Bradford -- James Wilson, Globe Maker

Bradford -- James Wilson, Globe Maker is a Vermont historical marker in Bradford, Orange County.

I-91 Rest Area in Bradford, Bradford

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100 yards behind this marker is the site where James Wilson had his home and workshop. Between 1808 and 1810 Wilson made and sold the first terrestrial and celestial globes in North America. Wilson was a farmer and blacksmith b. 1736 in Londonderry N.H. who moved to Bradford in 1795. He taught himself astronomy and geography, studied with Amos Doolittle in CT to learn engraving, skills he needed to make globes. Wilson died in Bradford in 1855 at the age of 92.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1740 · 43. Novi Belgii, in America Septentrionali. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1781 · An Accurate map of New Hampshire in New England, from a late survey (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1795 · Vermont. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1797 · Vermont. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1876 · Plan of Orange County, Vermont. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

43. Novi Belgii, in America Septentrionali, 1740, covering the location of Bradford -- James Wilson, Globe Maker, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — 43. Novi Belgii, in America Septentrionali, 1740, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

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Marker data: Vermont Division for Historic Preservation

Bradford -- James Wilson, Globe Maker

Historical maps covering this location

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