Shoreline's environment in 1859

Interpretive map of Shoreline's environment in 1859.

This map is on display at the Shoreline Historical Museum

Slightly blurry close up of the map's inset legend

Ronald Bog, back in the day! :)

A few photos of an interpretive map that is on display at the Shoreline Historical Museum. Here is some information that is posted next to the map:

In 1855, a survey was taken of the land throughout North King County. Carlton's Register Books record the trees and their sizes in inches and the types of undergrowth at the juncture of section lines and along township lines, as well as noting aspects such as burned areas, wetlands and trails. The plant species and tree sizes shown on the map are those that the surveyor observed at the juncture of each section. Plants were recorded by their common name. The actual species names are based on what is known to have existed in the area at the time, and are deduced from the surveyor's records.

The native people living in the area traditionally kept areas in the forest open by controlled burning. The purpose of this was to create meadows where edible plants could be cultivated and berries encouraged, and to which small game would be attracted. Evidence of these burns were recorded by Carlton (1855-1859), and the method of cultivation corroborated by local Native Americans' testimony during the 1920's.

Research by David Buerge, interpretive map by Todd Gamble.

Click here for other posts about The Shoreline Historical Museum.