1901 Boothby / Rand Avery View of Northern New England, Quebec

An impressive 1901 view of northern New England and Quebec, prepared by F. E. Boothby and printed by Rand Avery, displaying the lines of the Maine Central Railroad. These lines operated steady freight and passenger services, carrying timber and other resources south to the populous coast and bringing vacationers from urban areas northwards during the summer.

A Closer Look

Adopting an unusual perspective, this view is oriented towards the northeast, with Montreal, the St. Lawrence River, and Quebec City at left and Rockland and Portland, Maine, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Lake Winnipesaukee at right. The White Mountains take prominence at center, likely as this map and its accompanying book were intended for tourists. Mount Washington and other White Mountains peaks are labeled with elevations, while others are marked with numbers corresponding to an index at bottom-left. Thick black lines trace the routes of the Maine Central and associated railways, along with a ferry service on Sebago and Long Lakes. Other railways are traced with thinner black lines and abbreviated. Lakes, ponds, cities, towns, islands, and other features are illustrated and labeled throughout.

The Maine Central Railroad

The Maine Central Railroad was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862, merging the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad with the Penobscot and Kennebec Railroad. Over the next several decades, it expanded to link up with Portland, Maine, where it met the Boston and Maine Railroad. (The Maine Central was initially built with a wider 'Canadian' or 'Portland' gauge and had to retrofit its line to facilitate such connections with other railways). Portland became a great meeting point of railways (used for both freight and passengers) heading northwards into northern New England and Canada, and therefore was a logical place for the company to move its main office. By the late 19th century, the railroad's lines extended to New Brunswick and Newfoundland. In 1888, the company leased the Portland and Ogdensburg Railway, which ran through the White Mountains via Crawford Notch to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where it linked with the Canadian Pacific-owned Southeastern Railway, providing a connection to Montreal. Two years later, it leased the Quebec Division, which connected the White Mountains and the Quebec Central Railway, terminating in Quebec City. Although the company ran into the same problems as other American railroads in the mid-20th century, it was able to remain independent for longer due to more steady demand for its freight services. Still, it was forced to sell its operations to Guilford Transportation Industries (now Pan Am Railways) in 1981. Pan Am still operates some portions of the former network for freight purposes. At the same time, the Conway Scenic Railroad utilizes a portion for its heritage trains, including the distinctive Frankenstein Trestle through Crawford Notch (named for local artist Godfrey Frankenstein, not the literary character).

Publication History and Census

This view was prepared by F. E. Boothby, the General Manager of the railroad's General Offices in Portland, Maine, and printed by the Rand Avery Supply Company in Boston in 1901. Due to uncertainties over the title and the fact that it appeared in a booklet (Through the White Mountains from Portland by the Sea to the St. Lawrence River, Quebec and Montreal), the cataloging of this map is not entirely consistent. We do not locate any examples of the map independently cataloged, while the booklet is recorded at the New York Public Library and the University of Connecticut. Both the map and book are quite scarce today.