Published in 1947, the US Geological Survey’s “Port Jefferson” presents a finely resolved portrait of Long Island’s North Shore at a pivotal mid-century moment. Drawn at the classic 1:24,000 topographic scale, the map balances scientific precision with a quiet visual elegance, revealing Port Jefferson and its neighboring communities through a disciplined language of contour lines, road networks, rail connections, shorelines, marshes, and settlement patterns. The village itself appears as both harbor community and transportation node, set against the larger sweep of Long Island Sound. In this single sheet, the viewer encounters not merely a place name, but a carefully measured landscape: coastal bluffs, inland rises, valleys, tidal edges, and the built environment of Suffolk County as it stood in the years just after World War II.

The US Geological Survey, long respected for the accuracy and clarity of its topographic mapping, brought to this sheet the hallmarks that made its maps indispensable to planners, engineers, naturalists, and travelers. Its contouring gives the terrain around Port Jefferson a sculptural quality, allowing the eye to follow subtle uplands and descents toward the Sound. The map’s restrained color scheme, typical of USGS topographic design, distinguishes landforms, water, roads, and developed areas without ornament or excess. The result is a document of remarkable legibility: practical in origin, but richly evocative in effect. Hills, valleys, marshes, and coastal forms are not abstractly labeled; they are rendered as interlocking systems, inviting close reading and rewarding patient attention.

Port Jefferson’s geography is especially compelling because the village occupies a dramatic meeting point between land and water. The map traces the indented North Shore coastline along Long Island Sound, where harbors, coves, tidal flats, and marshy margins shape the pattern of settlement. Belle Terre appears nearby, poised along the coast, while Setauket, Terryville, Mount Sinai, Miller Place, Stony Brook, and Comsewogue situate Port Jefferson within a broader network of historic Long Island communities. Roads radiate between these places, revealing the connective tissue of daily life, commerce, and regional movement. Rail lines and principal thoroughfares hint at the area’s growing integration into metropolitan and suburban systems, even as open spaces and coastal features preserve the older rural and maritime character of the region.

As a 1947 map, “Port Jefferson” captures Suffolk County at a moment of transition. The Second World War had just ended, and Long Island was entering an era of rapid suburban growth, expanding infrastructure, and shifting land use. Yet this sheet still preserves the mid-century configuration of towns, roads, rail corridors, shoreline settlements, and undeveloped tracts before later decades transformed much of the region. North Brookhaven’s landscape appears as a layered composition of village centers, wooded areas, fields, wetlands, and coastal enclaves. For those familiar with the modern North Shore, the map offers a revealing comparison: a record of communities on the cusp of expansion, where older patterns of harbor life and rural settlement remained visibly embedded in the land.

The beauty of this map lies in its union of technical authority and atmospheric detail. The contour lines are particularly expressive, giving the landscape around Port Jefferson a palpable relief and making clear how elevation governs drainage, settlement, roads, and views toward Long Island Sound. Water bodies and marshes add further texture, marking the ecological richness of the coastal zone and the delicate transitions between firm ground and tidal edge. Parks and open spaces appear as pauses within the built landscape, while the roads and rail lines provide a framework of human movement across the terrain. “Port Jefferson” is thus both a precise topographical record and a compelling historical image of place, preserving the form and character of a celebrated Long Island shoreline community in 1947.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Port Jefferson
• Setauket
• Terryville
• Miller Place
• Belle Terre
• Mount Sinai
• Long Island Sound
• Stony Brook
• Comsewogue
• North Brookhaven
• Significant roads, thoroughfares and rail lines
• Nearby parks and open spaces
• Coastal features along Long Island Sound
• Water bodies and marshes

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:24,000 topographical map shows Port Jefferson, New York and the surrounding area.
• The map is dated 1947, with USGS records also listing 1947 as the publication year; no separate imprint year is specified.
• The USGS is known for detailed and accurate topographic maps used for land use planning, recreation and resource management.
• The map uses a topographic color scheme, with different shades indicating elevation changes.
• Contour lines are prominent, clearly representing the area’s landscape and relief.
• Detailed elevation contours and shaded relief outline hills, valleys and coastal features.
• The map captures the development and layout of Port Jefferson during the mid-20th century.
• It provides historical context for later changes such as urban development, population shifts and alterations in land use.

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.