Maps of Hartland, Maine

Township No. 3 – 1st Range North of the Plymouth Claim – East of the Kennebec River

Following the end of the Revolutionary War, surveys of the “wilderness” regions of Maine were done on behalf of the Lands Committee appointed by the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which held full power and authority to sell and convey unappropriated lands in the then District of Maine. Surveyors typically laid out new townships in relatively squared lots which was standard practice as the Commonwealth made them available for wealthy Land Proprietors to purchase. Albeit convenient for the latter parties, this uniform surveying method often ignored the area’s natural boundaries and eventually made for problematic access to education, town affairs and services for some of the settlers who later came to live there.

The first known official survey of the region was completed by Ephraim Ballard in September of 1779. Among several future townships noted on Ballard’s map is Township No. 3 in the First Range which eventually became Hartland. An overlay of the surveyed township borders on the old, faded original map is seen below.

Overlay of the Original Ephraim Ballard Map – 1779

A second known survey of the roughly 30,000 acre Township No. 3 Lot was completed by Samuel Weston in 1792 and is referred to in Dr. John Warren’s 1799 deed for the township’s purchase. We are still searching for a copy of this Weston survey map.

A third known survey of the region was completed by Carleton Osgood & Samuel Weston in 1794.

Survey by Carleton Osgood & Samuel Weston – 1794

In 1798, Samuel Weston surveyed Township No. 5 (St. Albans) into individual lots for Land Proprietor Dr. John Warren which included the lot purchased by William Moor in the future Hartland Village area noted as S-17 on the map.

“This plans represents Township No. Five in the Third & Fourth Ranges of Townships North of the Waldo Patent & between the rivers of Kennebec & Penobscot. The same being surveyed into lots on the months of September & October A. D. 1798 for Dr. John Warren and is here delineated by the scale of one mile to an inch.” ~ Samuel Weston, Surveyor – Canaan – October 21, 1798.

Surveyors Map of Township No. 5 (St. Albans) – 1798

Close Up of William Moor’s S-17 Lot from 1798 Map

The 1798 Map of Maine drawn by Daniel Friedrich Sotzmann, a Geographer of the Berlin Academy in Germany, shows new townships surveyed for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It also shows the two “Land Lottery” lots located in Downeast Maine and south of Moosehead Lake. Following the failed Land Lottery venture, Philadelphia lawyer and financier William Bingham purchased both of the massive one million acres lots.

Sotzmann Map of Maine – 1798 (Photo from the Boston Rare Maps Company Website)

Close Up of Township No. 3 in the First Range – 1798

Following Maine’s acceptance for Statehood on March 15, 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise, many of its borders had expanded.

Map of Maine by Moses Greenleaf – 1820 (Photo taken at Ellsworth Public Library)

When Dr. John Warren purchased Township No. 3 in 1799, the future town of Hartland was a 30,000 square acre lot which had been surveyed as a uniform rectangular lot which did not take into account some the area’s predominant natural boundaries such as the Sebasticook River. Each of Hartland’s 4 original town lines were eventually changed to follow closer to the natural boundaries to meet the needs of its citizens.

Close Up of Hartland – Greenleaf Map of Maine – 1820

The large 1860 Map of Somerset County includes Hartland and a detailed insert of Hartland Village.

Hartland Village – Insert from 1860 Somerset County Map

Directory of Hartland – Insert from 1860 Somerset County Map

Hartland – 1860 Somerset County Map

To see a complete and enlargeable version of this original map, click the link below:

1860 Map at Library of Congress

The 1883 Atlas of Somerset County by George N. Colby & Company includes Hartland and a detailed map of Hartland Village.

Hartland Village – 1883 Atlas of Somerset County

Hartland – 1883 Atlas of Somerset County

To see an enlargeable version of this original map, click on the link below:

1883 Map at Fogler Library at UMO

An original 1896 “Bird’s Eye View” Map of Hartland Village purchased by Albion K. Libby in 1896 was graciously loaned to us for digital reproduction by his grandson F. Wayne Libby. Our special thanks to E. W. Littlefield Inc. & Sons Construction of Hartland for funding the digital scanning process for our collection.

Hartland Village – 1896

To see an enlargeable version of this map, click on the link below:

1896 Map – Google Photos

The first of two Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Maps of Hartland Village were completed in December of 1917. The 4 page map provides exquisite details of businesses and homes throughout the Village at the time.

Page 1 – Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Map – 1917

Page 2 – Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Map – 1917

Page 3 – Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Map – 1917

Page 4 – Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Map – 1917

To see a complete and enlargeable version of this original map, click the link below:

1917 Sanborn Map at Library of Congress

We are in the process of having the 1943 Maps digitally scanned and printed for higher resolution and uniform clarity.

Hartland Village – 1943

Hartland – 1943

In 1945, several revisions were made to the original Sanborn Company Fire Insurance Map of Hartland Village which included new, remodeled or removed buildings and updated business operations since the map’s original publication in 1917.