Published in 1892 by the United States Geological Survey, the map titled “Guthrie” presents one of the most evocative early topographic portraits of central Oklahoma during the territorial era. Marked as an “advance” sheet, it suggests a working-stage publication issued ahead of final refinement, offering a particularly fascinating glimpse into the rapid mapping of a newly transforming region. Guthrie itself had risen to prominence almost overnight after the Land Run of 1889, becoming the capital of Oklahoma Territory and a focal point of settlement, commerce, and administration. This map captures the city and its immediate surroundings at a moment when streets, roads, claims, and civic ambitions were still being impressed upon the prairie landscape.

As a USGS topographic map, “Guthrie” belongs to one of the great scientific mapping enterprises of the nineteenth century. The Geological Survey’s mission was not merely to chart roads and towns, but to describe the American landscape with systematic precision: elevations, drainage, slopes, valleys, and the subtle architecture of terrain. Here, fine contour lines articulate the rises and depressions around Guthrie, transforming the plains into a carefully measured landscape of gradients and forms. The result is both practical and elegant—an image created for engineers, land officers, surveyors, and planners, yet possessing the quiet beauty of disciplined cartography. Every line conveys the federal government’s expanding effort to know, organize, and develop the West.

The city of Guthrie anchors the map, surrounded by roads, survey markers, watercourses, and the gridded logic of territorial land division. In the early 1890s, Guthrie was a boomtown of extraordinary speed and energy, born from tents, wagons, and provisional offices into a territorial capital within a matter of years. Its placement on this map reflects its importance as a political and commercial hub, as well as a gateway into the newly opened lands of Oklahoma Territory. The mapped roads radiating through the surrounding countryside hint at the movement of settlers, goods, officials, and speculators, while the survey grid records the imposition of ownership and governance on lands that had only recently been opened to non-Native settlement.

The topographic character of the map is especially compelling. Rather than portraying Oklahoma as an undifferentiated plain, the contour lines reveal a more nuanced terrain of shallow valleys, gentle slopes, drainage corridors, and low uplands. Water bodies and stream courses, though not all named in the surviving context, structure the landscape and help explain patterns of road-building and settlement. These details would have been essential for anyone evaluating agricultural prospects, transportation routes, or future urban expansion. The map thus records not only where Guthrie stood, but why its surroundings mattered: elevation, access to water, passable ground, and the relationship between natural features and human development all appear in carefully encoded form.

Historically, this 1892 map occupies a remarkable place in the story of Oklahoma’s transformation from territory to statehood in 1907. It shows Guthrie before decades of urban growth, infrastructure expansion, and changing land use altered the region’s appearance. The sheet belongs to the period when federal surveyors were translating newly settled territory into standardized geographic knowledge, making the landscape legible for administration, investment, and settlement. Its “advance” designation adds another layer of interest, suggesting urgency and immediacy in the production of geographic information for a fast-changing place. Today, “Guthrie” offers a finely detailed record of an emerging capital and its prairie setting at one of the defining moments in Oklahoma history.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Guthrie, Oklahoma
• Water bodies, not specifically named
• Roads
• Elevation contour lines
• Nearby valleys and slopes, not specifically named
• Specific survey grid markers

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, or USGS
• Created in 1892
• Marked as an “advance” map, suggesting additional information, corrections, or preliminary updates may have been highlighted
• Uses contour lines to show elevation changes, typical of a topographical map
• Intricate contour detailing emphasizes terrain features, including hills, valleys, slopes, and elevation shifts
• Captures Guthrie and its surroundings during a pivotal period in Oklahoma’s development before statehood in 1907
• Preserves geographic details that may have changed due to later urban development and land-use changes

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.