Ever looked at a map of the United States and wondered why Maryland looks like a squashed lizard or why Oklahoma has that weird skinny handle sticking out to the west? It feels random. It looks like a group of drunk surveyors just gave up halfway through the job. But it wasn't random. Not even a little bit. If you haven't seen the History Channel series How the States Got Their Shapes, you’re missing out on the weirdest, most bureaucratic, and occasionally violent origin story of the land you’re standing on.
Hosted by Brian Unger, the show basically turned into a cult classic for anyone who likes "bar trivia history" more than "textbook history." It’s not just about lines on a map. It’s about religion, coal, slavery, gold, and even the way the sun hits the ground at different times of the year.
The Show That Made Geography Actually Cool
The series, which kicked off as a two-hour special in 2010 before becoming a full-blown show in 2011, took a very simple premise and ran with it. Literally. Unger spent a lot of time traveling across these borders, standing in the middle of nowhere, and talking to locals about why their town is in one state and not the one five miles over.
Most people think borders were decided by big mountain ranges or massive rivers. Sometimes, sure. But more often than not, it was because of some weird political spat in the 1700s. Or a bad map. Or a straight-up mistake.
The show did something rare. It made the legalistic boring stuff—like the Mason-Dixon line or the Missouri Compromise—feel like a heist movie. You realize that the shapes of our states are basically the scars of every fight America has ever had with itself.
The Weird Truth About Straight Lines
We see those perfectly straight lines in the West and think, "Oh, they just used a ruler." It's more complicated. Thomas Jefferson actually wanted the entire West to be divided into perfectly rectangular states with names like "Sylvania" and "Illinoia." He was obsessed with the Enlightenment idea of order. He wanted everything to be equal.
But reality isn't a grid.
How the States Got Their Shapes highlights how things like the 49th parallel or the Continental Divide messed up those neat plans. Water rights changed everything. If a state didn't have access to a major river, it was basically dead on arrival. This is why Nevada is shaped like a lopsided funnel. They needed that access to the Colorado River. Without it, Las Vegas wouldn't even exist. Think about that for a second. A line drawn in the sand 150 years ago is the only reason you can go to a buffet at 3:00 AM in the desert today.
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The Notch and Other Cartographic Errors
One of the best episodes covers "The Notch." If you look at the border between Massachusetts and Connecticut, there’s this tiny little bite taken out of the top of Connecticut. Why? Basically, the surveyors were bad at their jobs. Two guys named Nathaniel Woodward and Solomon Saffery were hired in 1642 to find the border. They didn't feel like hiking through the woods, so they sailed around Cape Cod, went up the river, and just... guessed. They were off by about eight miles. For over a century, the two states argued about who owned those few miles of trees. Eventually, Massachusetts kept the "notch" because the people living there had already built their lives under Mass law and didn't want to switch.
It’s these human stories—the "we just don't want to move our mailboxes" stories—that make the show work.
Missouri and the Bootheel
Then you have the Missouri "Bootheel." Look at the bottom right corner of Missouri. There’s a weird little square that drops down into Arkansas. Legend says a wealthy landowner named John Hardeman Walker owned a ton of land there and just didn't want to live in the "wilds" of Arkansas. He wanted to be part of the more "civilized" Missouri. He had enough political sway to get the border moved.
Is it fair? No. Is it how history works? Absolutely.
The show dives into how these borders were often dictated by the "big men" of the era. It wasn't about what made sense for the people; it was about what made sense for the people in power. Whether it was the fight over the Erie Canal or the madness of the California Gold Rush, every line represents a payday for someone.
Why the Show Works (And Why We Still Care)
Brian Unger is the secret sauce here. He’s got this dry, slightly skeptical vibe that works perfectly. He isn't lecturing you. He’s discovering it with you. He’ll stand on a bridge in the middle of a town that is split in half by a state line and talk to a guy whose kitchen is in one state and whose bedroom is in another.
That’s a real thing, by the way. There are houses where you have to pay taxes to two different jurisdictions because of where your front door is located.
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It’s All About the Technology
The show also looks at the tech of the time. We take GPS for granted. Back then? They were using transit and level instruments, chains, and the stars. If it was cloudy for a week, the border was going to be wrong. If the surveyor was tired, the border was going to be wrong.
