University of Mary Washington senior Brooke Prevedel and Professor of Geography Steve Hanna spent more than 100 hours making the map at the center of a new Fredericksburg Area Museum exhibit.
“I spent most of my time hunched over my drawing tablet looking at it in extra blown-up proportions,” said Prevedel, a historic preservation and classical archaeology double major who’s earning a certificate in GIS.
High-tech tools like her tablet, and computer programs and apps, helped the pair create the map, which shows the 1824 journey of the Marquis de Lafayette through America’s 24 states. But meticulous attention to detail – like the mountain ranges Prevedel cranked out by hand for a fountainpen feel – tell a story they hope will take visitors back to the 19th century.
“It’s exactly what I was hoping for, but I think it’s even cooler than I imagined,” FAM Curator of African American History and Special Projects Gaila Sims said of the map, part of a two-year exhibit titled “Lafayette’s World: Revolutionary Ideals and the Limits of Freedom.” Read more.