ATLAS OF WARREN COUNTY & MAP READING

Maps are wonderful tools. They help people locate things that they want to find, and show them how to get there. However, no one map can show everything there is to see. This is why there are literally hundreds of maps that have been made of different parts of Warren County over the last two hundred years. Some maps show only one or two things, like where oil wells are located or what railroads run through the county. As things change, people create new maps.

We can use old maps to understand how the land used to look. In the following exercise, students will look at historic maps of Warren County and their own communities, and learn basic map reading skills.

MAP OF WARREN COUNTY

1. Look with your students at a map of Warren County.

2. Ask students the following questions, or create questions of your own.

Questions for Students:

1. Find and underline the name of the township in which you live.

2. Find and circle the name of the community in which you go to school.

3. Find and color (in blue) the Allegheny River. Where does it come into Warren County? Where does it leave?

4. Railroad tracks are represented by dark lines on the map. Can you find the P. & E.R.R. (Philadelphia & Erie Railroad) on this map? Can you color it in? What other railroad lines can you find running through Warren County in 1878?

MAP OF YOUR OWN COMMUNITY

1. Using an atlas, make a copy for students of a map of their own community.

2. Refer to the following sample map worksheets for Russell and Warren Borough, and create a map-reading worksheet for your own community.

Courtesy of the Warren County Historical Society