{"product_id":"old-map-of-belfast-maine-by-usgs-1960-belfast-harbor-penobscot-bay","title":"Old Map of Belfast, Maine by USGS, 1960 – Belfast Harbor \u0026 Penobscot Bay","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1962 from survey data gathered in 1960, the US Geological Survey’s “Belfast” captures a coastal Maine landscape at a precise mid-century moment. At the 1:24,000 scale, the map presents Belfast and its environs with the clarity and authority that made USGS quadrangles indispensable to planners, engineers, hikers, and local historians. Belfast Harbor opens into Penobscot Bay, anchoring the composition in the maritime world that shaped the town’s economy and identity. Inland, the map turns quickly from waterfront streets to rolling countryside, ponds, streams, cemeteries, roads, and farmed or wooded uplands. It is both a technical document and a portrait of place: a measured, colorful record of a small New England city and its surrounding rural fabric in the early 1960s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBelfast itself appears as the principal settlement, arranged around its harbor, road network, civic core, and older landmarks such as City Hall and Belfast Cemetery. The map’s clean symbology distinguishes built-up areas, roads, watercourses, marshes, and elevation with admirable economy. U.S. Route 1, already the great coastal artery of Maine, threads through the region, while State Route 52 and smaller local roads reveal the connective tissue between Belfast, Northport, Waldo, and the surrounding countryside. This was a period when rural America was being reshaped by improved highways, changing settlement patterns, and expanding automobile travel. The map preserves that transitional landscape: still deeply local and agrarian in character, yet increasingly linked to broader regional movement along the coast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe topographic language of the map is especially compelling. Fine contour lines describe the rise and fall of the land with scientific restraint, making visible the rolling hills and subtle ridges that frame Belfast and its hinterland. Beech Hill and other upland features emerge through these brown contours, while the blue of Swan Lake, Little River, ponds, tributaries, and the tidal waters of Belfast Harbor gives the sheet a strong hydrological rhythm. The meeting of fresh water, salt water, and marshland is one of the map’s defining themes. Along the coastline, tidal marshes and inlets speak to the ecological richness of Penobscot Bay, where the landscape is shaped as much by tides and drainage as by roads and settlement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe United States Geological Survey brought to maps like this a distinctive combination of scientific rigor and elegant visual order. Founded in the nineteenth century to classify public lands and study the nation’s geology, the USGS became the preeminent American authority in topographic mapping. By the 1960s, its quadrangles offered a standardized yet highly detailed view of the country, useful for everything from infrastructure planning and land management to outdoor navigation. In “Belfast,” that national cartographic project is applied to a very particular Maine locality. The result is a map that feels both universal in method and intimate in subject, translating the textures of coast, town, hill, field, and stream into a lucid graphic system.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a historical document, this map invites comparison between the Belfast of 1960 and the city known today. It records patterns of land use, road alignments, shore development, rural settlement, and natural drainage before later decades of growth and environmental change altered parts of the region. Penobscot Bay’s coastal edge, Swan Lake’s inland presence, and the web of smaller streams and tributaries all remind the viewer that Belfast’s story is inseparable from water and terrain. The map also offers a quiet social history: cemeteries, civic buildings, highways, and scattered communities mark the ways people inhabited and organized this landscape. For collectors, it is an evocative example of mid-century American topographic mapping and a refined portrait of coastal Maine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBelfast, Maine\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWaldo, Maine\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNorthport, Maine\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrooks, Maine\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBelfast Harbor\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePenobscot Bay\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLittle River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBelfast Cemetery\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCity Hall, Belfast\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eU.S. Route 1\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eState Route 52\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBeech Hill\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLakes and ponds\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmaller streams and tributaries\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTidal marshes along the coastline\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical 1:24,000 topographical map of Belfast, Maine and the surrounding area.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBased on survey data from 1960 and published with a 1962 imprint.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUses a clear, colorful USGS topographic design.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDetailed contour lines show elevation changes, terrain, and steepness.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMajor roads, water features, and geographical features are clearly marked with standard map symbols.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShows a varied landscape of rolling hills, water bodies, coastline, and marshland.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eServes as a snapshot of the Belfast area during the early 1960s, useful for comparing historic and present-day land use and infrastructure.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExemplifies traditional topographic mapping through the use of color, contouring, and precise landscape detail.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking for a particular place?\u003c\/strong\u003e Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/it\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop to check before you order\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/it\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/it\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee personalised map examples\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/it\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003erare old and vintage maps\u003c\/a\u003e to discover another place, period or style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":59906572845440,"sku":null,"price":41.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":59906572878208,"sku":null,"price":112.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":59906572910976,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":59906572943744,"sku":null,"price":41.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":59906572976512,"sku":null,"price":112.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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