Titled simply “Gettysburg,” this United States Geological Survey map presents one of Pennsylvania’s most resonant landscapes with the quiet authority of scientific cartography. Dated 1908 and carrying a 1912 imprint, it reflects the USGS practice of publishing carefully surveyed quadrangles for public, governmental, and scholarly use. At a scale of 1:62,500, the map balances regional breadth with local detail, situating Gettysburg within a wider web of towns, roads, farms, ridges, and valleys. More than four decades after the Battle of Gettysburg, the terrain here remained inseparable from national memory. Yet the map does not dramatize the battlefield; instead, it records the land with measured precision, allowing the historical gravity of the place to emerge through contours, settlement patterns, and enduring place names.

The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, transformed American mapmaking by bringing standardized scientific methods to the depiction of landforms, waterways, mineral resources, and human settlement. This Gettysburg sheet belongs to that tradition of practical elegance: a map designed for accuracy, but rich in visual and historical suggestion. Its contour lines are among its most expressive features, tracing the rolling uplands and subtle elevations of Adams County and the surrounding region. In a landscape where ridges, roads, and fields shaped the movements of armies in 1863, topography is never merely decorative. The fine gradations of elevation invite the viewer to read the ground itself, revealing how geography influenced travel, agriculture, settlement, and military history.

Gettysburg appears at the heart of the map, accompanied by a constellation of nearby communities that give the region its social and geographic texture. Hanover, Littlestown, New Oxford, McSherrystown, Conewago, Hampton, East Berlin, Two Taverns, Bridgeport, Latimore, Fountaindale, and Mount Pleasant appear among the named places, while smaller unnamed settlements and crossroads fill the countryside between them. The pattern is one of close-knit rural Pennsylvania: towns linked by major and minor roads, with cultivated land shaped by drainage lines and low hills. The map captures a moment before the automobile age had fully remade the landscape, when roads, village centers, rail connections, and local market towns structured everyday movement across the region.

The historical aura of Gettysburg gives this map exceptional depth. Although produced in the early twentieth century, it depicts terrain that had already become sacred in American civic memory. The battle fought here in July 1863 marked a turning point in the Civil War, and by 1908 the area was both a lived-in agricultural landscape and a place of pilgrimage, commemoration, and historical interpretation. The map’s restraint is part of its power: rather than presenting a battlefield plan, it shows the broader physical world in which history unfolded. Hills, roads, fields, and settlements are rendered as part of an evolving region, offering insight into how memory and modern development coexisted around Gettysburg.

As a topographical document, the map is especially compelling for the way it reveals the relationship between natural form and human occupation. Contour lines articulate the undulating profile of south-central Pennsylvania, while roads and towns demonstrate how communities adapted to that terrain. The result is a layered portrait of place: scientific, historical, and quietly beautiful. For historians, it offers a window onto land use and settlement patterns in the decades after the Civil War; for collectors, it represents the disciplined artistry of USGS mapping at the beginning of the twentieth century. “Gettysburg” is not only a map of a famous town, but a refined record of a landscape where geography and national history remain profoundly intertwined.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Gettysburg
• Hanover
• Littlestown
• New Oxford
• Conewago
• McSherrystown
• Bridgeport
• Latimore
• Hampton
• Two Taverns
• East Berlin
• Fountaindale
• Mount Pleasant
• Unnamed villages and towns
• Major and minor roads in the surrounding area
• Geographic features indicated by contour lines and possible nearby water bodies

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:62,500 topographical map of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area
• Dated 1908 with a 1912 imprint
• Published by the US Geological Survey, known for scientific mapping and reliable land and natural resource data
• Shows Gettysburg, a site of major Civil War significance due to the 1863 battle
• Features contour lines to indicate elevation changes and visualize the local landscape
• Highlights the topographic character of the Gettysburg area through variations in elevation
• Provides insight into land use, urban development, and the historical context of the Gettysburg region in the decades after the Civil War

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.