Rare Old Map of Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania by USGS, 1966: Promised Land, Delaware State Forest & Lake Shohola
Restored in our London workshop from the original 1974 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored in London • Printed and framed in the UK
Restored from the original 1974 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
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Published in 1974 using survey data from 1966, the US Geological Survey’s “Promised Land” captures a richly textured portion of Pennsylvania’s Pocono...
Continue readingPublished in 1974 using survey data from 1966, the US Geological Survey’s “Promised Land” captures a richly textured portion of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains at the precise 1:24,000 scale for which USGS quadrangles are renowned. Centered on the community of Promised Land, the map presents a landscape defined by wooded uplands, quiet lakes, narrow roads, and the measured undulation of Appalachian terrain. Its title evokes both local place-name history and the region’s long association with retreat, recreation, and rural settlement. The sheet belongs to an era when federal topographic mapping combined scientific rigor with an elegant visual language: contours, watercourses, woodland tinting, and cultural features rendered with clarity, restraint, and authority.
The cartography is especially compelling in its portrayal of the Pocono plateau’s rolling relief. Fine contour lines describe a landscape of rounded hills, shallow valleys, and forested ridges, making visible the subtle but persistent elevation changes that shape travel, drainage, and settlement. Water is a defining presence: East Lake, West Lake, Lake Lorain, Lake Henry, and nearby Lake Shohola punctuate the terrain, their shorelines carefully delineated against surrounding woods and access roads. Dingman Creek and the North Branch of Wallenpaupack Creek thread through the map as natural corridors, linking uplands to broader watershed systems. The result is both practical and atmospheric, a precise survey that also conveys the secluded character of the Poconos.
Promised Land lies within a region long valued for its forests, lakes, and cool mountain air, and this map records the balance between human access and natural preservation. Delaware State Forest appears as an important presence, situating the quadrangle within Pennsylvania’s broader conservation landscape. Trails, park roads, and minor access routes hint at campsites, fishing spots, hunting grounds, and lakeside recreation, while the sparse pattern of development underscores the area’s rural identity in the mid-twentieth century. The map is therefore more than a geographic document; it is a portrait of a mountain resort and forest region at a particular moment, before later waves of growth reshaped portions of the Poconos.
The US Geological Survey brought to this map the institutional precision that made its quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, hikers, foresters, and historians. Founded in the nineteenth century to classify public lands and assess natural resources, the USGS developed a cartographic style that is at once technical and beautifully legible. On “Promised Land,” color-coded land cover, blue hydrography, black cultural features, and brown contouring work together in a disciplined visual hierarchy. Interstate 84 and Pennsylvania Route 402 introduce the modern transportation grid, while smaller roads and tracks reveal older, more local patterns of movement. This juxtaposition of national infrastructure and remote mountain byways gives the map a quietly fascinating historical depth.
As a historical record, the “Promised Land” quadrangle invites comparison between the Pocono Mountains of the 1960s and the region as it exists today. Lakeshores, forest tracts, roads, and recreational access points shown here offer clues to subsequent development, conservation, and changing land use. Communities such as Promised Land, Blooming Grove, and Pine Grove appear not as isolated names but as part of a wider upland network shaped by water, terrain, and woodland. The map’s meticulous topography preserves the physical logic of the place: ridges guiding roads, streams carving valleys, lakes drawing settlement and leisure. It is a refined and informative view of one of Pennsylvania’s most evocative mountain landscapes.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Promised Land
- Blooming Grove
- Lake Lorain
- East Lake
- West Lake
- Lake Henry
- Lake Shohola
- Pine Grove
- Delaware State Forest
- Dingman Creek
- North Branch of the Wallenpaupack Creek
- I-84 / Interstate 84
- PA Route 402
- Various trails and access roads to recreational areas
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:24,000 topographical map shows the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and the surrounding area.
- Based on survey data from 1966 and published in 1974.
- Published by the US Geological Survey, known for detailed mapping and surveying across the United States.
- The map prominently features the Pocono Mountains, including the community of Promised Land and surrounding lakes, parks, and geographical features.
- Uses a clear, color-coded system for elevation and land use, with waterways, wooded areas, and developed regions prominently displayed.
- Finely detailed contour lines represent the terrain’s topography.
