Map Seminar: Mapping American Expansion
October 31-November 1, 2025 Winston-Salem, NCMap Seminar
Mapping American Expansion

A Map of the British Empire in America, Henry Popple, Cartographer, London, Great Britain, 1733, Hand-colored engraving, Library Purchase Fund (Acc. 4206).
October 31-November 1, 2025
As a young nation emerged, Americans quickly turned their attention to the West, continuing to expand westward in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with the Louisiana Purchase, Mexican Cession, and other land deals. As they did so, they utilized maps to chart their course and realize their vision of an expanded America.
Please plan to join us in Winston-Salem or online for a two-day seminar focused on westward expansion. Participants will engage in two days of lectures, including a keynote address by Zack Fleming, the Geography Geek, as well as opportunities to tour the Moravian Archives Vaults and view maps from national and international dealers during a map fair.
The seminar will include a map fair, featuring map dealers:
Arader Galleries
Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps
Boston Rare Maps
Clive A. Burden Ltd.
Daniel Crouch Rare Books
Old Print Shop
__________
This seminar is generously sponsored by
Carol Holcomb (In Memory of Frank Holcomb)
Judy and Jay Lester
__________
REGISTRATION (Please click the links below to register or call 336-721-7328.)
—
Individual Ticket | $395.00 | |
In person registration includes the keynote lecture and reception, participation in the Map Exhibition, pastry breakfasts, coffee breaks, lunches, all lectures proposed on the agenda, and an admission ticket to Old Salem Museums & Gardens. In-person attendees will also receive access to the recordings of the lectures after the program concludes. | ||
10/30 Moravian Archives Vault Tour | Free | |
This specialty Vault Tour hosted by the Moravian Archives Southern Province will focus on the map collection and feature highlighted items such as the Wachovia Tract maps; mapmaking and surveying educational materials from the 18th century on, and works of local mapmakers such as Christian Gottlieb Reuter, Ludwig Meinung, and others. The tour will include information about the history of the Moravian Archives; how the map collection is being digitized; and much more. Tours will be led by Assistant Director, Sabrina Garity, and last approximately an hour and a half.
Both Vault Tours will be limited to 25 people each. We expect that both tours will sell out, so please register at your earliest convenience for one time slot only! Tour only available to those registered for Map Seminar. |
||
10/31 Moravian Archives Vault Tour | Free | |
This specialty Vault Tour hosted by the Moravian Archives Southern Province will focus on the map collection and feature highlighted items such as the Wachovia Tract maps; mapmaking and surveying educational materials from the 18th century on, and works of local mapmakers such as Christian Gottlieb Reuter, Ludwig Meinung, and others. The tour will include information about the history of the Moravian Archives; how the map collection is being digitized; and much more. Tours will be led by Assistant Director, Sabrina Garity, and last approximately an hour and a half.
Both Vault Tours will be limited to 25 people each. We expect that both tours will sell out, so please register at your earliest convenience for one time slot only! Tour only available to those registered for Map Seminar. |
||
Virtual Registration | Free | |
Virtual registration includes live access to the lectures, as well as access to the recordings after the program concludes. |
*Please note that members of the Frank L. Horton Society receive priority registration privileges, as well as a discount on their tickets. To receive your Frank L. Horton Society discount, please be sure you register and/or sign in with your Old Salem Museums & Gardens username and password. If you would like to join the Frank L. Horton Society, or if you would like to learn more, please click here.
SPEAKERS
Robert Leath, Executive Director, Edenton Historical Commission
Zack Fleming, Owner, The Geography Geek
Ashley Baynton-Williams, Author, The Curious Map Book
Johanna Brown, Chief Curator and Director of Collections, Old Salem Museums & Gardens
Wes Brown, Independent Scholar
Mike Buehler, Owner, Boston Rare Maps
Sabrina Garity, Assistant Director, Moravian Archives for the Southern Province
JC McElveen, Independent Scholar
Katie McKinney, Curator of Maps and Prints, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Susan Schulten, Professor of History, University of Denver
Chet Van Duzer, Board Member of the Lazarus Project, University of Rochester
James Harkins, Director of Public Services, Texas Genera Land Office Archives and Records Program
Rodney Kite-Powell, Director, The Touchton Map Library
Richard Pegg, Director, The Barry MacLean Map Collection
_
PROGRAM
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30
3:30 pm | Vault Tour at the Moravian Archives Pre-registration required. Registration for the conference as a whole is required to attend this. |
–
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31
8:45 am | Doors open and breakfast begins | |
9:15 am | Welcome and Introduction of Moderator, Robert Leath | |
9:25 am | Chet Van Duzer: Map Beasts: Animals on Early Modern Maps | |
10:15 am | Coffee Break | |
10:45 am | Ashley Baynton-Williams: Southern Engravers and Failed Map Publishing Projects | |
11:30 am | Mike Buehler: Where the %&$# is Polypotamia? Jefferson’s Vision for the Old Northwest | |
12:00 pm | Lunch | |
1:00 pm | Sabrina Garity: Oh The Places You Couldn’t Go: Mapping What They Didn’t Know | |
1:25 pm | Johanna Brown: 19th Century Inventory of Moravian Maps | |
2:00 pm | Break | |
2:20 pm | Katie McKinney: Preserving and Expanding the Union: The Eagle Map of the United States | |
3:30 pm | Vault Tour at the Moravian Archives Pre-registration required. Registration for the conference as a whole is required to attend this. |
|
3-5:00 pm | Map Exhibition Featuring: Arader Galleries, Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps, Boston Rare Maps, Clive A. Burden Ltd., Daniel Crouch Rare Books, Old Print Shop |
|
5-6:30 pm | Keynote Reception | |
6:30 pm | Zack Fleming (The Geography Geek): Keynote: A Love Letter to Old Maps & Alexander Von Humboldt’s Role in Western Expansion |
–
SATURDAY, November 1
9:00 am | Doors Open & Breakfast |
|
10: 00 am | Johanna Brown: New to the Collection | |
10:15 am | Robert Leath: Reflections on Day 1 & the Map Collection at Hayes Farm | |
10:50 am | Coffee Break | |
11:10 am | Richard Pegg: The Barry MacLean Map Collection | |
11:40 am | Rodney Kite-Powell: The Touchton Map Collection | |
12:10 pm | Lunch | |
1:15 pm | James Harkins: The Frank and Carol Holcomb Map Collection | |
1:45 pm | Wesley Brown: How the Explorations of Pike, Long & the Spanish put Colorado on the Map | |
2:30 pm | Break | |
2:45 pm | Susan Schulten: Westward Expansion, the Secession Crisis, and the Creation of Colorado Territory | |
3:30 pm | JC McElveen: The 1864 Sand Creek Massacre | |
4:15 pm | Open House at MESDA |
–
TRAVEL DETAILS
–
–
Fairfield Inn & Suites Winston-Salem Downtown | ||
125 South Main St Winston-Salem, NC 27101 1-336-714-2800 |
||
Group Name: MESDA Map Seminar | ||
Last day to book: September 29th | ||
–
Other recommended hotels: |
||
The Zevely Inn Bed and Breakfast 803 South Main Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 1-336-748-9299 |
CANCELLATION POLICY
INCLEMENT WEATHER