Rare Old Map of Houma, Louisiana by USGS, 1963: Bayou Black & Terrebonne Parish
Restored in our London workshop from the original 1964 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored in London • Printed and framed in the USA
Restored from the original 1964 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
You can also contact us before you order, if you prefer!
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Titled “Houma,” this United States Geological Survey topographical map was published in 1964 using survey data gathered in 1963, preserving a precise...
Continue readingTitled “Houma,” this United States Geological Survey topographical map was published in 1964 using survey data gathered in 1963, preserving a precise mid-century view of one of southern Louisiana’s most distinctive bayou communities. At 1:24,000 scale, it presents Houma and its surrounding Terrebonne Parish landscape with the clarity and authority characteristic of USGS quadrangles. The map captures an area where settlement, waterways, transport routes, and lowland terrain are inseparably linked. Urban streets and developed areas appear in red, forested tracts in green, and the region’s intricate hydrography in blue, producing both a practical geographic record and an evocative portrait of a parish shaped by water, agriculture, and movement across the coastal plain.
The USGS, founded in the late nineteenth century, became the United States’ preeminent scientific mapping agency, and maps such as “Houma” reflect its mission to document the nation’s landforms, resources, and hazards with systematic precision. By the 1960s, USGS topographic mapping had become indispensable for engineers, planners, geologists, land managers, and local governments. This map belongs to that tradition: it is not merely a street or road map, but a carefully measured depiction of terrain, drainage, land cover, and human settlement. In a region as hydrologically complex as southern Louisiana, such mapping carried special importance, offering a detailed framework for understanding elevation, access, water flow, and the relationship between communities and the bayou environment.
Houma itself appears as the principal populated place, set amid the low, water-threaded terrain of Terrebonne Parish. The surrounding map records nearby neighborhoods, subdivisions, agricultural lands, roads, and the Houma-Terrebonne Airport, all markers of a community expanding in the postwar decades. Highways and local roads form a network across the map, including the corridor of U.S. Highway 90, emphasizing Houma’s role as a regional center connected to the wider Gulf Coast economy. The map’s red urban symbols reveal the pattern of development as it existed in the early 1960s, before later suburban growth and infrastructural expansion transformed much of the area. It is a valuable geographic snapshot of Houma at a pivotal moment.
The cartographic beauty of this sheet lies in the contrast between order and natural complexity. Blue waterways lace through the landscape, suggesting the bayous, drainage channels, and water bodies that define local life and land use. Green forested areas punctuate the lowlands, while agricultural parcels and open lands speak to the working character of the parish. Contour lines, subtle but essential, indicate slight elevation changes across a region where even modest relief can be meaningful. In coastal Louisiana, topography is often a matter of fine gradations, and the USGS treatment allows the viewer to read the terrain with scientific sensitivity, revealing how roads, settlements, and fields occupy a landscape shaped by drainage and floodplain dynamics.
As a historical document, “Houma” invites comparison between the Terrebonne Parish of 1963 and the region known today. It records a moment before decades of accelerated urban growth, environmental change, wetland loss, transportation improvements, and shifting land use patterns altered the southern Louisiana landscape. The map’s disciplined symbols reveal where development had already taken root and where forests, fields, and waterways still dominated. For collectors and historians, it offers more than geographic information: it is a portrait of place at a particular time, balancing the measured language of federal cartography with the cultural resonance of bayou country. Houma emerges here as both a mapped town and a living landscape of roads, water, work, and settlement.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Houma
- Bayou Black
- Terrebonne Parish
- U.S. Highway 90 and other local roads
- Houma-Terrebonne Airport
- Local rivers and water bodies
- Forested areas
- Agricultural lands
- Nearby neighborhoods and subdivisions
Historical context & cartographic details
- Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Houma, Louisiana and the surrounding area
- Based on survey data from 1963 and published in 1964
- Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
- Shows Houma and the surrounding landscape in the 1960s
- Useful for comparing historic land use, urban expansion, and environmental change with the present day
- Urban areas are highlighted in red
- Forested areas are shown in green
- Rivers and water systems are depicted in blue
- Contour lines indicate elevation changes and terrain features
- Includes natural features, transportation routes, developed areas, and land uses of the period
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.
