Published in 1944 from survey data of the same year, the US Geological Survey’s “Hamilton” presents a finely resolved portrait of central New York at a scale of 1:31,680. Centered on Hamilton in Madison County, the map captures a mid-twentieth-century landscape of village streets, country roads, rail connections, streams, lakes, cultivated land, wooded slopes, and folded hills. Its topographic language is unmistakably USGS: precise contour lines trace the rise and fall of the terrain, while blue waterways and green vegetation areas give the sheet a vivid sense of place. More than a navigational document, it is a measured snapshot of Hamilton and its surrounding countryside at a moment when rural infrastructure, settlement patterns, and land use were being carefully recorded for national reference.

Hamilton itself anchors the composition, its road network and settled core standing in contrast to the surrounding uplands and valleys. Nearby Lebanon and Kealerville appear within a broader pattern of hamlets, farms, crossroads, and minor routes, revealing the connected yet distinctly rural character of Madison County in the 1940s. The map’s black-lined roads show the practical arteries of everyday life, while railways and local tracks hint at older systems of movement and commerce. Around these human features, the land asserts itself through contours: gentle slopes, ridgelines, drainage corridors, and small basins are all rendered with quiet precision. For collectors interested in New York history, this is a richly informative view of a regional landscape before later suburban expansion and modern road realignments reshaped many such communities.

The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, brought scientific rigor and visual consistency to the mapping of the United States, and this Hamilton sheet is a strong example of its mature cartographic style. By the 1940s, USGS topographic maps had become indispensable tools for engineers, planners, geologists, land managers, military users, and travelers alike. Their authority came from a disciplined combination of field survey, standardized symbols, contour measurement, and careful compilation. On this map, the agency’s characteristic design allows many kinds of information to coexist clearly: settlement, transportation, hydrography, vegetation, and elevation are all legible at once. The result is not merely technical; it has an austere elegance, transforming the measured facts of terrain into a graphic composition of lines, colors, and spatial relationships.

The natural geography shown around Hamilton is especially compelling. Streams thread through the valleys, ponds and small lakes punctuate the landscape, and the green-tinted wooded areas emphasize the patchwork of forest and open land that defines this part of central New York. Contour lines give the map its sculptural quality, allowing the viewer to read the countryside as a series of hills, hollows, slopes, and drainage patterns. These topographic details would have been invaluable to hikers, surveyors, road builders, and anyone concerned with water flow, land use, or access. They also create a historical environmental record: the distribution of forests, routes, and waterways in 1944 can be compared with later maps to trace changes in agriculture, development, conservation, and transportation.

As a historical object, “Hamilton” offers a refined window into the wartime United States, when accurate domestic mapping held both civilian and strategic importance. Though focused on a quiet portion of Madison County, the map belongs to a national cartographic effort that sought to document the country’s terrain with unprecedented clarity. Its value lies in the intimacy of its detail: the modest roads, rural settlements, streams, wooded hills, and village fabric together form a portrait of place at a specific moment in time. For those with ties to Hamilton, Madison County, or the landscapes of upstate New York, it evokes memory and continuity. For collectors, it stands as an elegant example of USGS topographic craft, balancing scientific exactitude with the enduring visual beauty of mapped terrain.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Hamilton, NY
• Lebanon, NY
• Kealerville, NY
• Madison County
• Lakes and water bodies, including various unnamed lakes
• Major roads and railways, including primary routes shown with black lines
• Topographical features, including hills and valleys
• Streams and rivers
• Parks and forested regions

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:31,680 topographical map of Hamilton, New York and the surrounding area.
• Based on 1944 data and published in 1944, with no separate imprint year specified.
• Created by the US Geological Survey, founded in 1879 and known for mapping, scientific research, and natural resource management in the United States.
• Uses rich color and contour lines to show elevation, terrain variation, and the physical character of the landscape.
• Green coloring indicates vegetation and forested areas.
• Typical of USGS topographical mapping, with detailed representation of hills, valleys, water bodies, and terrain relief.
• Offers insight into the mid-20th-century geography, infrastructure, land use, and environmental conditions of Hamilton and nearby areas.
• Useful for comparing historical and modern maps to study urban growth, land use change, and environmental transformation.

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.