If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

– Henry David Thoreau

Beautifully detailed map of Winchester, Virginia from 1926

Historic bird’s eye view of Winchester, Virginia from 1926

Bird’s eye view of Pawtucket and Central Falls, RI in 1877

This old map shows Pawtucket and Central Falls, Rhode Island in the late 19th century.

Beautifully detailed map of Ayer, Massachusetts from 1886

Historic bird’s eye view of Ayer, Massachusetts in 1886

Sands Point Lighthouse in North Hempstead, NY

The lighthouse at Sands Point is a representative example of masonry…

Beautifully Restored Map of North Berwick, Maine from 1877

Historic bird’s eye view of North Berwick, Maine from 1877

Beautifully restored map of Conway, New Hampshire from 1896

Detailed bird’s eye view of Conway, New Hampshire in 1896