Map Seminar: Mapping American Expansion

October 31-November 1, 2025 Winston-Salem, NC

Map 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

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This seminar is generously sponsored by
Carol Holcomb (In Memory of Frank Holcomb)
Judy and Jay Lester

With generous support from 
A Collector of Maps of the Region

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REGISTRATION (Please click the links below to register or call 336-721-7328.)

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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.

Limited number of scholarships available to emerging museum professionals & students! Award includes a $200 travel stipend and registration for in-person ticket. Please apply by August 1st at the link attached here!

*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

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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.

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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

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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

 


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TRAVEL DETAILS

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The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts is one of the museums at Old Salem Museums & Gardens.  MESDA is located in the Frank L. Horton Museum Center at 924 S. Main Street, Winston-Salem, NC  27101.  Seminar lectures will take place in the James A. Gray Auditorium at the Old Salem Visitor Center at 900 Old Salem Road, Winston-Salem, NC  27101.

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Seminar Hotels:

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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  
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Other recommended hotels:

  
The Zevely Inn Bed and Breakfast
803 South Main Street
Winston-Salem, NC  27101
1-336-748-9299		  
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CANCELLATION POLICY

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Registrants who cancel at least two weeks prior to a program will receive a full refund minus a $50 handling fee.  No refunds will be given for cancellations that occur less than two weeks prior to the event.
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INCLEMENT WEATHER

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The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts follows the inclement weather policies of Old Salem Museums & Gardens.  When OSMG is closed, the museum is closed as well.  Should this occur, the seminar will be cancelled and refunds will be issued.  For your own protection, please consider travel insurance to cover fees involved with cancelling hotel reservations.