Map of West Virginia: Showing the Distribution of Forests is a luminous 1882 state portrait conceived by Charles S. Sargent for the Department of the Interior’s Census Office and printed by Julius Bien & Co. Lith. A disciplined palette parcels the mountains into zones of pine, spruce, and hardwood, each hue keyed in a lucid legend that makes forestry legible at a glance. Contour-like isolines impart depth to the terrain, guiding the eye along watershed divides and across the dramatic wall of the Alleghenies. County boundaries, a forthright title block, and a practical scale combine administrative order with scientific intent. More than a guide for timber assessors, this is a synoptic reading of a mountainous commonwealth, captured at a turning point in its industrial ascent.

Charles Sprague Sargent—pioneering dendrologist and early advocate for conservation—used the Tenth Census to quantify America’s forests with unprecedented rigor, and this map distills that program’s West Virginian evidence. His method translates field reports and local knowledge into broad, intelligible categories that balance accuracy with cartographic economy. The collaboration with Julius Bien, the era’s master of color lithography for federal surveys, yields striking clarity: crisp lines, even color layers, and legible symbology that reward both study and display. As policy tool and scientific diagram, it occupied the practical frontier where statistics met landscape, guiding decisions in logging, transportation, and stewardship while sharpening public understanding of a fragile resource.

Ecology and physiography braid tightly across this sheet. Broad hardwoods cloak the Ohio River lowlands and the dissected plateaus of the center, while pine traces the sandstone ridges that stair-step west from the Allegheny Front and ripple through the Ridge-and-Valley. High on Cheat Mountain and around Spruce Knob, spruce enclaves crown the coldest summits, their distribution picked out in concentrated pools of color. The isolines read like a relief model, outlining the hinge where the state tips from Potomac headwaters to the Monongahela, Kanawha, and New River basins. Major rivers—the Ohio, Kanawha, Monongahela, Gauley, Elk, Greenbrier, and Potomac—slice corridors that shaped both movement and milling, while the precise county lattice situates these natural systems within civic boundaries.

Against this physiographic stage, the map positions West Virginia’s rising towns and corridors of trade. Charleston anchors the Kanawha valley’s hardwood reserves; Huntington, born of rail and river, channels timber down the Ohio; Wheeling and Parkersburg stand as older river entrepôts; Morgantown and Fairmont, on the Monongahela, knit upland forests to northern industry; and Weirton marks the narrow Panhandle’s conduit to Pittsburgh markets. Areas of reduced forest cover are candidly shaded where axes, farms, and mines converged along bottoms and tilled benches. The calibrated scale and county detail allowed lumbermen to estimate tracts and routes, even as reformers read the same symbology as an early warning, hinting at the costs of unchecked extraction.

Historically, the sheet captures a moment just before the region’s most intensive cutover, preserving a baseline against which later transformation can be measured. Its color logic leads the eye from rich cove hardwoods to wind-scoured spruce crowns, while the isolines translate steepness into strategy—revealing why some slopes stayed wooded and others yielded to rail and saw. As a federal instrument rendered with artisanal finesse, it bridges science and statecraft, enumerating natural wealth even as it implied its finitude. Today it stands as a primary document in the intertwined industrial and environmental histories of West Virginia: a clarifying map of forests, a measured argument for their value, and a testament to mountains that shape every human design.

Cities and towns on this map

• Charleston
• Huntington
• Morgantown
• Parkersburg
• Wheeling
• Weirton
• Fairmont

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Legend indicating types of trees (pine, spruce, hardwood)
• Isolines depicting topographical depth
• Areas of reduced forest cover
• Color coding for easy differentiation between forest types
• Title block with the map’s purpose
• Scale for distance and area context
• Cartographic details showing county lines and geographic features

Historical and design context

• Created in 1882 as a color lithograph printed by Julius Bien & Co. Lith.
• Compiled by Charles S. Sargent under the Department of the Interior’s Census Office; notable for late‑19th‑century forestry and conservation work.
• Vibrant coloration delineates different forest types; isolines enhance the topographical depiction.
• Emphasizes forest distribution tied to the lumber industry and ecological conservation.
• Documents West Virginia’s natural resources and the lumber industry’s impact, illuminating economic development in the late 19th century.
• Focuses on the state of West Virginia and its varied forest cover.

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

For most orders, delivery time is about 3 working days. Personalised and customised products take longer, as I have to do the personalisation and send it to you for approval, which usually takes 1 or 2 days.

Please note that very large framed orders usually take longer to make and deliver. 

If you need your order to arrive by a certain date, please contact me before you order so that we can find the best way of making sure you get your order in time.

I print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world. This means your order will be made locally, which cuts down on delivery time and ensures that it won't be damaged during delivery. You'll never pay customs or import duty, and we'll put less CO2 into the air.

All of my maps and art prints are well packaged and sent in a rugged tube if unframed, or surrounded by foam if framed.

I try to send out all orders within 1 or 2 days of receiving your order, though some products (like face masks, mugs and tote bags) can take longer to make.

If you select Express Delivery at checkout your order we will prioritise your order and send it out by 1-day courier (Fedex, DHL, UPS, Parcelforce).

Next Day delivery is also available in some countries (US, UK, Singapore, UAE) but please try to order early in the day so that we can get it sent out on time.

Read my full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

Se non sei soddisfatto del tuo ordine per qualsiasi motivo, contattami per un rimborso senza problemi. Si prega di consultare la nostra politica di reso e rimborso per ulteriori informazioni.

Sono molto sicuro che ti piacerà la tua mappa restaurata o la stampa d'arte. Lo faccio dal 1984. Sono un venditore Etsy a 5 stelle. Ho venduto decine di migliaia di mappe e stampe d'arte e ho oltre 5.000 recensioni reali a 5 stelle.

Utilizzo un processo unico per restaurare mappe e opere d'arte che richiede molto tempo e lavoro. Trovare le mappe e le illustrazioni originali può richiedere mesi. Utilizzo tecnologia all'avanguardia e incredibilmente costosa per scannerizzare e restaurarle. Di conseguenza, garantisco che le mie mappe e stampe d'arte siano superiori alle altre - ecco perché posso offrire un rimborso senza problemi.

Quasi tutte le mie mappe e stampe d'arte sembrano fantastiche a grandi dimensioni (200 cm, 6,5 piedi+) e posso anche incorniciarle e consegnarle a te, tramite un corriere speciale per oggetti di grandi dimensioni. Contattami per discutere delle tue esigenze specifiche.