{"product_id":"old-map-of-tamassee-south-carolina-by-usgs-1959-oconee-county-chattooga-river-blue-ridge-mountains","title":"Old Map of Tamassee, South Carolina by USGS, 1959 – Oconee County, Chattooga River \u0026 Blue Ridge Mountains","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublished with a 1960 imprint from 1959 survey work, the US Geological Survey’s “Tamassee Quadrangle” presents a finely observed portrait of northwestern South Carolina at mid-century. Centered on Tamassee in Oconee County, the map captures a landscape where settled valleys, wooded slopes, rural roads, streams, and mountain approaches converge. Its 1:24,000 scale gives the sheet an intimate precision, allowing roads, drainage patterns, structures, and landforms to appear in close relationship. Lake Tamassee anchors the local geography, while the surrounding contours reveal a terrain shaped by water, elevation, and forest. As both a scientific document and a historical record, the map preserves the look of a region poised between traditional rural land use and the accelerating infrastructural changes of the postwar South.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe US Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined cartographic language that made its quadrangles indispensable to engineers, hikers, planners, and historians alike. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the federal government’s principal authority for mapping the nation’s terrain, natural resources, and geologic character. By the 1950s, its topographic quadrangles represented one of the most ambitious scientific mapping efforts in the world, combining field survey, aerial photography, and standardized symbology. In “Tamassee Quadrangle,” that institutional rigor is evident in the crisp contouring, careful hydrography, and clear depiction of roads and cultural features. The result is a map that does more than locate places: it interprets the physical logic of the landscape with remarkable economy and authority.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe visual character of the map is particularly evocative, with its vibrant green woodland tint emphasizing the forested nature of the Blue Ridge foothills. Brown contour lines sweep and tighten across the sheet, tracing ridges, hollows, slopes, and valleys with a precision that makes the terrain almost tactile. Around Tamassee and Lake Tamassee, the contours soften in places, then rise again toward more rugged ground, suggesting the dramatic transitions characteristic of this corner of South Carolina. Small streams thread through the landscape, their courses often explaining the settlement patterns and road alignments around them. The map’s design is functional, but also elegant: a layered composition of elevation, vegetation, water, and human movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGeographically, the quadrangle lies in a fascinating borderland between the cultivated Piedmont and the rising Southern Appalachians. Oconee County and nearby Pickens County occupy a region long defined by mountain passes, river corridors, and dense forest. The Chattooga River, one of the great waterways of the area, forms part of the broader natural context, associated with steep terrain, remote valleys, and later wilderness preservation. Roads such as the B. C. Williams Memorial Highway and crossings like Smoak Bridge point to the practical challenges of moving through this uneven country. Trails and forested tracts hint at older routes and recreational possibilities, while the map’s many minor streams reveal a landscape deeply shaped by drainage and elevation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a historical artifact, “Tamassee Quadrangle” offers a compelling snapshot of land use and geographic knowledge in 1959. It records a rural mountain-edge community before later decades of development, conservation, changing road systems, and expanded outdoor recreation altered the regional landscape. The map’s careful depiction of forest cover, water features, and topography provides clues to environmental conditions of the time, while its roads, place names, and structures document the human geography of mid-century Oconee County. For collectors, it embodies the understated beauty of USGS topographic mapping: scientific, exacting, and quietly rich in local history. It is a study of Tamassee not as an abstraction, but as a lived landscape of hills, streams, roads, and memory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTamassee\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLake Tamassee\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOconee County\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChattooga River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePickens County\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eB. C. Williams Memorial Highway\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmoak Bridge\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVarious trails and forested areas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlue Ridge Mountains, partially represented\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVarious small streams and topographical features based on elevation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical 1:24,000 topographical map dated 1959 with a 1960 imprint\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the US Geological Survey\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShows Tamassee, South Carolina and the surrounding area\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUses a vibrant green palette to represent vegetation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncludes contour lines to indicate elevation changes and physical terrain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDepicts valleys, slopes, and rugged regional topography\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProvides insight into mid-20th-century geographical understanding of the area\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReflects land use and environmental features that may 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=\"\/it\/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=\"\/it\/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=\"\/it\/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=\"\/it\/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":68118553985415,"sku":null,"price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68118554018183,"sku":null,"price":144.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":68118554050951,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":68118554083719,"sku":null,"price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":68118554116487,"sku":null,"price":144.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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