Titled “Houma,” this United States Geological Survey topographical map was published in 1964 using survey data gathered in 1963, preserving a precise mid-century view of one of southern Louisiana’s most distinctive bayou communities. At 1:24,000 scale, it presents Houma and its surrounding Terrebonne Parish landscape with the clarity and authority characteristic of USGS quadrangles. The map captures an area where settlement, waterways, transport routes, and lowland terrain are inseparably linked. Urban streets and developed areas appear in red, forested tracts in green, and the region’s intricate hydrography in blue, producing both a practical geographic record and an evocative portrait of a parish shaped by water, agriculture, and movement across the coastal plain.
The USGS, founded in the late nineteenth century, became the United States’ preeminent scientific mapping agency, and maps such as “Houma” reflect its mission to document the nation’s landforms, resources, and hazards with systematic precision. By the 1960s, USGS topographic mapping had become indispensable for engineers, planners, geologists, land managers, and local governments. This map belongs to that tradition: it is not merely a street or road map, but a carefully measured depiction of terrain, drainage, land cover, and human settlement. In a region as hydrologically complex as southern Louisiana, such mapping carried special importance, offering a detailed framework for understanding elevation, access, water flow, and the relationship between communities and the bayou environment.
Houma itself appears as the principal populated place, set amid the low, water-threaded terrain of Terrebonne Parish. The surrounding map records nearby neighborhoods, subdivisions, agricultural lands, roads, and the Houma-Terrebonne Airport, all markers of a community expanding in the postwar decades. Highways and local roads form a network across the map, including the corridor of U.S. Highway 90, emphasizing Houma’s role as a regional center connected to the wider Gulf Coast economy. The map’s red urban symbols reveal the pattern of development as it existed in the early 1960s, before later suburban growth and infrastructural expansion transformed much of the area. It is a valuable geographic snapshot of Houma at a pivotal moment.
The cartographic beauty of this sheet lies in the contrast between order and natural complexity. Blue waterways lace through the landscape, suggesting the bayous, drainage channels, and water bodies that define local life and land use. Green forested areas punctuate the lowlands, while agricultural parcels and open lands speak to the working character of the parish. Contour lines, subtle but essential, indicate slight elevation changes across a region where even modest relief can be meaningful. In coastal Louisiana, topography is often a matter of fine gradations, and the USGS treatment allows the viewer to read the terrain with scientific sensitivity, revealing how roads, settlements, and fields occupy a landscape shaped by drainage and floodplain dynamics.
As a historical document, “Houma” invites comparison between the Terrebonne Parish of 1963 and the region known today. It records a moment before decades of accelerated urban growth, environmental change, wetland loss, transportation improvements, and shifting land use patterns altered the southern Louisiana landscape. The map’s disciplined symbols reveal where development had already taken root and where forests, fields, and waterways still dominated. For collectors and historians, it offers more than geographic information: it is a portrait of place at a particular time, balancing the measured language of federal cartography with the cultural resonance of bayou country. Houma emerges here as both a mapped town and a living landscape of roads, water, work, and settlement.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Houma
- Bayou Black
- Terrebonne Parish
- U.S. Highway 90 and other local roads
- Houma-Terrebonne Airport
- Local rivers and water bodies
- Forested areas
- Agricultural lands
- Nearby neighborhoods and subdivisions
Historical context & cartographic details
- Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Houma, Louisiana and the surrounding area
- Based on survey data from 1963 and published in 1964
- Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
- Shows Houma and the surrounding landscape in the 1960s
- Useful for comparing historic land use, urban expansion, and environmental change with the present day
- Urban areas are highlighted in red
- Forested areas are shown in green
- Rivers and water systems are depicted in blue
- Contour lines indicate elevation changes and terrain features
- Includes natural features, transportation routes, developed areas, and land uses of the period
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.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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