Published in 1952 using survey data from 1946, the USGS topographical map titled “Princeton” captures a poised mid-century portrait of central New Jersey at a moment before postwar suburban expansion reshaped the region. At 1:24,000 scale, it presents Princeton and its surrounding countryside with the precision that made the United States Geological Survey the standard bearer of American cartography. Princeton University, Nassau Street, Harrison Street, Elm Road, and the historic village core appear within a landscape still closely bound to farms, wooded tracts, streams, and gently rolling uplands. The map is especially compelling for the contrast it preserves: an internationally renowned seat of learning set within a quieter Mercer County terrain, with roads, waterways, and settlement patterns revealing the town’s pre-interstate character.

The US Geological Survey brought scientific rigor and understated elegance to maps such as this, combining field survey, aerial interpretation, and standardized symbology into a lucid visual language. Contour lines articulate the rises and hollows around Princeton, Hopewell, Mount Rose, and Lawrenceville, while the familiar greens and tans distinguish wooded ground, open land, and relief. The result is not merely a navigational document, but a finely calibrated study of landform and habitation. Beden’s Brook, Stony Brook, Blake’s Pond, and Carnegie Lake are rendered as integral parts of the landscape’s structure, linking natural drainage with human settlement. This is the USGS at its most quietly authoritative: exacting, legible, and rich in geographical intelligence.

Princeton University anchors the map both geographically and historically, its campus lying just south of Nassau Street in the town’s storied center. By 1946, the university was emerging from the wartime years and approaching a period of significant institutional growth, yet this map records the campus before many later modern facilities altered its footprint. Nearby roads such as Washington Road, Harrison Street, Quaker Road, Edgerstoune Road, Cherry Hill Road, and Elm Road trace the connections between collegiate precincts, residential neighborhoods, and rural outskirts. The historic district of Princeton appears in relation to older travel corridors, especially Route 27 and Route 206, underscoring the town’s long-standing role as a crossroads between New York, Philadelphia, Trenton, and the interior of New Jersey.

Waterways give this map much of its character. Carnegie Lake, created in the early twentieth century as a rowing course for Princeton University, stretches eastward as a striking man-made feature tied to both recreation and engineering. Stony Brook and Beden’s Brook wind through the surrounding terrain, their valleys emphasized by the close spacing and graceful bends of the contour lines. Canal Road and the Delaware and Raritan Canal mark another historic layer: the nineteenth-century transportation corridor that helped connect inland New Jersey commerce to broader regional markets. Together, these hydrological features reveal Princeton not simply as a university town, but as part of a carefully interwoven network of streams, canals, roads, and settlements.

Beyond Princeton itself, the map encompasses a constellation of communities and landmarks that illuminate the region’s evolving postwar geography. Lawrenceville, Hopewell, Clarksville, Mount Rose, and the roads leading toward U.S. Route 1 show the early framework of the suburban and commuter landscape that would expand dramatically in later decades. Areas associated today with Mercer County Park and surrounding open spaces invite comparison between the mid-century terrain and the developed recreational landscape that followed. Route 1, Route 206, and Route 27 already suggest the infrastructural pressures that would transform central New Jersey after 1946. As a historical document, “Princeton” preserves a refined and revealing snapshot of place: academic, rural, civic, and increasingly metropolitan.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Princeton
• Princeton University
• Lawrenceville
• Hopewell
• Mount Rose
• Blake's Pond
• Beden's Brook
• Stony Brook
• Carnegie Lake
• Quaker Road
• Canal Road
• U.S. Route 1
• U.S. Route 206
• New Jersey Route 27
• D&R Canal
• Mercer County Park
• Nassau Street
• Harrison Street
• Clarksville
• Edgerstoune Road
• Elm Road
• Cherry Hill Road

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map created using data from 1946 and published in 1952.
• Published by the US Geological Survey, a U.S. government scientific agency known for detailed mapping and geological studies.
• The USGS has provided reliable geographic information for uses including urban planning, environmental management, and land study.
• Uses contour lines to show elevation changes.
• Employs light tan and green color schemes commonly associated with elevation relief and vegetation.
• Provides a detailed topographic view of hills, valleys, rivers, and mid-20th-century urban development.
• Documents the area before later expansion, including university growth, residential development, infrastructure changes, and broader urbanization in New Jersey.

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 18x24in (45x60cm) 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.