What Maps Reveal

Through historic and contemporary maps of Marin County, What Maps Reveal presents a fascinating view of history, cultural strata, and stories from the past and present. Included in the exhibition is a map from 1892 based on the work of Marin’s second county surveyor, George Dodge, which shows indigenous place names, vast Mexican land grants, the dense ranches of Tomales and Bolinas, early towns and school districts, wetlands, and boat routes to San Francisco. Other featured maps include a 1915 map of Mount Tam and its vicinity that was carried in the pocket of a man who loved to walk between Mill Valley to Bolinas, with the paths he explored traced in red ink, as well as a contemporary map that is transformed by wearing 3-D glasses. What Maps Reveal demonstrates the astonishing cartographic accuracy of maps created from U.S. Coast and Geodetic Surveys in the late 1800s alongside the extraordinary perspectives offered by modern technology.