Published in 1959 from 1957 survey work, the United States Geological Survey’s “Freeport” presents a finely observed portrait of coastal Maine at mid-century. At the 1:24,000 scale, it captures the town of Freeport and its surrounding countryside with the precision that made USGS quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, hikers, and historians alike. The map belongs to an era when postwar America was expanding rapidly, yet many corners of the Maine coast still retained a rural, maritime character. Here, Freeport appears before its later rise as a nationally known retail destination anchored by L.L. Bean, offering instead a measured view of roads, settlements, coves, hills, and waterways in a landscape poised between traditional coastal life and modern development.

The cartography is classic mid-century USGS: disciplined, legible, and quietly elegant. Contour lines articulate the land’s subtle rises and folds, while blue hydrography traces inlets, ponds, coves, and the coastal waters of Casco Bay. Green shading marks wooded areas, giving the sheet a distinctive visual rhythm and helping distinguish settled corridors from the surrounding natural terrain. Roads, trails, buildings, shorelines, and place names are all rendered with systematic care, creating a dense but readable record of human and natural geography. The result is a map whose beauty lies not in ornament but in exactitude: a carefully layered depiction of elevation, water, vegetation, and settlement, produced according to the rigorous standards of the United States Geological Survey.

Freeport itself occupies the heart of the map, set within a varied landscape of low hills, coves, ponds, and branching roads leading toward neighboring communities. To the east and southeast, the coastline opens into the island-studded waters of Casco Bay, one of Maine’s defining maritime regions. Nearby Brunswick, with the presence of Bowdoin College, evokes the intellectual and civic life of the area, while Harpswell, Mere Point, Cundy’s Harbor, Long Island, and Littlejohn Island speak to the region’s deep coastal identity. The map also records beaches, inlets, smaller islands, and sheltered waters that supported fishing, boating, and seasonal movement long before the area became associated with tourism and conservation.

As a historical document, the map captures Freeport in the late 1950s, before later waves of commercial expansion reshaped its public image. Today the town is widely recognized for retail and outdoor recreation culture, but this map shows an older geographic framework: dispersed settlement, working shorelines, modest road networks, and a close relationship between village, forest, and tidewater. The surrounding hills and wetlands hint at the physical constraints that guided development, while the coastal indentations and offshore islands reveal why navigation, fishing, and maritime exchange were so important to the region. For collectors, this is a compelling snapshot of a Maine town at a transitional moment, still rooted in its historic landscape.

The USGS’s broader mission gives the map additional significance. Founded to survey and classify the nation’s lands and resources, the agency became synonymous with authoritative topographic mapping, and sheets like “Freeport” demonstrate how local landscapes were incorporated into a national scientific project. Every contour, road symbol, shoreline, and water feature reflects standardized fieldwork and compilation methods intended to make terrain understandable at a glance. Yet beyond its technical achievement, the map has an evocative regional character: the meeting of glacially shaped hills with tidal coves, the scattered settlements around Casco Bay, and the quiet complexity of coastal Maine. It is both a practical survey and a richly detailed historical portrait.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Freeport, Maine
• Brunswick, Maine
• Harpswell, Maine
• Casco Bay
• Long Island
• Littlejohn Island
• Cundy's Harbor
• Mere Point
• Back Cove
• Bowdoin College near Brunswick
• Various unnamed roads and trails
• Various unnamed ponds and inlets
• Smaller islands within Casco Bay
• Beaches along the coastline
• Water bodies with varying depths and notable fishery areas
• Notable elevations and hills surrounding Freeport

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Freeport, Maine and the surrounding area
• Produced by the United States Geological Survey
• Dated 1957 and published with a 1959 imprint
• Reflects the rigorous USGS mapping standards of the mid-20th century
• Features a green and blue color scheme indicating elevations and water features
• Carefully labels important infrastructure and natural features
• Shows a diverse terrain of hilly areas, bodies of water, and organized settlement
• Captures Freeport in the late 1950s, before later retail expansion and coastal conservation developments
• Freeport is notable as a coastal town and later tourist destination associated with L.L. Bean’s flagship store

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.