A lot of the "doglegs" and weird bends in our state lines are just the physical evidence of a guy in the 1800s being exhausted and wanting to go home.
The Slavery Question
We can't talk about How the States Got Their Shapes without talking about the dark side. A huge portion of the show deals with the lead-up to the Civil War. The shapes of states like Kansas, Nebraska, and West Virginia are purely the result of the battle over whether slavery would expand.
West Virginia exists because it literally broke away from Virginia during the war. It’s the only state to form by seceding from a Confederate state. That border isn't a geographical feature; it’s a political statement written in blood. The show doesn't shy away from this. It explains how the "balance of power" in the Senate dictated that for every "free" state that came in, a "slave" state had to be created to match it. Our map is a record of that tension.
Modern Relevance: It’s Not Just History
You might think this is all settled. It’s not. There are still active lawsuits between states over these borders.
- Georgia vs. Tennessee: Georgia has been trying to move its border north by a few hundred yards for years. Why? Because that tiny shift would give them access to the Tennessee River. They need the water.
- New York vs. New Jersey: They spent years fighting over who owned Ellis Island. Eventually, the Supreme Court had to step in. Most of the island is actually in New Jersey, even though the Post Office says it’s New York.
The show makes you realize that these lines are alive. They determine who gets to vote for whom, how much you pay in sales tax, and whether you can buy fireworks or weed legally.
Surprising Facts You Probably Missed
If you’re a fan of the show, you know it’s packed with "did you know" moments. Here are a few that still blow people’s minds:
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- The Wedge: Delaware and Pennsylvania fought over a tiny sliver of land called "The Wedge" for centuries. It wasn't officially settled until 1921.
- Michigan vs. Ohio: They almost went to war (The Toledo War) over a strip of land. Michigan lost Toledo but got the Upper Peninsula as a "consolation prize." Looking at the UP's natural resources now, Michigan definitely won that trade.
- The Four Corners: It’s the only place in the US where four states meet. But because of those old surveying errors, the monument isn't actually exactly where the borders were supposed to be. It’s close enough, so we just leave it.
The Legacy of the Series
While the show isn't producing new episodes right now, its impact on how we consume "info-tainment" is huge. It paved the way for shows like Modern Marvels or The Food That Built America to take a niche topic and make it mainstream.
It also reminded us that the US isn't just one big blob. It’s a collection of very different, very stubborn entities that had to be bargained into a Union.
Honestly, the show is a masterclass in visual storytelling. Instead of showing you a map on a screen, they take you to the actual dirt. They show you the stone markers hidden in people's backyards. They show you the river that moved a mile to the left after a flood in 1890, technically making a piece of Illinois part of Missouri.
Actionable Insights for Map Nerds and History Buffs
If you want to dive deeper into this or see these quirks for yourself, you don't just have to watch the show. Here is how you can engage with the "shape" of your own world:
- Check Your Property Deed: Often, the legal description of your own land uses the same "metes and bounds" system described in the show. You might find references to "a large oak tree" or "the center of the creek" that hasn't existed for a hundred years.
- Visit a Tri-Point: There are dozens of places in the US where three states meet. Many have markers. They are usually in weird, hard-to-reach places, making for a great road trip goal.
- Use Interactive Maps: Sites like the Newberry Library’s "Atlas of Historical County Boundaries" let you see how state and county lines moved year by year. It’s addictive.
- Read the Book: The show was actually based on a book by Mark Stein. If you want the deep-cut academic details that didn't make it to TV, that’s your starting point.
The next time you’re flying across the country and looking out the window, look for the lines. Look for the places where the grid suddenly shifts or where a road makes a sharp 90-degree turn for no apparent reason. Usually, there’s a story there. Usually, someone 200 years ago got into an argument, and you're looking at the result of that fight from 30,000 feet up.
History isn't just in books. It's written in the fences, the roads, and the weirdly shaped borders we call home. Stop thinking of the map as a finished product; it's a work in progress. All it takes is one river changing course or one Supreme Court ruling to shift the ground beneath your feet. Stay curious about the lines—they tell more truths than the people who drew them ever intended.