It was engraved by Henry S. Tanner. References: Phillips (1901) p. 822; Ristow (1985) pp. 126-8 & 209-210; Schwartz & Ehrenberg (1980) p. 249.