1888 Rogers Cyanotype Map of Ormond Beach, Florida

This is an 1888 P. D. Rogers first Florida Land Boom map of the subdivision of Harwood, Volusia County, Florida. The map illustrates Spanish land grants to James Ormond (Today, this part of Florida is part of the town of Ormond Beach, named after the Ormond family, which operated a plantation in this area in the early 1800s.

A Closer Look

While this map depicts part of Volusia County, the only recognizable landmark is the Ormond Tomb, located near the intersection of Harwood Avenue and Osmond Avenue on this map. None of the streets illustrated here exist today, and it is unclear if the community was ever built as presented here. Stands of pine, live oak, spruce, and oak are labeled, along with hardwood hammocks. The whole area is divided into rectangular lots of nearly uniform size.

Ormond Grant

James Ormond I was a Scot who had previously owned and captained an armed brig, the Somerset. He came to Florida from the Bahamas along with a group of others at the invitation of the Spanish government. He and his family settled on a plantation he called Damietta. Ormond died after being shot by an escaped slave from the nearby Williams plantation. Ormond's widow, brother, and son Emanuel returned to Scotland after Ormond's death, where they lived with James Ormond II. James Ormond II was born in Scotland during one of his father's many voyages and had never met his father. Ormond II lost his business in the late 1820s, and to avoid debtors' prison, he was forced to flee Scotland. He and his mother and brother Emanuel went to live on the Damietta plantation. Ormond II died on September 30, 1829, and his grave is preserved in James Ormond Tomb Park in Ormond Beach. After James Ormond II died, his son, James Ormond III, sold his slaves and abandoned Damietta. The family spread out across the southeastern United States. When the Seminole War broke out in 1836, Ormond III returned to Florida to fight. Ormond III was wounded four times but survived and returned to Charleston. He also served in the American Civil War, guarding federal prisoners at Andersonville. The modern town, Ormond, is named in memory of this family.

McHardy and Kunner Grants

Robert McHardy, also a Scot, was a surveyor who had a grant of 1,000 acres near the Tomoka River. McHardy was part of the group that came from the Bahamas, as was James Ormond. We have been unable to find any information about Mary Kunner.

Cyanotype: Why so Blue?

Cyanotype is a photo-reprographic technique developed in 1842 by the British astronomer John Herschel (1792 - 1871). Sometimes called a 'sunprint', the technique employs a solution of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, which painted on white paper or cloth, reacts when exposed to sunlight to dye the object a brilliant blue. Areas blocked from ultraviolet exposure remain undyed and white. Herschel developed the technique to reproduce his astronomical notes, but others quickly realized that any object capable of blocking light could be used to quickly and easily create a cyanotype image. By the late 19th century, the process had become popular with designers, military personnel, architects, and engineers (blueprints), who used cheap and effective techniques to reproduce images quickly in the field. Cyanotyping is limited in that only a single copy can be made at one time, so it was only practical for short-term fieldwork. It is also of note that cyanotypes remain extremely reactive to light and, over time, fade or degrade, making them extremely ephemeral. The process fell out of fashion in most places by the 1920s but remains in use in some parts of the world, such as India and Nepal, to this day.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by P. D. Rogers, a civil engineer from Daytona, Florida. This is the only known surviving example.