M. A. Miller's sketchbook of 1860 Corinth: The built environment of a Mississippi boomtown.

摘要

In 1860, M. A. Miller, a Civil and Mining Engineer then living in Memphis, Tennessee, went to Corinth, Mississippi and made a detailed, sixteen page sketchbook showing the built environment of the entire town. Exactly why Miller made this sketchbook is unknown but there are three possible reasons that can be gathered from a close examination of the document. The first may be that he planned to produce a "bird's eye view map" of the town; the second may be that he planned to produce architectural designs based on what he sketched; and the third may be that he simply sketched the town as a leisure-time activity. By comparing his sketches with existing photographs, engravings, and other drawings, it can be determined that these sketches are very accurate. This sketchbook provides unique and invaluable picture of an antebellum, railroad boomtown in Mississippi.