Mary Upjohn Meader and Edwin E. Meader sponsored the Center with a generous gift in Oct, 2005. The Center is a testament to their interest as geographers -- both Ed and Mary were pioneers in the field of modern geography. Examples of Mary's aerial photography are on display in the exhibit area of the Center.

The Center honors Mary's grandfather, Dr. W.E. Upjohn, visionary founder of the Upjohn Company.

Mary(c) Signing the American Geographic Society Explorers Globe with Mary Lynn Byrd (r), Executive Director of the AGS, and Ed, Nov. 21, 2006

Our donors enthusiastically supported our mission of protecting and preserving two-dimensional pre-digital geographical materials -- maps, charts, atlases and airphotos.

Uncounted collections of these types of materials exist, owned by private collectors or curated in museums, libraries and governmental institutions. But many of these treasures are deteriorating or being lost. It is the Center's primary goal to assist in preserving these historical objects, enabling universal access to their precise digital facsimiles at the highest resolution attainable.

View a PDF of our brochure here.