Map lovers, here is something that you would want to take notice of: The Map of the Square and Stationary Earth. This map was drawn by Professor Orlando Ferguson in Hot Springs, South Dakota way back in 1893. Today, there seems to be only one in existence – at least the only intact one.
The idea of a square and stationary Earth is totally outdated and we all know that this map is so far from being accurate. That fact makes the map a novelty, though, and being the only intact one left, it is rather valuable. The current owner is Don Homuth, a former North Dakota senator. He has had the map for a long time, not realizing that it is the only one of its kind. He only found out about this when he got in touch with the Library of Congress with the intent of donating the map.
Without further ado, here is the Map of the Square and Stationary Earth – although the Earth is still circular, only set in a square frame!
For a better view of the details, here is the map in full size. Don’t forget to take a close look at the images in the outermost parts of the map. Prof. Ferguson has placed his arguments against a spherical Earth in these locations, and as wrong as they may be, they are admirably drawn. And one can’t deny that the men clinging on to a speeding Earth for dear life is hilarious.
I wonder if reprints can be made? This would look good on the wall of my home library. (My imaginary one, that is.)
As a Christian I love to read stuff like this. Their interpretations of the bible are quite funny and yet so well intentioned.
Don Homuth here — as of yesterday, two more known copies of the map have popped up, due to the publicity. One is in Pierre, SD and the other in California. Both are somewhat damaged, so the one shown remains the only one that is thus far known to have survived intact. It would be great to find the book that went with it. That’s probably in a trunk in someone’s attic or barn. But maybe…. A copy of a 92-page (!) lecture about the square earth by Orlando Ferguson also surfaced yesterday, and that is being scanned and may be available sometime next week.
Do you know if the lecture got published and where can I find it on the net?
Thank you.
There is an original of this map at the Adams Museum in Deadwood South Dakota-
Fascinating! Had I known that, when my wife and I were going through that area in May (we were driving a 1959 Cadillac from the Left Coast to Minnesota), we would have stopped in to see it. As it was, we did stop at the local museum in Hot Springs, SD and looked at the copy there. It is glued to a piece of cardboard and in really quite poor condition. But my wife and I may well be two of the few who have looked at two actual originals. Just en passant, I have sent a full-size digital copy to the museum in Hot Springs, along with a CD with a 65 Mb file for them to use. And we joined the museum. I have also arranged to have an archive-quality copy of Ferguson’s book made, from an unopened (the pages were still uncut at the top) copy found in a box in the local library. They had three copies of Ferguson’s obituary, and I have those. We also visited the local cemetery and after some searching found the family gravesite plot, and took the appropriate pictures. It is our intention to present the copy of the book properly bound, a CD of it, the three obituaries and photos of the gravesite to the LOC as well. That should end the process, and at that point the LOC will have all the information available on a matter of nearly no historical importance. But one which has been great fun withal.
Hot Springs is a picturesque little place, well worth a visit. The local architecture is wonderful! The docents at the local museum are very nice to talk with. When we arrived, they were celebrating the acquisition of a button collection comprising some 26,000 items collected by one lady over nearly her entire lifetime.
A visit back in time well worth taking.