Historical society offers 1855 map prints

Ohio's Butler County Historical Society says it is offering prints of a rare 1855 map of the county created by surveyor John Crane.

Officials said the prints, made by photographer Patrick Brown, are part of the society's efforts to preserve the map in a way that would benefit historical research, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Monday.

Michael Riesenberg, executive director of the Butler County Historical Society, said the map is detailed enough that current residents would be able to use it to determine who owned their land in 1855. He said historians are satisfied that the map is accurate "because the county officials at the time signed off on it."

The item is one of only three surviving copies of the Crane map. The other two copies are at the Library of Congress in Washington and The Smith Library of Regional History in Oxford, Ohio.

Thomas Stander, who served as president of the historical society when the map was obtained from a resident several years ago, said the map was the first county map to be drawn in full color.