{"product_id":"old-map-of-block-island-rhode-island-by-usgs-1899-great-salt-pond-old-harbor-south-east-light","title":"Old Map of Block Island, Rhode Island by USGS, 1899 – Great Salt Pond, Old Harbor \u0026 South East Light","description":"\u003cp\u003eTitled “Block Island,” this United States Geological Survey topographical map was created from 1899 mapping and issued with a 1912 imprint, offering a finely observed portrait of one of Rhode Island’s most storied offshore landscapes. Drawn at 1:62,500 scale, it presents Block Island not merely as a seaside destination, but as a working coastal world shaped by harbors, ponds, bluffs, beaches, and maritime approaches. Its distinct hues, measured contouring, and elegant period typography reflect the clarity and restraint of early twentieth-century American cartography. The result is a map of both practical precision and historical atmosphere, capturing the island at a moment when rural settlement, navigation, and summer resort culture were beginning to overlap more visibly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe US Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined methods that made its work indispensable to engineers, navigators, landowners, and public officials. Founded in the late nineteenth century, the USGS helped standardize the mapping of the American landscape through careful field observation, triangulation, and systematic topographic representation. Here, that national scientific ambition is applied to a compact but complex island terrain. Contour lines trace subtle rises and depressions, revealing the island’s rolling interior, coastal bluffs, and low-lying shores with a precision that ordinary nautical charts rarely conveyed. The map’s restrained design makes elevation, shoreline, roads, settlements, and landmarks legible at a glance, while preserving the distinctive visual charm of its era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlock Island itself is shown as a place defined by water, exposure, and orientation. Great Salt Pond dominates the northern interior, opening toward New Harbor and suggesting the protected anchorage that would prove central to the island’s maritime and recreational life. Old Harbor, on the eastern side, marks the long-established point of arrival, its sheltered position tying the island to ferries, fishing, commerce, and summer visitors. Around the coastline appear evocative names—Cow Cove, West Beach, South Beach, Crescent Beach, and Sandy Point—each registering a different encounter between land and sea. The map allows the viewer to read Block Island as mariners and residents once did: by coves, lights, harbors, and wind-shaped shores.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe island’s landmarks speak powerfully to its navigational importance. North Light, set near Sandy Point, and South East Light, perched above the more dramatic southeastern coast, marked crucial aids for vessels moving through the often hazardous waters between Long Island Sound, Rhode Island, and the open Atlantic. Their presence on the map underscores Block Island’s role as both haven and warning in a busy maritime corridor. Inland, names such as Green Hill, Rodman’s Hollow, and The Corners suggest a settled agricultural community layered behind the beaches and bluffs. Roads and place names trace a human geography of farms, lanes, meeting points, and lookout positions, revealing an island not yet fully transformed by modern tourism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eViewed today, the map is also a subtle environmental document. Its shorelines, ponds, beaches, and hollows record a coastal landscape before more than a century of development, erosion, conservation, storms, and climate pressure altered the island’s edges and habitats. Places such as Crescent Beach, Great Salt Pond, and Rodman’s Hollow carry ecological significance as well as historical resonance, their mapped forms inviting comparison with the present landscape. The USGS topographic style gives this comparison unusual depth, because it shows not only where features were, but how the land rose, dipped, and met the sea. “Block Island” therefore stands as a compelling record of geography, navigation, settlement, and environmental memory at the turn of the twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlock Island\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGreat Salt Pond\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNew Harbor\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOld Harbor\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSouth East Light\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNorth Light\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSandy Point\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCow Cove\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCrescent Beach\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRodman's Hollow\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGreen Hill\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWest Beach\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSouth Beach\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Corners\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the US Geological Survey.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical 1:62,500 topographical map of Block Island, Rhode Island, and the surrounding coastal area.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDated 1899 and published with a 1912 imprint.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFeatures a clear topographical layout with contour lines showing elevation changes.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRendered in a vintage early 20th-century cartographic style, with distinct hues and stylized typography.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShows Block Island as a historically significant coastal community and vacation destination.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProvides insight into the island’s geography, including its elevation, coastline, ponds, harbors, and natural features.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRecords coastal landscapes and natural environments that may have changed since publication due to development, erosion, climate change, and other factors.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking for a particular place?\u003c\/strong\u003e Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/fr\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop to check before you order\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/fr\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/fr\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee personalised map examples\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith 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 \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/fr\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003erare old and vintage maps\u003c\/a\u003e to discover another place, period or style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":58815466963328,"sku":null,"price":39.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58815466996096,"sku":null,"price":105.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58815467028864,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58815467061632,"sku":null,"price":39.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58815467094400,"sku":null,"price":105.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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