Indiana History Celebrated with Maps

Map of the Month:  Heroes of the American Revolution

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) has a “Map of the Month” exhibit in the windows on the second floor of Bracken Library featuring a unique map from the collection.  For 2016, each map will be related to Indiana history as a celebration of the state’s bicentennial anniversary on December 11.

The “Map of the Month” for June is Revolutionary Friends: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette.  This map was created by the GRMC in collaboration with a social studies teaching methods class.  Students in Dr. Dorshell Stewart’s Social Science 397 class are learning to create maps based on popular children’s books.  This map was created using locations mentioned in the book by the same name by Selena Castrovilla.  (The youth book is available from the Educational Technology and Resources Collection in the lower level of Bracken Library).

The Marquis de Lafayette became a hero during the Revolutionary War.  The native of France volunteered to help Americans fight for independence.  Lafayette returned to the United States in 1824 and visited every state in the new Union.  Hundreds of places are named Lafayette in his honor, including Lafayette, Indiana.  The city was platted and named during the Marquis de Lafayette’s tour, although he never visited the city.

The map is available in digital format from the Ball State University Libraries’ Cardinal Scholar and the original paper map may be circulated from the GRMC.  (Other maps in the children’s book series include maps about Babe Ruth, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Blackwell, the Underground Railroad, and the Japanese internment camps of World War II).

 For more information about using maps in the classroom or in the study of Indiana history, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.