Titled “Rockport” and dated 1947, this US Geological Survey map presents Cape Ann’s northeastern edge with the precision and restraint that made USGS topographic sheets indispensable to planners, scientists, mariners, and travelers. At a 1:25,000 scale, it captures Rockport, Massachusetts, and its surrounding coastal landscape in unusually intimate detail, balancing the built environment of roads, settlements, piers, and waterfront districts with the rugged natural form of granite headlands, coves, beaches, and offshore islands. The Atlantic Ocean frames the sheet with a powerful sense of place, while Sandy Bay, Bearskin Neck, Pigeon Cove, Lanes Cove, and Long Beach reveal the shoreline’s intricate rhythm. As a 1947 document, it offers a valuable mid-century snapshot of a celebrated New England maritime community.

The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, brought a scientific rigor to American cartography that is immediately evident here. Rather than emphasizing decoration, the map’s beauty lies in measured exactness: contour lines step across Cape Ann’s rocky terrain, hydrographic features are crisply delineated, and color is used to distinguish land cover, settlement, water, and relief. This was mapping designed for utility, yet its visual language has an understated elegance prized by collectors today. The USGS mission—to study the nation’s landscapes, resources, and natural hazards—gave maps like “Rockport” a practical importance in public works, military planning, conservation, and local administration. In this sheet, the agency’s technical discipline transforms a beloved coastal region into a finely observed portrait of land, water, and human settlement.

Rockport itself occupies the heart of the map, its harbor and waterfront suggesting the town’s long relationship with fishing, quarrying, tourism, and the arts. Bearskin Neck projects into Sandy Bay, a narrow, storied promontory lined historically with wharves, shops, and fishing structures. Nearby stands the famed Motif No. 1, the red fishing shack that became one of the most painted buildings in America and a symbol of Rockport’s enduring art colony. The town’s picturesque reputation is grounded in precisely the geography shown here: sheltered coves, exposed granite, compact streets, and changing views over the Atlantic. This topographic sheet records not only a place of practical navigation, but a landscape that has inspired painters, photographers, writers, and summer visitors for generations.

Beyond the town center, the map opens into the varied coastal and interior character of Cape Ann. Pigeon Cove and Granite Pier recall the area’s granite industry, whose quarries supplied stone for buildings, bridges, and monuments far beyond Massachusetts. Lanes Cove, Babbidge Point, Slate Island, and Great Island mark a shoreline shaped by glacial geology, wave action, and centuries of maritime use. Inland, Dogtown evokes a different history: an abandoned colonial settlement whose cellar holes, boulders, and trails became part of Cape Ann folklore. The Annisquam River and Little River define watery corridors to the west, while roads and trails knit together beaches, villages, uplands, and coves. The result is a map rich in both physical geography and cultural memory.

As a historical record, the 1947 “Rockport” map is especially compelling for the changes it quietly anticipates. The postwar decades would bring expanded automobile tourism, residential growth, conservation efforts, and evolving attitudes toward coastal land use. Places such as the Halibut Point area, later associated with state park preservation, reflect a broader transition from industrial quarry landscape to protected scenic terrain. The map’s contours and shoreline details also invite comparison with the present, where coastal erosion, development pressure, and environmental stewardship continue to reshape Cape Ann. Yet much remains recognizable: the granite coast, the sheltered coves, the ocean roads, and the compact settlement around Rockport’s harbor. This is cartography as time capsule—a precise, graceful record of a storied Massachusetts seacoast at mid-century.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Rockport, Massachusetts
• Sandy Bay
• Atlantic Ocean
• Bearskin Neck
• Cape Ann
• Halibut Point State Park
• Pigeon Cove
• Granite Pier
• Lanes Cove
• Long Beach
• Annisquam River
• Motif No. 1
• Babbidge Point
• Dogtown
• Slate Island
• Great Island
• Little River
• Riverside
• Several roads and trails along the coast

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:25,000 topographical map is dated 1947.
• The USGS is a scientific agency of the U.S. government responsible for studying landscapes, natural resources, and natural hazards.
• Rockport is known for its picturesque waterfront, historic art colony, and distinctive granite formations along the coast.
• The map features detailed topographic representation, including contour lines that show elevation changes.
• Color is used to illustrate different terrain types and land uses, enhancing the visual representation of the landscape.
• The map shows varied topography, with coastal features prominent along the Atlantic shoreline.
• As a 1947 map, it provides a historical snapshot of the area and offers insight into land use and geographic change over time.
• Notable changes since the map was made may include urban development, coastal erosion, and shifts in land use.

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.