Historical
Land Use Maps
Eastern United States, 1850-1950
James
Dyer
Professor of Geography
Professor of Geography
These maps represent an "appendix" of sorts for our article:
McEwan, R.W., J.M. Dyer, and N. Pederson. 2011. Multiple interacting ecosystem drivers: toward an encompassing hypothesis of oak forest dynamics across eastern North America. Ecography 34: 244-256 .The maps below depict conversion of forest to agriculture (and subsequent reforestation) in the eastern U.S., 1850-1950. Data are derived from the U.S. Census, and utilize Historical United States County Boundary Files (HUSCO 1790 - 1999). (Figure 4 in the article utilized the same data sources.) Land use data in the census became more "granular" in the 20th century, but these maps were designed to show changing conditions over time. They represent just a sample, so if you have questions about additional possibilities, or about the development of the maps, feel free to contact me: dyer@ohio.edu .
Series 1: "Improved" land (cleared woodland on farms), as a percentage of county land area
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Series 2: Ohio - Percent of
county in farmland, and farm land use
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Series 3: New England - Percent of county in farmland, and farm land use
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Last updated May 2020
Back to Main Page