{"product_id":"old-map-of-potomac-maryland-by-usgs-1908-frostburg-cumberland-allegany-county","title":"Old Map of Potomac, Maryland by USGS, 1908 – Frostburg, Cumberland \u0026 Allegany County","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe US Geological Survey quadrangle titled “Frostburg” presents western Maryland with the quiet authority of early twentieth-century scientific cartography. Published in 1932 using original survey data from 1908, it captures Allegany County and the Potomac region at a moment when rail corridors, mining towns, mountain roads, and river valleys shaped everyday movement. At a scale of 1:62,500, the map balances broad regional context with precise local detail, showing Frostburg, Cumberland, Potomac, Little Bowers, Big Bowers, and the surrounding uplands. Its date is especially evocative: the landscape recorded belongs to the pre-automobile-dominant era, while the later imprint reflects a nation still relying on these foundational surveys for planning, travel, engineering, and land use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe USGS, founded in 1879, became one of the great institutional mapmakers of the modern world, bringing geological observation, field surveying, triangulation, and standardized symbology into a national mapping program. This Frostburg sheet is a fine example of that disciplined approach. Its contour lines translate the Appalachian terrain into a legible visual language, revealing ridges, slopes, valleys, summits, and drainage patterns with clarity and grace. Rather than merely naming places, the map explains the physical logic behind them: why roads bend, why towns gather in certain valleys, and why railways follow the easiest grades through the mountains. The restrained color palette typical of USGS topographic sheets lends the landscape both scientific precision and understated beauty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe country shown here is defined by relief. Allegany Summit and Maple Summit rise from a terrain of folded hills and deeply incised valleys, while the Potomac River and Youghiogheny River anchor the region’s hydrology. Smaller waterways—Menger Run, Flanagan Run, Bear Creek, and the Embrey River—thread through the highlands, marking routes of erosion, settlement, and travel. The contour intervals make visible the muscular geography of western Maryland, where the Appalachian Plateau meets human ambition in the form of roads, railways, farms, and mountain communities. These elevation lines are not decorative; they are the map’s central drama, turning the land into a measured topographic portrait of ascent, descent, and passage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrostburg and Cumberland give the map much of its historical resonance. Cumberland was long a transportation hub, tied to the National Road, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the wider industrial movement of coal, timber, and goods through the Appalachian interior. Frostburg, set higher in the mountains, developed with close connections to coal mining, rail transport, and the demanding terrain around it. The railways and roads shown between towns such as Little Bowers and Big Bowers reveal a working landscape, one shaped by extraction, commerce, and the practical necessities of mountain life. Even unnamed valleys and peaks carry significance, suggesting a region where geography governed opportunity as much as politics or economics.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eViewed today, “Frostburg” is also a document of transformation. It records Maryland before many later layers of suburban growth, highway expansion, and modern infrastructure altered the relationship between communities and countryside. Potomac, Maryland, would become associated with affluent neighborhoods and proximity to Washington, D.C., yet the broader map context evokes an earlier state landscape of rural settlements, river crossings, and regional routes. The sheet preserves the demographic and geographic texture of the early twentieth century: scattered communities, carefully drawn drainage systems, rugged landforms, and transportation lines binding the mountains together. It is both a technical achievement and a historical window, inviting close study of how land, industry, and settlement evolved across western Maryland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePotomac, Maryland\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFrostburg\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCumberland\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAllegany County\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLittle Bowers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBig Bowers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYoughiogheny River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePotomac River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAllegany Summit\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaple Summit\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEmbrey River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMenger Run\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFlanagan Run\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBear Creek\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeveral unnamed valleys and peaks\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRoads and railways connecting these locations\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:62,500 topographical map.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBased on original data from 1908 and published with a 1932 imprint.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe USGS, founded in 1879, is a scientific agency of the U.S. government known for geological mapping and surveying.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUses contour lines to show elevation changes across the landscape.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFeatures a color scheme typical of early 20th-century topographical maps.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShows varied terrain, including hills, valleys, and notable landforms.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReflects the geographic and demographic landscape of Maryland in the early 20th century.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHighlights how settlement, infrastructure, and urban development have changed over time.\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=\"\/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=\"\/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=\"\/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=\"\/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":58792691827072,"sku":null,"price":39.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58792691859840,"sku":null,"price":105.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58792691892608,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58792691925376,"sku":null,"price":39.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58792691958144,"sku":null,"price":105.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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