Map/Chart > New England & Maine

Plan of the Town of Newport (uncolored)

A beautiful print, from the original copper plate of Des Barres’ 1781 Chart of the Town of Newport, Rhode Island, as published in the Atlantic Neptune.

Further Information

Identical in detail to the hand-coloured state of the chart (see Heritage Charts A103b), the original copy of this chart is in pristine condition, printed from the original copper, and was never hand-coloured. It includes page number '14*' engraved on the top right corner and was published by J.F.W Des Barres in 1781 as part of the Atlantic Neptune folio.

It is a recurring theme of many published charts of this time to depict, through the use of shadows, the Sun's position as being approximately South East. The land on this chart is hatched to show contours and includes shade on the ground under the trees with the sun in that position. An off-set border is drawn around the key to the Wharfs, Buildings and Streets of the town. Features of the town at that time are depicted here and it is worth noting the rope walks (a long straight narrow lane, or a covered pathway, where long strands of material were laid before being twisted into rope), the gardens (note the trend at the time for gardens laid-out in the shape of what may be taken to be a Union flag), the number of Churches including 3 Baptist Chapels reflective of the time when approximately 58% of the Narragansett and Rhode Island church-going population was Baptist, and finally the number of Windmills.

Of socio-economic interest are the names of the Wharf owners, seven of whom (Lopez, Overing, Rome, Redwood, Banister, Malbone & Pease) were listed by Charles Blaskowitz on his original survey of the region about 1770 which was completed for the Principle Farmers and land holders on Rhode Island (see Heritage Chart A108). That original chart was later redrawn and published by Faden in 1771. This 1781 chart also owes a great deal to the earlier Blaskowitz survey of the town, not least for the layout. Des Barres was criticized by some for lavishing too much attention on artistic detail, and this plan may well be a case in point. There are very few soundings and it is certainly unusual for the time for such attention to be paid to a town on its own.