- Shows rolling hills, valleys, and numerous water bodies, reflecting the mountainous character of the region.
- Provides insight into geographic and demographic changes over time in the Pocono area, including landscapes that may have experienced development or conservation since publication.
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.
Published in 1974 using survey data from 1966, the US Geological Survey’s “Promised Land” captures a richly textured portion of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains at the precise 1:24,000 scale for which USGS quadrangles are renowned. Centered on the community of Promised Land, the map presents a landscape defined by wooded uplands, quiet lakes, narrow roads, and the measured undulation of Appalachian terrain. Its title evokes both local place-name history and the region’s long association with retreat, recreation, and rural settlement. The sheet belongs to an era when federal topographic mapping combined scientific rigor with an elegant visual language: contours, watercourses, woodland tinting, and cultural features rendered with clarity, restraint, and authority.
The cartography is especially compelling in its portrayal of the Pocono plateau’s rolling relief. Fine contour lines describe a landscape of rounded hills, shallow valleys, and forested ridges, making visible the subtle but persistent elevation changes that shape travel, drainage, and settlement. Water is a defining presence: East Lake, West Lake, Lake Lorain, Lake Henry, and nearby Lake Shohola punctuate the terrain, their shorelines carefully delineated against surrounding woods and access roads. Dingman Creek and the North Branch of Wallenpaupack Creek thread through the map as natural corridors, linking uplands to broader watershed systems. The result is both practical and atmospheric, a precise survey that also conveys the secluded character of the Poconos.
Promised Land lies within a region long valued for its forests, lakes, and cool mountain air, and this map records the balance between human access and natural preservation. Delaware State Forest appears as an important presence, situating the quadrangle within Pennsylvania’s broader conservation landscape. Trails, park roads, and minor access routes hint at campsites, fishing spots, hunting grounds, and lakeside recreation, while the sparse pattern of development underscores the area’s rural identity in the mid-twentieth century. The map is therefore more than a geographic document; it is a portrait of a mountain resort and forest region at a particular moment, before later waves of growth reshaped portions of the Poconos.
The US Geological Survey brought to this map the institutional precision that made its quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, hikers, foresters, and historians. Founded in the nineteenth century to classify public lands and assess natural resources, the USGS developed a cartographic style that is at once technical and beautifully legible. On “Promised Land,” color-coded land cover, blue hydrography, black cultural features, and brown contouring work together in a disciplined visual hierarchy. Interstate 84 and Pennsylvania Route 402 introduce the modern transportation grid, while smaller roads and tracks reveal older, more local patterns of movement. This juxtaposition of national infrastructure and remote mountain byways gives the map a quietly fascinating historical depth.
As a historical record, the “Promised Land” quadrangle invites comparison between the Pocono Mountains of the 1960s and the region as it exists today. Lakeshores, forest tracts, roads, and recreational access points shown here offer clues to subsequent development, conservation, and changing land use. Communities such as Promised Land, Blooming Grove, and Pine Grove appear not as isolated names but as part of a wider upland network shaped by water, terrain, and woodland. The map’s meticulous topography preserves the physical logic of the place: ridges guiding roads, streams carving valleys, lakes drawing settlement and leisure. It is a refined and informative view of one of Pennsylvania’s most evocative mountain landscapes.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Promised Land
- Blooming Grove
- Lake Lorain
- East Lake
- West Lake
- Lake Henry
- Lake Shohola
- Pine Grove
- Delaware State Forest
- Dingman Creek
- North Branch of the Wallenpaupack Creek
- I-84 / Interstate 84
- PA Route 402
- Various trails and access roads to recreational areas
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:24,000 topographical map shows the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and the surrounding area.
- Based on survey data from 1966 and published in 1974.
- Published by the US Geological Survey, known for detailed mapping and surveying across the United States.
- The map prominently features the Pocono Mountains, including the community of Promised Land and surrounding lakes, parks, and geographical features.
- Uses a clear, color-coded system for elevation and land use, with waterways, wooded areas, and developed regions prominently displayed.
- Finely detailed contour lines represent the terrain’s topography.
- Shows rolling hills, valleys, and numerous water bodies, reflecting the mountainous character of the region.
- Provides insight into geographic and demographic changes over time in the Pocono area, including landscapes that may have experienced development or conservation since publication.
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.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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