Titled “Jonesboro,” this US Geological Survey quadrangle captures the Jonesborough, Tennessee, area through survey work completed in 1939 and issued with a 1952 imprint, offering a finely measured view of Washington County at mid-century. At 1:24,000 scale, the map balances intimate local detail with a broad reading of the surrounding Appalachian landscape. Jonesborough appears as the principal historic settlement, set amid roads, rail lines, creeks, ridges, and cultivated valleys. The time gap between survey and publication gives the map a particular documentary richness: it preserves a prewar landscape as presented to a postwar America increasingly defined by highways, expanding towns, and modernized infrastructure.

The US Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined visual language that made its quadrangles indispensable to engineers, hikers, planners, geologists, and local historians. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the nation’s authoritative mapper of terrain, water systems, mineral resources, and public lands, translating field observation into a standardized cartographic grammar. Here, contour lines describe the folds and rises of eastern Tennessee with scientific precision, while color differentiation and a navigational grid help organize complex terrain into a readable whole. The result is not merely a road map, but a measured portrait of landform, settlement, transportation, and hydrology, characteristic of the best mid-20th-century federal topographic work.

Jonesborough itself gives the map exceptional historical resonance. Established in the late eighteenth century, it is Tennessee’s oldest town and served as an early political center in the region’s frontier history, including the era of the short-lived State of Franklin. On this map, the town is shown not as an isolated historic landmark, but as part of a living network of farms, roads, streams, and nearby communities. Johnson City lies within the broader regional frame, while Boones Creek, Mill Creek, and numerous unnamed roads and trails indicate the smaller patterns of daily movement that shaped rural life. The map quietly records the relationship between old settlement and evolving modern connectivity.

The surrounding natural geography is especially compelling. Buffalo Mountain and adjacent uplands mark the stronger relief of the Appalachian foothills, their slopes rendered through dense, bending contour lines that reveal elevation, drainage, and the grain of the land. The Holston River, South Fork Holston River, and Watauga River form a powerful hydrological framework, joined by smaller creeks and runs that cut through valleys and agricultural ground. Cherokee Lake appears as part of the region’s broader water landscape, evoking the mid-century era of river management, hydroelectric development, and reservoir construction in Tennessee. Forested areas and local parks add further texture, showing where settlement gives way to wooded ridges and conserved terrain.

Transportation features provide another layer of historical interest. Highways 11E and 19, railroads, local roads, and trails together reveal a region in transition from older rail-and-rural movement toward automobile-era circulation. By the early 1950s, eastern Tennessee was increasingly linked to wider commercial and industrial networks, yet this map still preserves the fine-grained rural pattern of lanes, creek crossings, hamlets, and agricultural parcels. Its cartographic style is restrained but elegant: contour work, symbols, grids, and shaded distinctions combine to make the landscape legible without diminishing its complexity. As a historical document, “Jonesboro” offers a vivid snapshot of place—where frontier memory, Appalachian topography, and mid-century modernization meet.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Jonesborough
• Johnson City
• Buffalo Mountain
• Boones Creek
• Cherokee Lake
• Holston River
• South Fork Holston River
• Watauga River
• Mill Creek
• Highway 11E
• Highway 19
• Railroads
• Numerous unnamed roads and trails
• Various local parks and forested areas

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:24,000 topographical map shows Jonesborough in Tennessee and the surrounding area.
• The original survey data was collected in 1939, with the map published in 1952.
• Jonesborough is a historically significant town in Tennessee, known as the oldest town in the state and the first capital of Tennessee.
• The map uses detailed contour lines to represent elevation changes.
• Color shading differentiates land forms.
• A grid system aids navigation and precise location of features.
• The map reflects mid-20th-century USGS cartographic practices.
• The landscape shown may have changed since publication due to urban development, industrial activity, transportation infrastructure, and conservation efforts.

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.