Published in 1963 from survey work completed in 1961, the “Beaverton Quadrangle” captures a pivotal landscape of northwestern Oregon at a moment when rural valleys, rail corridors, and expanding suburbs were beginning to press closely against one another. Although named for Beaverton, the map also showcases Newberg and the surrounding country with the disciplined clarity of mid-century United States Geological Survey cartography. At 1:62,500 scale, it presents a richly legible portrait of the region’s towns, roads, railroads, waterways, wooded hills, and agricultural lowlands. The map’s topographic language—brown contours, blue drainage, green vegetation, and carefully placed cultural detail—makes visible both the practical geography of settlement and the subtle physical form of the Willamette Valley’s northern edge.

The United States Geological Survey was, by the early 1960s, one of the world’s great institutional mapmakers, combining field survey, aerial interpretation, and standardized cartographic design into authoritative national coverage. During the 1950s and 1960s, USGS topographic maps became indispensable tools for engineers, planners, geologists, foresters, and local governments navigating an era of rapid postwar growth. This quadrangle belongs to that ambitious mapping program: precise, restrained, and intensely useful. Its symbols were designed not for ornament but for confidence, allowing roads, streams, contours, buildings, and woodland to be read in relationship to one another. The result is a map that feels both scientific and historical, a measured record of Oregon’s terrain just before metropolitan Portland’s westward and southwestward expansion accelerated.

Newberg appears within a broader network of valley communities, transportation lines, and cultivated land, set between the influential courses of the Tualatin and Willamette Rivers. These rivers are not merely decorative features; they explain the region’s settlement patterns, agricultural richness, and transportation history. The Willamette, one of Oregon’s defining waterways, anchors the larger valley system that drew settlers, farms, mills, and towns through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Tualatin River, winding through lowlands to the north and east, shapes a more intimate landscape of floodplain, fields, and wooded margins. Roads and railroads stitch these places together, revealing the practical infrastructure of the early 1960s: a region connected to Portland, yet still strongly marked by farms, small towns, and open country.

The map’s visual elegance lies in its topographic subtlety. Contour lines describe the rise and fall of hills and valleys, allowing the viewer to perceive slopes that would influence building sites, drainage, agriculture, and road alignment. Green areas mark forest and dense vegetation, especially on higher or less intensively cultivated ground, while lighter open spaces suggest developed or agricultural land. Blue lines and shapes trace creeks, rivers, and water bodies, lending structure to the terrain and revealing the hydrological logic beneath settlement. Unlike pictorial maps, this USGS sheet derives its beauty from disciplined information: each line is purposeful, each color coded to a national standard, creating a calm but remarkably detailed image of western Oregon’s varied landscape.

As a historical document, the “Beaverton Quadrangle” preserves the region before many later layers of suburbanization, highway development, and changing agricultural practice transformed its appearance. Residential areas and neighborhoods are shown in relation to older transport routes, rail lines, parks, wooded tracts, and open valleys, offering a valuable snapshot of land use in the early 1960s. For Newberg and the surrounding communities, the map records a transitional moment: still rooted in the rhythms of the Willamette Valley, yet increasingly tied to the economic and demographic pull of greater Portland. Its combination of natural and built features makes it especially evocative, showing not simply where places were, but how terrain, water, vegetation, and infrastructure shaped the possibilities of growth.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Newberg, Oregon
• Beaverton, Oregon
• Tualatin River
• Willamette River
• Various residential areas and neighborhoods
• Roads and highways, including major routes
• Railroads
• Parks and forested areas
• Nearby valleys and hills
• Specific topographic features, including contour lines depicting elevations
• Water bodies depicted by blue lines or shapes

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:62,500 topographical map titled Beaverton Quadrangle
• Based on survey data from 1961 and published in 1963
• Produced and published by the United States Geological Survey, or USGS
• The USGS is a U.S. government scientific agency known for topographic mapping, surveying, and geological research
• The 1950s and 1960s were an important period for USGS mapping, supporting land-use management and development planning
• Uses a standard USGS topographic style with color coding for elevation, vegetation, land cover, and water features
• Green shades indicate vegetation, while brown and white hues represent elevation changes
• Shows a mix of populated areas and natural landscapes, including hills, valleys, waterways, and developed areas
• Reflects the geographical, infrastructural, and land-use context of the region in the early 1960s
• Offers a historical snapshot of an area that may have changed significantly due to urban development and agricultural practices

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.