Bradford -- James Wilson, Globe Maker

Orange County · I-91 Rest Area in Bradford, Bradford

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.

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Marker data: Vermont Division for Historic Preservation

Bradford -- James Wilson, Globe Maker

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