Maps meet history: Pennsylvania Magazine’s March/April issue has information on maps created with the past in mind. According to an article titled “Magical Maps: Whimsical atlases of Pennsylvania’s north woods keep local history alive,” Sam King created maps that were half historical comic book and half map. The maps have not been updated in decades — an intentional decision that allows for the perfect backdrop to information from the 1800s to today that is relevant to the area.
King began selling the historic treasures in the 1950’s, and the unique mix of history and geological data has them still selling well in today’s markets. The Benezett Store in Elk County is a good place to find one, and popular selling periods include the elk rutting season and Christmas shopping.
The maps are published by the Clearfield Historical Society.
King was named one of Clearfield County’s “significant people” in a book by Richard Hughes about the history of the county. King worked as a history professor on the DuBois campus of Penn State University from 1946 to 1977.
King’s maps began as a project to fill time while he was not working on-campus. He sold 200,000 maps by the 1970’s. King was known for his talents in painting, writing and sketching, as well as a generous sense of humor.
His maps were all done by hand, as they began in the era before computers. King passed away in 2004, but his maps’ copyrights were acquired by the Clearfield County Historical Society to keep them available.
If anyone is interested in purchasing one, visit www.pa-mag.com/kingmaps.
