Rare Old Map of Carbondale, Illinois by USGS, 1941: Murphysboro, Shawnee National Forest & Big Muddy River
Restored in our London workshop from the original 1955 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored in London • Printed and framed in the EU
Restored from the original 1955 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
You can also contact us before you order, if you prefer!
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Titled “Carbondale,” this US Geological Survey topographical map was published in 1955 using survey data from 1941, preserving a detailed portrait of...
Continue readingTitled “Carbondale,” this US Geological Survey topographical map was published in 1955 using survey data from 1941, preserving a detailed portrait of southern Illinois on the eve of major postwar transformation. At 1:62,500 scale, it places Carbondale at the center of a richly varied landscape of towns, rail corridors, rural roads, waterways, wooded ridges, and cultivated ground. The sheet captures a region where education, coal, agriculture, and transport converged: Carbondale was already emerging as an important urban center, while nearby communities such as Murphysboro, De Soto, Makanda, Alto Pass, and Anna formed a network of small towns tied together by industry and the land. It is a map of both settlement and terrain, meticulous in detail and quietly evocative of mid-century Illinois.
The US Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined visual language that made its topographic sheets indispensable to engineers, planners, geologists, hikers, and local authorities. Contour lines articulate the rise and fall of the land with scientific precision, while careful color separation distinguishes water, woodland, roads, railways, and built-up areas. The result is not merely a navigational document, but a layered interpretation of place. Around Carbondale, the terrain grows more dramatic than many expect of Illinois, descending into creek valleys and rising into broken uplands associated with the northern edges of the Shawnee Hills. The map’s design allows the eye to move easily from urban streets to farm fields, from rail junctions to streams, and from gentle slopes to rugged country.
Carbondale’s prominence on the map reflects its historical role as one of southern Illinois’s principal centers. Its growth was tied to the Illinois Central Railroad, coal extraction, and the presence of Southern Illinois University, which would expand rapidly in the decades after the survey data were collected. The map records the city before much of that later expansion, making the surrounding roads, rail lines, and rural land patterns especially revealing. Murphysboro, to the west, appears as another important node, historically associated with coal, clay, timber, and river-linked commerce. Smaller settlements such as De Soto and Makanda speak to a landscape of local economies, where rail stops, farms, mines, and market towns shaped everyday life across Jackson and neighboring counties.
The natural features shown are among the map’s great pleasures. The Big Muddy River and its tributaries define much of the regional drainage, winding through lowlands and shaping both settlement and agriculture. Pigeon Creek, Old Town Lake, Cedar Lake, Sunset Lake, and Lake Murphysboro add texture to the hydrological story, marking places where water gathered, powered local ecologies, or supported recreation and land use. South of Carbondale, the terrain trends toward the wilder character of the Shawnee National Forest, with wooded hills, ravines, and scenic formations that distinguish this corner of Illinois from the flatter prairie regions farther north. Nearby landmarks such as Little Grand Canyon evoke the erosive power of water and time, carved into sandstone country.
As a historical document, the map offers a compelling snapshot of land use before the full force of postwar suburbanization, highway expansion, university growth, and later reservoir development altered the region. Its roads and railroads reveal the infrastructure that connected farms, coal fields, timberlands, and towns; its contours and watercourses reveal why those connections took the forms they did. Agricultural clearings, wooded tracts, and mining-associated communities coexist in a landscape poised between extraction, education, and conservation. The inclusion of the Shawnee National Forest area is especially significant, reflecting a period when federal stewardship and recreational appreciation were becoming more visible in southern Illinois. Elegant, exacting, and historically resonant, this USGS sheet transforms the Carbondale region into a richly legible terrain of memory and change.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Carbondale, Illinois
- Murphysboro, Illinois
- Alto Pass, Illinois
- De Soto, Illinois
- Makanda, Illinois
- Anna, Illinois
- Lake Murphysboro
- Big Muddy River
- Shawnee National Forest
- Little Grand Canyon
- Pigeon Creek
- Old Town Lake
- Cedar Lake
- Sunset Lake
- Rend Lake
- Various railroads and highways notable for regional access
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:62,500 topographical map.
- Based on data from 1941 and published with a 1955 imprint.
- Shows the Carbondale area during the early 20th century, offering insight into urban development and land use change.
- Reflects regional agricultural and mining activity, including the area’s coal mining history.
- Carbondale is notable as a hub for Southern Illinois University.
- Uses shading and contour lines to represent elevation changes, typical of USGS topographical mapping.
- Employs color to distinguish land types, water bodies, and other landscape features.
- Displays varied regional topography, including hills, valleys, lakes, and surrounding landscapes.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed 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.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every 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.
With 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 rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.
For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.
