Published in 1942 by the United States Geological Survey, “Tilghman” presents a finely ordered portrait of Maryland’s Chesapeake country at a scale of 1:31,680. Centered on Tilghman Island and its surrounding waters, the map captures a landscape defined as much by tide, creek, and harbor as by roads and settlement. The Choptank River, Chesapeake Bay, St. Michael’s Creek, and Pungoteague Creek shape the sheet’s geography, enclosing a world of peninsulas, landings, marsh edges, and working waterfronts. Its structured grid overlay and disciplined topographic language reflect the USGS’s mid-20th-century commitment to precision, making the map both a scientific document and an evocative record of the Eastern Shore before later waves of development altered its appearance.

The mapmaker, the US Geological Survey, brought to this work the institutional rigor that made its topographic sheets indispensable to engineers, planners, navigators, and naturalists. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the nation’s principal authority on mapping terrain, water systems, mineral resources, and the physical character of the American landscape. In “Tilghman,” that scientific tradition is visible in the careful hierarchy of symbols: roads and settlements are rendered with clarity, waterways with measured confidence, and vegetation and marshland with subtle distinction. The restrained color palette typical of the period allows the complexity of the Chesapeake shore to emerge without ornament, balancing utility with quiet elegance. It is cartography designed not to impress through flourish, but through exactness.

Tilghman Island itself appears as a narrow, low-lying Chesapeake community, its identity inseparable from the surrounding water. Dogwood Harbor, Tilghman Landing, Fairbank, and Mears Point speak to a maritime economy of boats, fisheries, ferries, and local trade. The island’s roadways and settlement pattern reveal a place still relatively modest in scale in 1942, before the full pressure of postwar tourism, waterfront development, and modern infrastructure transformed many Chesapeake towns. Nearby St. Michaels, already an important historic community on the Miles River side of the peninsula, anchors the northern portion of the map’s human geography. Together, these place names evoke a region of shipbuilding traditions, oyster grounds, crab houses, and small ports tied to generations of watermen.

The natural geography shown here is especially compelling: a delicate meeting of land and brackish water, with creeks, points, islands, and marshes interlocking in the distinctive pattern of the Chesapeake Bay. Nelson Island, Cook Point, Hales Point, Green Hill, and Barren Island all contribute to the map’s sense of a mutable coastal environment, where shorelines are vulnerable to erosion, storm tides, and changing sediment. The topographic treatment records subtle elevation shifts, low wetlands, drainage patterns, and vegetated areas, allowing the viewer to read the practical realities of movement and settlement in such terrain. In a landscape where a few feet of elevation could determine farming, habitation, or inundation, the USGS’s measured detail carries unusual historical weight.

As a wartime-era map dated 1942, “Tilghman” also belongs to a moment when accurate domestic mapping held heightened national importance. The Chesapeake Bay was not merely scenic; it was a strategic waterway, a transportation corridor, a fishing ground, and a region of naval and military relevance during the Second World War. Yet the sheet’s lasting appeal lies in its quieter revelations: the arrangement of rural roads, the spacing of waterfront communities, the presence of undeveloped shorelines, and the environmental character of a bay landscape before modern conservation debates became central to public policy. Today, the map offers an absorbing view of Tilghman Island, St. Michaels, Easton’s wider hinterland, and the Chesapeake’s intricate margins at a pivotal point in the 20th century.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Tilghman Island
• St. Michaels
• Fairbank
• Mears Point
• Dogwood Harbor
• Easton
• Choptank River
• Chesapeake Bay
• Nelson Island
• Cook Point
• Tilghman Landing
• Green Hill
• Hales Point
• Barren Island
• Pungoteague Creek
• St. Michael's Creek

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:31,680 topographical map shows Tilghman Island in Maryland and the surrounding area.
• The map is dated 1942.
• Published by the US Geological Survey (USGS), a U.S. government agency known for scientific research and data collection in geography, natural resources, and ecological health.
• The map employs cartographic conventions typical of mid-20th century USGS maps.
• It features clear demarcation of landforms, water bodies, and roads, with a subtle color palette distinguishing different terrain types.
• The map includes detailed representation of elevation changes, waterways, and vegetation.
• It depicts the hilly areas and lower wetlands that characterize the landscape of Tilghman Island.
• The map provides insight into the development and geography of Tilghman Island and surrounding areas when the region was less developed.
• It illustrates historical land usage and changes over time, including urbanization and environmental preservation efforts.
• The map is notable for its structured grid overlay and systematic representation of geographical features and human-made structures.

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.