1854 U. S. Gazetter:

Masachusetts one of the original states of the American confederacy, and one of the New England or Eastern States, is bounded on the N. by Vermont and New Hampshire, E. by the Atlantic, S. by the Atlantic, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and W. by New York. It lies between 41° 10' (including the islands) and 42° 53' N. lat., and between 69° 50' and 73° 30' W. lon. It is very irregular in shape, the S.E. portion projecting into the ocean so as almost to enclose Cape Cod bay. The greatest length of the state from E. to W. is about 145 miles, and it has in the longitude of Boston a breadth of about 90 miles, while the western portion is not more than 48 miles wide. It includes an area of about 7800 square miles, or 4,992,000 acres, of which 2,133,436 are improved.