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Osgood Carleton made several detailed maps of Maine using local measurements and descriptions by surveyors like Ephraim Ballard.

By 1799, much of lower Maine was divided into townships. White settlement moved up from Massachusetts and over from New Hampshire. People settled most thickly along the seacoast and navigable rivers like the Kennebec. Hallowell and Augusta were separate towns on this map, having split two years earlier in 1797. Notice that Fort Western, one of the stores where Martha traded, was shown.

Ships could sail from the sea up the Kennebec River as far inland as Augusta. The river was tidal, and ships calculated when to sail based on the tides and winds. In her diary, Martha described goods and people arriving and leaving by ship.