McElfresh Map Company

09/17/2020

A historian always willing to help, always glad to share, always happy to support. Ed Bearss was a historian who encouraged the next generation and created a vibrant atmosphere for Civil War scholarship. Truly a historian’s historian. Fold Your Tent and Rest In Peace Sir— McElfresh Map Company thanks him for his invaluable help over the years and will miss him.

Ed Bearss, a former National Park Service chief historian with a penchant for Civil War history, has passed away at the age of 97.

04/28/2020

A story about McElfresh Map Company this morning on Spectrum Buffalo!

Olean cartographer giving students additional learning tools

03/21/2020

Americans throughout history have been called to use their diverse talents and capabilities to make our nation stronger and better for the next generation.

Our company concentrates on the great maps and the mapmakers who through those eras and episodes have guided the decision makers and documented the outcomes.

Looking to pass some time--this is on C-Span, it's interesting and fun to follow. Our maps are still available FREE at Jim"s Park and Shop in Olean, we refill everyday.

And we thank all those scientists who are busy in their labs seeking a cure and a vaccine. And all of our health care workers who are on the front line fighting this virus, COVID-19.

Earl McElfresh talks about his book, [Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War], which examines the art of mapmaking in the 19th Century. After his remarks he answers questions from the audience.

03/18/2020

Just dropped off some of our maps at Jim’s Park and Shop on Front and Main Street. Thank you to Jim Mahar for providing counter space. Parents please feel free to pick one up and show your students places where Americans made history.

03/16/2020

Local Olean-area parents. We would be happy to supply you--free of charge--with a map for your school age children that are home for the next week or so. Our colorful and vibrant maps bring you to the paths, the forests, the rivers and the farms on which wars were fought. Pick-up a book for your child on the Civil War, the Revolutionary War or World War II and you may instill a worthwhile interest that will last a lifetime. Private message so we can figure out a drop-off or pick-up arrangement.

02/25/2020

Current map—Olean and the environs. A trove of trees and a heap of hills. Great fun — just have to go outside if I have a question.

01/10/2020

We change our window display frequently. Currently we have a selection from our Beatle collection, a cultural map of Manhattan with many facts of the amazing city and the original of our 2019 Christmas card—downtown Olean dressed for the holidays.

10/25/2019

Always nice to see yourself in the paper--and on the front page! Every little bit helps. The exhibit is still at the Cattaraugus County Museum in Machias. The maps are great, but the drive, this time of year in Western New York, is even better!

If you haven’t yet been to the Cattaraugus County Museum to see the current exhibit, “Mapmaker: The Work of Earl McElfresh and the McElfresh Map Company,” there’s still time.

07/17/2019

Cutting and pasting together a USGS map of Portville, Olean and Allegany. Contemplating a map of our hometown region. Family members please notice the yardstick advertisement.

06/24/2019

From Tugboats to Gettysburg

A tourist heads to Gettysburg and comes home a historian.

06/12/2019

Under way--and 50 years ago today.

Family sails across the Atlantic in a 40 foot ketch 50 years ago

06/08/2019

Looking so forward to seeing this exhibit.