11. Maps of Shape-Note Singing Locations
Some of the best Sacred Harp and other traditional
singings are held in remote rural churches in the South, accessed by
secondary, even unpaved, roads. Clearly, good maps as well as good directions
(or unusually good GPS software) are needed to get to these singings and
many others around the nation.
Maps to Shape-Note
Singings, produced by Karen Willard and Tim Slattery. The
remarkable site on the Fasola Home Page contains two very high-quality
maps (large and small format) with driving directions and information
for each of many singing locations, with emphasis on the hard-to-find
locations in the rural South. As of November 2000, over 280 singings at
over 210 locations were included, and additional ones are being added as
work proceeds and as new singings are announced. Karen Willard has
researched and created the maps and driving directions, while Tim Slattery
has done CGI programming.
Map of
2004 Sacred Harp Singings, compiled by Will Fitzgerald.
A map of the U.S. showing circles where singings listed in the 2004 Minutes book took place. The
map is useful for showing roughly the locations of singings and areas
of the U.S. which sadly have no singings.
Official County Maps showing these roads and some of
the churches themselves are available at low cost from the state
transportation departments. Checks should be made out to the
appropriate (State) Transportation Department. Note: The information
below was collected painstakingly quite a few years ago and is
no longer accurate, so phone first.
- Alabama: Write to Alabama Dept. of Transportation,
Attn. Map Sales, 1409 Coliseum Blvd., Room 109, Montgomery, AL 36130
(phone 334-242-6071). Three scales are available: 1 inch/mile (wall
size) for $2.30 per map, 1/2 inch/mile (most useful for traveling) for
$1.30 per map, and 1/4 inch/mile (magnifying glass needed) for $0.80 per
map. All prices are postpaid.
- Georgia: Write to the Georgia Dept. of
Transportation, Attn. Map Sales, 2 Capitol Square, Atlanta, GA 30334
(phone 404-656-5336). Only one scale is available: 1 inch/mile at $1.50
per map, postpaid.
- Mississippi: Write to Mississippi Dept. of
Transportation, Map Sales, P.O. Box 1850, Jackson, MS 39215 (phone
601-359-7045). Three sizes are available: 36" x 51" for $3.00 per map,
18" x 25" for $1.00 per map, and 12" x 17" for $0.25 per map. Add $4.00
for mailing.
- Florida: Write to Florida Transportation Dept.,
Map Sales, 605 Suwannee St., MS12, Tallahassee, FL 32399 (phone
904-488-9220). There is one scale: 1/2 inch/mile for $0.30 per map (18"
x 27") for most counties, including all in north Florida. No shipping
charge.
- Tennessee: Write to Tennessee Department of
Transportation, Map Sales Office, Suite 300, James K. Polk Bldg.,
Nashville, TN 37243-0345 (phone 615-741-2195). Two scales are
available: 1 inch/mile (3' x 4') for $2.50 per map and 1/2 inch/mile
(18" x 24") for $0.50. For order up to $4.99, add $0.50 for postage.
- Kentucky: Write to Map Sales, 133 Holmes St.,
Frankfort, KY 40601 (phone 502-564-4715). Two scales are available: 1
inch/mile for $7.00 per map, and 1/2 inch/mile for $2.00 per map. Add
$4.50 for shipping. There is also a book of maps of every Kentucky
county for $14.00 plus $4.50 shipping.
- Texas: Write to Texas Dept. of Transportation, Map
Sales, P.O. Box 5020, Austin TX 78763. Three scales are available: 1
inch/mile (3' x 4') for $1.79 per map, 1/2 inch/mile (18" x 25") for
$0.50 per map, and 1/4 inch/mile (10" x 14") for $0.28 per map. Add
$2.50 for shipping for orders of up to $10.00, plus an additional
$1.00 for each additional $10.00 of maps.
Internet: Street and road maps showing nearly any U.S.
address can be obtained from Internet search engine sites such as Mapquest and Google Maps
GPS Software: GPS devices may be helpful in finding
country churches, but a good address (or coordinates) would usually
be needed. Many of the country churches do not have telephone numbers
and may not have precise street addresses, so they may not be found on
GPS directories of churches, etc. in a particular area. Not much experience
with GPS's has been reported by Sacred Harp singers as of Dec. 2009.
Steven L. Sabol (sabol@his.com)
HTML version by Warren Steel (mudws@olemiss.edu)