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Manuscript map of Wrentham, Mass., October 1725

Manuscript map of Wrentham, Mass., October 1725 Pen and ink

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    The manuscript map of Wrentham by James Blake, Jr. shows roads, residences, mills, hills, rivers, ponds, boundaries, and the location of a few trees in October 1725. The scale of the map is "40 Gunters Chains or 160 rods to an inch." A unit of measurement used by surveyors, one Gunter's [occasionally spelled Gunther's] chain equals 66 feet (or 22 yards). Four rods are equivalent to one Gunter's chain, therefore a rod equals 16.5 feet.

    The orientation of this map presents some challenges for users. The north point of the compass rose points toward the bottom of the map. The Charles River and the Stop River are major features in the north and east areas of the map. The map identifies the towns bordering Wrentham in 1725: Medway, Medfield, Walpole, Dorchester, and Bellingham. The map identifies a few towns adjacent to these bordering towns: Holliston, Attleborough, and Norton.