1802 Bradley Map of the Northern United States and Northwest Ordinance

This is a scarce and significant early 1802 postal route map of the northern parts of the United States illustrating postal routes and the five Jeffersonian states proposed by the Ordinance of 1789. The present example is the 1802 Jedidiah Morse issue of the northern part of Abraham Bradley's 1797 postal map of the United States – one of the most important maps in American history. It is one of the first American maps to extend west to the Mississippi River. It is also one of the first to address early colonization of the lands west of Pennsylvania, including Ohio.

Centered on Ohio's Connecticut Western Reserve, this map extends from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic, and From Lake Huron to Kentucky. While the eastern seaboard is interesting for its depiction of the nascent U.S. postal system, this map really comes to life west of Pennsylvania, where it illustrates the proposed Jeffersonian states of the Northwest Ordinance (1789). Although none of the states are named, just numbered, the preliminary borders of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are evident.

Early trade agreements and land settlement schemes are also noted. Among these are New Connecticut, also known as the Connecticut Western Reserve. This is a section of northeastern Ohio, rarely seen on maps, was ceded to Connecticut by King Charles II in exchange for Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania following the Yankee-Pennamite Wars. Connecticut gave up its claims to the Western Reserve in 1800. The claims were sold to the Connecticut Land Company, a group of speculators based in Suffield, Connecticut. Surveyors were sent out, under Moses Cleveland, to divided the reserve into township and found the city of Cleveland, here identified as 'New Salem.' The name was then changed to 'New Connecticut' as seen here.

Further south, the lands of the Ohio Company embrace the northern shore of the Ohio River between Marietta and the Grand Sandy River. The Ohio Company was a land speculation company based in Virginia. The Ohio Company received its royal charter in 1749. Settlement did ensue, but was not as profitable as might have been imagined. After the Northwest Ordinance, the Ohio Company lands became a district of Ohio. The Seven Ranges Townships, reflective of early survey efforts, appear just to the northeast.

The map further identifies various reserves, many of which would soon become the sites of major cities. These include Chicago, Rorias, Vincennes, Fort Wayne, Toledo, and Cincinnati, here identified as, 'Cincinnatus.' American Indian lands are also noted, particularly the Six Nations (Iroquois) on the eastern shores of Lake Erie, and the Chippewa near New Madrid.

The map exists in at least 2 states. In the first state, the title is slightly different, 'Northern Part' vs the present 2nd state, which reads, 'Northern Parts.' The two states are otherwise very similar.