Mapping the Commonwealth: 1816–1826

Bőÿe, Herman. A Map of the State of Virginia, Constructed in Conformity to Law [...]. Philadelphia: Henry S. Tanner, 1826.

In 1816, Virginia's General Assembly created the Board of Public Works to oversee the Commonwealth's internal improvement projects—work that required an accurate map of the state. Recognizing this need, Governor Wilson C. Nicholas contracted with John Wood to carry out surveys of Virginia's counties and to prepare the first official map of Virginia. When Wood died in 1822, Herman Bőÿe was hired to finish the project. A nine-sheet map was completed in 1826, followed by a reduced four-sheet map in 1827, which was widely distributed.

This guide is a finding aid for the maps and documents included in the Library of Virginia's Mapping the Commonwealth: 1816–1826 (October 21, 2024–June 7, 2025). 

Archival Collections

• Bőÿe, Herman. Papers, 1811–1838, Acc. 41008; Miscellaneous Reel 4301.
  This collection forms part of the Robert Alonzo Brock Collection at The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. It includes correspondence, receipts, a contract, naturalization records, estate records (including Bőÿe's will), and a memorandum book. These papers pertain to Bőÿe's immigration to the United States, the preparation of a map of Virginia, and the settlement of Bőÿe's estate following his death in 1830. The estate records, 1830–1838, comprise an estate inventory.
• Virginia. Board of Public Works. Wood-Bőÿe Maps,1817–1825, 47 maps.
  Maps drawn from detailed surveys in preparation for the creation of a state map. This collection includes additional county maps that are not part of the exhibition. The maps have individual records in the Library's catalog and photostatic copies are available for most of them. Please contact Special Collections for more information.

Books

• Hughes, Sarah Shaver. Surveyors and Statesmen: Land Measuring in Colonial Virginia. Richmond: Virginia Surveyors Foundation and the Virginia Association of Surveyors, 1979.
• Mckee, Marianne M., "Herman Bőÿe (1792–1830)." Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Richmond: Library of Virginia (1998– ).
• Salmon, John S. and Marianne M. McKee. "John Wood (d. 15 May 1822)." Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Richmond: Library of Virginia, (1998– ).
• Sanchez-Saavedra, E.M. A Description of the Country: Virginia's Cartographers and Their Maps, 1607–1881. Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1975.
• Virginia in Maps: Four Centuries of Settlement, Growth, and Development. Richmond: Library of Virginia, 2007.
• Wooldridge, William C. Mapping Virginia: From the Age of Exploration to the Civil War. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012.

Websites

• Collections with Maps (Library of Congress)
  Provides access to more than 3,000 Virginia maps, the majority being from the 19th century.
• David Rumsey Map Collection (David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries)
  Includes more than 500 Virginia maps from 1607 to 2001.
• Digital Collections (New York Public Library)
  Includes more than 400 Virginia maps.
• Maps of Early America and Virginia (Library of Virginia)
  Primarily 17th and 18th century maps.
• Maps of Virginia and the Nation (Library of Virginia)
  Coverage ranges from the 17th to the 20th century.