VIDEO: HH: The Oldest Known Map of Easton Finds a New Home

>>>wendy davis: long before there was google maps.... cartographers had to get the job done the old-fashioned way.

>>>rob vaughn: tonight's history's headlines shows us one very early map of easton..

That now has a brand new home.

>> reporter: from reference..

To romance... and horror to history... the easton area public library has it all.

But there's more to see..

Beyond the rows and shelves... stuffed with stately spines... >> this room has one of the largest collections of local history materials in this area.

>> reporter: that would be... the ámarxá room... named for henry f.

Marx..

The first director of the library's carnegie building.

Which opened in 1901.

The room that bears his name is an archive... for all things áeaston.á and recently..

A new acquisition earned a coveted spot on the wall.>> what makes it so unique, it is the oldest known map of easton.

>> reporter: the document hails from 1789... nearly 40 years after the city was founded by william parsons.

Naturally... many of the landmarks that make easton, easton... are still in the future.

And yet:>> the pattern of the streets is still the same.>> reporter: the basic grid of the city has been established.>> jennifer stocker, director, easton area public library: someone can look at the map and see where they are and become quickly oriented to the city.>> reporter: it's likely that the map was commissioned by members of william penn's family..

And completed by a german cartographer.

The map was donated to the library earlier this year by a pair of local historians..

Who bought it at an auction.

Now it's been restored and installed in the marx room... where it's on display for all easton residents... who are curious about how their city got its start.

>> it's a wonderful map.

It's in wonderful condition.

And we hope people will come in to see our