On Mar 2, 2005, at 1:50 PM, MARY NIENOW wrote:
> Hello fellow list members,
>
> I am curious if anyone has done any work in Competing Destination
> Models (or gravity models) within an Archaeological/ Historical
> Archaeological setting?
O'Mara (citation below) worked out a distance model for courthouse
placement that works well. Gristmill catchment areas is another that
works and seems to work going the other way by being able to do rough
settlement areas based upon mill location. Another Ironhead and I are
working on what turns out to be a tetrapodal model for iron furnace
placement in VA. Still in working stages.
The railroad info that Babson provided should be inspected against
region. It was not possible to go more than 200 miles on any one line
in the ante-bellum South without having to change lines due to gauge
width differences. The North was an entirely different story and
obviously after standardization in the later 19th century it was a moot
issue.
>
> Similarly, has anyone heard of using Institutional Diversity at a
> settlement as a gage of settlement success?
>
> Finally, I am working with Historic Period (1850-1870) distance
> factors, has anyone done any research into the distance an
> individual/family/etc. can travel in one day within a Frontier Setting
> - based on historical accounts?
O'Mara has info on that. But, it depends upon whether one is spending
the night or not. William Byrd II regularly travelled from Westover to
Williamsburg, VA, a distance of ±30 miles in the early 18th century on
horseback. O'Mara's research showed that courthouses were placed
centrally in counties such that a one way distance of no more than
15-20 miles was the norm. Variants were where the court had been
established on a river early on wherein it usually but not always
stayed put. Prince George County, VA had 4 locations over time.
Lyle Browning
O’Mara, James
1983 An Historical Geography of Urban System Development:
Tidewater Virginia in the 18th Century. Geographical Monographs #13.
Department of Geography, Atkinson College, York University, Downsview,
Ontario, Canada.
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