The “Kennebunkport Quadrangle” is a finely detailed US Geological Survey topographic map of the southern Maine coast, compiled in 1956 and issued with a 1966 imprint. At 1:24,000 scale, it captures Kennebunkport and its surrounding shoreline with the precision and restraint characteristic of mid-century USGS cartography. The map balances practical survey information with a quietly elegant visual language: green woodland areas, blue tidal waters, fine contour lines, and crisply labeled roads, settlements, marshes, beaches, and coves. It presents a moment in Kennebunkport’s history when the town’s identity as a venerable coastal resort, fishing community, and seasonal retreat was increasingly intertwined with postwar residential growth and automobile-era tourism.

Kennebunkport itself anchors the map, accompanied by neighboring coastal places whose names evoke the geography and social history of this part of Maine: Cape Porpoise, Goose Rocks Beach, Cape Arundel, Lower Village, River Neck, and Martin’s Point. The Atlantic Ocean frames the eastern edge, while the intricate shoreline around the Kennebunkport Peninsula reveals the region’s defining character—rocky points, sandy beaches, tidal inlets, sheltered harbors, and low-lying wetlands. Biddeford Pool appears to the northeast, another storied coastal enclave shaped by maritime life and summer visitors. Together these places form a richly textured portrait of a coastline where village streets, working waterfronts, dunes, estuaries, and vacation landscapes meet.

The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the preeminent American institution for systematic topographic mapping, and this quadrangle reflects its mature postwar style. Every contour, road, stream, and shoreline is arranged for clarity, yet the result has a visual sophistication that rewards close study. Elevation lines describe the gentle undulations of the New England coastal plain, where modest hills and depressions give way to marshes, coves, and ocean beaches. Blue hydrography highlights the Kennebunk River and surrounding tidal waters, while green land cover identifies wooded areas and natural reserves. The map’s beauty lies in its disciplined accuracy: a landscape rendered scientifically, but with an understated grace.

Transportation routes give the map a strong mid-century historical dimension. Route 9 follows the coastal corridor, linking Kennebunkport with beaches, villages, and neighboring communities, while Route 35 connects inland areas toward Lower Village and the Kennebunk River. Maine Route 9B, also known as the F.Y. Libby Road, appears as part of the local road network that helped shape residential expansion and seasonal mobility. These roads trace the changing rhythms of the area, from older maritime settlement patterns to the growing importance of tourism, commuting, and recreational travel. For historians of place, the map offers a revealing record of how Kennebunkport’s celebrated coastal charm was organized by infrastructure.

As a historical document, the map preserves Kennebunkport at a particularly evocative point in the twentieth century. Long admired for its sea air, grand summer homes, fishing heritage, and scenic headlands, the town was already well established as one of Maine’s most desirable coastal destinations. Yet the quadrangle also records quieter details: undeveloped tracts, marshlands, river bends, shoreline contours, and pockets of woodland that speak to the area’s natural setting before later decades of growth. The combination of Cape Arundel, Goose Rocks Beach, Cape Porpoise, the Kennebunk River, and the Atlantic coast makes this map a compelling study of landscape, leisure, and settlement along one of New England’s most cherished shorelines.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Kennebunkport, ME
• Atlantic Ocean
• Cape Porpoise
• Goose Rocks Beach
• Cape Arundel
• Biddeford Pool
• Lower Village
• River Neck
• Martin’s Point
• Kennebunk River
• Arundel
• Route 9
• Route 35
• Maine Route 9B, also known as the F.Y. Libby Road
• Various identified parks and natural reserves
• Coastlines and shorelines around the Kennebunkport Peninsula

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:24,000 topographical map shows Kennebunkport, Maine, and the surrounding area.
• The map is dated 1956 and carries a 1966 imprint.
• The USGS is known for detailed topographic maps that provide geographic information for land use planning, outdoor activities, and related applications.
• Kennebunkport is shown as a prominent populated place, noted for its coastal charm and historical significance as a summer destination.
• The map uses a bright color palette, with green for land areas and blue for water bodies.
• Topographic contour lines indicate elevation and help visualize the area’s landforms.
• The design follows USGS cartographic standards of the period, emphasizing clarity and detailed terrain representation.
• The map shows varied New England coastal terrain, including coastal areas, hills, depressions, and water bodies.
• It provides a mid-20th-century snapshot of the Kennebunkport area, reflecting changes in land use and development over time, especially tourism and residential growth.

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.