The Historical Atlas of West Virginia (review)

The rise of the topical atlas came with the rise of modern cartography in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. The development of so-called "statistical cartography" was led by German, Prussian, and American mapmakers. As national atlases began to be produced, historical topics were logical inclusions. One of the most significant breakthroughs in historical-geography illustration was the inclusion of a series of ten population density maps from 1790 through 1870 in an appendix to the 1870 Ninth Census titled the Statistical Atlas of the United States. These maps show the steady and relentless expansion of population westward. Indeed, Frederick Jackson Turner credited these illustrations for inspiring the development of his frontier theory of American history. Later the Turanian School of history amalgamated data, history, geography, and mapping as critical tools of analysis in the early twentieth century. This school of thought culminated in one of the first scientific and professional cartographic efforts dedicated to history and geography, the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States by C. O. Paullin and J. K. Wright.

Since the states are distinct political entities with recognizable histories, individual state historical atlases began to proliferate in the last half of the twentieth century. Virtually all states have them now. State historical atlases have a wide range of quality and content. Some are serious scholarly works directed to enhancing the understanding and teaching of the particular state. Others are colorful publications produced for a popular audience with accompanying historical pictures, and illustrations of state capitols, state birds, fields of agriculture, and other geographical features. Hence, historical atlases in general, and state historical atlases in particular, have a long tradition in the history and geography literatures.

The Historical Atlas of West Virginia is part of this long tradition. It is a scholarly work with nary a picture or illustration. It is straightforward and factual. Its centerpiece is 127 black and white maps divided into eight major topical sections: Geography (9 maps), History (48 maps), Evolution of Counties (16 maps), Development of Transportation (11 maps), Natural Resources and Extractive Industries (5 maps), Education (2 maps), Population (22 maps), and Legislative, Judicial, and Congressional Districts (14 maps). The above content is similar to many other state historical atlases. Nevertheless, an additional section on elections and political party support for offices like governor and president would have been useful. This would have added a dimension with respect to the regional and county political differences in the state and how they have changed (or not) over time.

The general Atlas format is a one-page map on the right-facing page with a one-page explanation and narrative on the left-facing page. The sources for each map are enumerated in an excellent reference section in the back of the atlas. Much of the narrative is presumably from these sources. Two items would have added to the usefulness of the book. First, there is no general bibliography. While the map sources are listed, an alphabetical bibliography of all sources for the narrative and maps would make future research easier. Second, there is no general introductory text placing the atlas, and West Virginia, in its historical and intellectual context. The space for the above two items could have been in place of two appendixes listing governors and senators which are not only non-geographic, but also found in numerous other references.

With that being said, The Historical Atlas of West Virginia is a significant contribution to the literature on the state of West Virginia. Dr. Frank S. Riddel is to be commended for having put together in retirement a unique book gathering on his life-long interest and teaching of West Virginia history. He is a professor emeritus at Marshall University and still teaches an online West Virginia history course. Dr. Riddel's original illustrations were put into professional cartographic form by Chris Erichsen of GeoIntel. The final maps are all original drawings and generally are clear and concise. While the...