City of Albany
by Mary Ann RoqueAlbany, NYC, USA
1765
This image presents an intriguing yet puzzling perspective on the Albany landscape. It is dominated by a proposed (and never built) stockade that would box in the community on three sides. It shows terrain and landmarks of strategic value.
The map also shows the "Remains of an Old Fort" (Fort Orange) in the lower left hand corner; a knoll within the stockade above today's South Pearl Street we believe is the legendary "Gallows Hill"; the first visualization of a dock extending out from today's Exchange Street (Mark Lane); a number of unidentified military structures; and a greatly expanded (yet labeled as "proposed") stockade.
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With the explosion of cartography in the 17th and 18th century, also known as the Age of Discovery, came a surge in European explorers and settlers vying for territory. In this time, Mary Ann Roque decided to carry on her husband’s prominent London map business, and became a celebrated cartographer in her own right. One of the reasons she has largely gone unnoticed in history is that women mapmakers of her time often used their initials to attribute their work, in order to hide their gender from the public eye. Nevertheless, her contributions to the art and science of mapmaking cannot be overstated.
