{"exhibit":{"title":"Mapping Champaign County: The Legacy of Alexander Bowman  ","description":"<h5><em>Credit: Ryan Chaglasian, Chloe Miller, Sara Bennett, and Sherrie Bowser<\/em><\/h5>\n<p><span>After its founding in 1833, Champaign County\u2019s population boomed in the 1850s with the arrival of the Illinois Central Railroad in West Urbana. The population grew from 2,600 in 1850 to 14,600 in 1860. Alexander Bowman was one of these new arrivals. In 1857, the architect and surveyor arrived in West Urbana from New York to change his fortunes. By 1858, he had created a map of Urbana and the newly developed West Urbana he was selling within the community. He followed up this venture with the 1863 Champaign County plat map. Bowman\u2019s maps remain a significant cartographical landmark for the county over 160 years later because they capture this unique moment of massive growth and the future aspirations of the young towns.<\/span><\/p>","credits":"Credit: Ryan Chaglasian and Sherrie Bowser","featured":0,"public":1,"theme":"","theme_options":null,"slug":"bowmanmap","added":"2022-10-16 11:36:54","modified":"2025-04-17 14:41:05","owner_id":56286,"use_summary_page":0,"cover_image_file_id":624,"id":11},"item":{"item_type_id":1,"collection_id":15,"featured":0,"public":1,"added":"2022-10-12 15:33:13","modified":"2022-11-02 11:49:50","owner_id":56286,"id":550}}