Titled “Carbondale,” this US Geological Survey topographical map was published in 1955 using survey data from 1941, preserving a detailed portrait of southern Illinois on the eve of major postwar transformation. At 1:62,500 scale, it places Carbondale at the center of a richly varied landscape of towns, rail corridors, rural roads, waterways, wooded ridges, and cultivated ground. The sheet captures a region where education, coal, agriculture, and transport converged: Carbondale was already emerging as an important urban center, while nearby communities such as Murphysboro, De Soto, Makanda, Alto Pass, and Anna formed a network of small towns tied together by industry and the land. It is a map of both settlement and terrain, meticulous in detail and quietly evocative of mid-century Illinois.
The US Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined visual language that made its topographic sheets indispensable to engineers, planners, geologists, hikers, and local authorities. Contour lines articulate the rise and fall of the land with scientific precision, while careful color separation distinguishes water, woodland, roads, railways, and built-up areas. The result is not merely a navigational document, but a layered interpretation of place. Around Carbondale, the terrain grows more dramatic than many expect of Illinois, descending into creek valleys and rising into broken uplands associated with the northern edges of the Shawnee Hills. The map’s design allows the eye to move easily from urban streets to farm fields, from rail junctions to streams, and from gentle slopes to rugged country.
Carbondale’s prominence on the map reflects its historical role as one of southern Illinois’s principal centers. Its growth was tied to the Illinois Central Railroad, coal extraction, and the presence of Southern Illinois University, which would expand rapidly in the decades after the survey data were collected. The map records the city before much of that later expansion, making the surrounding roads, rail lines, and rural land patterns especially revealing. Murphysboro, to the west, appears as another important node, historically associated with coal, clay, timber, and river-linked commerce. Smaller settlements such as De Soto and Makanda speak to a landscape of local economies, where rail stops, farms, mines, and market towns shaped everyday life across Jackson and neighboring counties.
The natural features shown are among the map’s great pleasures. The Big Muddy River and its tributaries define much of the regional drainage, winding through lowlands and shaping both settlement and agriculture. Pigeon Creek, Old Town Lake, Cedar Lake, Sunset Lake, and Lake Murphysboro add texture to the hydrological story, marking places where water gathered, powered local ecologies, or supported recreation and land use. South of Carbondale, the terrain trends toward the wilder character of the Shawnee National Forest, with wooded hills, ravines, and scenic formations that distinguish this corner of Illinois from the flatter prairie regions farther north. Nearby landmarks such as Little Grand Canyon evoke the erosive power of water and time, carved into sandstone country.
As a historical document, the map offers a compelling snapshot of land use before the full force of postwar suburbanization, highway expansion, university growth, and later reservoir development altered the region. Its roads and railroads reveal the infrastructure that connected farms, coal fields, timberlands, and towns; its contours and watercourses reveal why those connections took the forms they did. Agricultural clearings, wooded tracts, and mining-associated communities coexist in a landscape poised between extraction, education, and conservation. The inclusion of the Shawnee National Forest area is especially significant, reflecting a period when federal stewardship and recreational appreciation were becoming more visible in southern Illinois. Elegant, exacting, and historically resonant, this USGS sheet transforms the Carbondale region into a richly legible terrain of memory and change.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Carbondale, Illinois
- Murphysboro, Illinois
- Alto Pass, Illinois
- De Soto, Illinois
- Makanda, Illinois
- Anna, Illinois
- Lake Murphysboro
- Big Muddy River
- Shawnee National Forest
- Little Grand Canyon
- Pigeon Creek
- Old Town Lake
- Cedar Lake
- Sunset Lake
- Rend Lake
- Various railroads and highways notable for regional access
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:62,500 topographical map.
- Based on data from 1941 and published with a 1955 imprint.
- Shows the Carbondale area during the early 20th century, offering insight into urban development and land use change.
- Reflects regional agricultural and mining activity, including the area’s coal mining history.
- Carbondale is notable as a hub for Southern Illinois University.
- Uses shading and contour lines to represent elevation changes, typical of USGS topographical mapping.
- Employs color to distinguish land types, water bodies, and other landscape features.
- Displays varied regional topography, including hills, valleys, lakes, and surrounding landscapes.
Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.
Detailed 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.
This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.
The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.
Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.
Every 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.
With 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 rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.
This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.
For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 24 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 24 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
We work with interior designers, hospitality businesses, property professionals, offices and corporate buyers on individual pieces and larger coordinated projects.
This map can be adapted for a particular wall, room or project, and our workshop can help coordinate the dimensions, material and framing before production.
- Exact, oversized and made-to-measure dimensions
- Custom framing, mounting and alternative materials
- Coordinated pieces for several rooms or locations
- Map personalisation, to mark important locations or add extra details
- Map and framing guidance from our workshop
- Local production for projects around the world
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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