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Washington County Atlas 1877
The Illustrated Atlas of Washington County, Maryland was published in 1877 by Lake, Griffing & Stevenson of Philadelphia. This company produced similar atlases for several other Maryland counties in the same year; Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester, as well as several Ohio counties. D. J. Lake, who later partnered with Griffing and Stevenson, had produced a similar map of Frederick County in 1873.
The atlas is organized by election districts, which are the geographic units by which Maryland organizes elections and the collection of taxes. The districts do not themselves serve any other purpose, as in electing representatives or having taxation authority. In 1877 there were 19 districts, today there are 27.
 Residence of Mrs. Amy Fahrney Near Boonsboro
The atlas contains information on property holders in the rural areas and in some of the small towns, for example Sharpsburg. In contrast the maps of Hagerstown show only lot numbers, churches and a few industries. The atlas also includes lists of patrons, presumable subscribers who paid in advance and had their names listed in the book. Some businesses are also listed on the relevant page, again presumably for a fee, since not all businesses are included.
Also included are toll houses, schools, churches, cemeteries, quarries and mills (some listed as G for grist, some as G & S for grist and saw mill) and several “col’d” facilities – churches and schools used by the African American population. The atlas also includes views of the residences of prominent citizens of the county and some of significant buildings like the Court House and St. James School.
Western Maryland Regional Library is grateful to Rosamund Ball who in 1995 created The Index to the atlas of Washington County, Maryland, 1877 which was used extensively in listing the landowners on each page.
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