Published in 1946 by the United States Geological Survey, “Sag Harbor” captures the eastern Long Island landscape at a revealing mid-century moment. Drawn at the precise 1:24,000 topographic scale, the map centers on Sag Harbor and Bridgehampton, extending across a coastal terrain where village streets, rural roads, ponds, bays, and ocean margins are rendered with the disciplined clarity characteristic of USGS mapping. Its contour lines give form to the low, rolling relief of Suffolk County, while the meeting of land and water around Noyack Bay, Mill Pond, and the Atlantic shore provides a strong geographic framework. The result is both a practical survey document and an evocative portrait of a region balanced between maritime heritage, agriculture, and emerging resort culture.

Sag Harbor occupies a place of particular historical resonance on this map. Once one of America’s great whaling ports, the village had long been shaped by ships, chandlers, waterfront commerce, and the cosmopolitan exchange that came with deep-sea voyages. By 1946, the great whaling era was long past, yet the harbor’s historic identity still anchored the settlement pattern visible in the survey. Roads converge on the waterfront, and the village appears as a compact cultural and commercial center, positioned between sheltered waters and inland routes. The map preserves Sag Harbor before later waves of gentrification and second-home development transformed much of the East End, making it a valuable record of the community’s postwar geography.

To the south, Bridgehampton appears as a contrasting but complementary landscape, rooted in fields, lanes, and a long agricultural tradition. Known for potato farms, open acreage, and summer estates, Bridgehampton in the mid-twentieth century stood at the intersection of working countryside and seasonal leisure. The map’s minor roads and trails trace a quieter pattern of movement than today’s heavily trafficked corridors, suggesting a place still defined by local farms, village life, and access to the Atlantic beaches. Nearby Southampton Village connects the sheet to one of Long Island’s most storied resort communities, yet the topographic treatment avoids glamour in favor of exact observation: contours, drainage, roads, and settlement are all carefully balanced.

The cartographic language of the USGS gives this map its enduring elegance. Contour lines articulate subtle rises and depressions across a terrain that might otherwise appear deceptively flat, revealing the gentle hills, valleys, and glacially influenced landforms of the South Fork. Water is a commanding presence: Noyack Bay opens to the north, Mill Pond punctuates the inland landscape, and the Atlantic Ocean defines the southern horizon. This interplay between sheltered bay, pond, village, farmland, and open ocean is central to the character of the region. The map’s clean hierarchy of lines and labels allows these relationships to emerge with exceptional clarity, turning topographic data into a finely composed geographic narrative.

As a 1946 USGS production, the map also reflects a broader American moment. In the years immediately after the Second World War, detailed federal mapping supported planning, infrastructure, resource management, and recreation across a rapidly changing nation. On eastern Long Island, those changes would prove dramatic: former agricultural areas became increasingly desirable residential and vacation enclaves, while Sag Harbor and Bridgehampton evolved into internationally recognized destinations. This map predates much of that transformation, preserving the texture of roads, settlements, shorelines, and rural space before later economic and architectural shifts reshaped the Hamptons. It is an unusually rich view of place: scientific in method, historic in content, and quietly atmospheric in its depiction of one of New York’s most celebrated coastal landscapes.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Sag Harbor
• Bridgehampton
• Southampton Village
• Noyack
• Noyack Bay
• Mill Pond
• Atlantic Ocean
• Minor roads and trails within the mapped area
• Various contours indicating topographical features

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, and the surrounding area in New York
• Created in 1946
• Published by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
• USGS topographic maps are known for supporting land use planning, resource management, and outdoor recreation
• Sag Harbor is known as a historic whaling port and prominent cultural center
• Bridgehampton is noted for its rich agricultural history and role as a summer retreat
• Features a clear topographical style with distinct contour lines showing elevation changes
• Shows hills, valleys, and the relationship between land and water bodies such as Noyack Bay and the Atlantic Ocean
• Provides insight into the mid-20th-century landscape before later economic and residential changes in Sag Harbor and Bridgehampton

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.