Rare Old Map of Litchfield, Connecticut by USGS, 1956: Watertown, Bantam Lake & Mattatuck State Forest
Restored in our London workshop from the original 1958 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 1958 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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The United States Geological Survey’s “Litchfield” presents a finely observed portrait of northwestern Connecticut, published in 1958 from survey work completed in...
Continue readingThe United States Geological Survey’s “Litchfield” presents a finely observed portrait of northwestern Connecticut, published in 1958 from survey work completed in 1956. At the precise 1:24,000 scale, the map captures Litchfield and its surrounding countryside with the clarity and discipline that made USGS quadrangles indispensable to scientists, engineers, hikers, planners, and historians. Its rich cartographic language—contour lines, hydrographic detail, roads, woodland tinting, and settlement patterns—reveals a landscape poised between rural continuity and mid-century change. More than a navigational document, it is a measured snapshot of Litchfield County at a particular moment, before later suburban growth, road improvements, and land-use changes altered portions of the regional fabric.
Litchfield itself occupies the historical and geographic heart of the map, a town long associated with Connecticut’s colonial, legal, and architectural heritage. The surrounding roads and lanes radiate through a terrain of ridges, hollows, farms, woodland, and water, showing how settlement adapted to the contours of the upland landscape. Nearby Watertown appears toward the southern reach of the mapped area, anchoring the transition toward more developed communities while still retaining the topographical complexity of the western Connecticut highlands. The map’s careful depiction of unmarked roads, trails, and smaller routes gives the sheet particular historical charm, preserving traces of local movement and rural connectivity often simplified or erased in later mapping.
Water is one of the map’s most evocative elements, shaping both the scenery and the settlement geography. Bantam Lake, one of Connecticut’s largest natural lakes, appears with its North Bay and South Bay clearly defined, a focal point for recreation, wildlife, and local identity. Smaller bodies such as Lake Miriam and McHugh Pond add further texture, while streams and tributaries thread through lowlands and wooded margins. These hydrological details are not merely decorative: they explain the placement of roads, the formation of valleys, and the rhythm of habitation. In the hands of the USGS, the region’s lakes and waterways become part of an elegant scientific portrait of land and life.
The topographic character of the “Litchfield” quadrangle is conveyed through strong, legible contour work, one of the defining features of American Geological Survey cartography. Elevation markings trace the rise of Chaffee Hill and surrounding uplands, while valleys, slopes, and drainage lines reveal the area’s glacially influenced terrain. Mattatuck State Forest, represented within this varied landscape, suggests the importance of conservation and public woodland in mid-twentieth-century Connecticut. The map invites close reading: a hill’s gradient, a stream’s course, or the bend of a rural road becomes evidence of geology, land use, and human adaptation. Its beauty lies in this fusion of scientific precision and understated visual drama.
As a historical document, this map records Litchfield at a moment when traditional New England patterns still remained strongly visible. Picnic areas, historical landmarks, old structures, and scattered rural features hint at a landscape valued for both memory and leisure. The 1956 survey data preserves the relationship between town centers, farms, forests, lakes, and secondary roads before subsequent decades brought expanded development and environmental modification. Produced by a federal agency renowned for systematic national mapping, the sheet belongs to a broader cartographic project that made the American landscape knowable in exacting detail. For collectors, it offers not only place-name recognition, but a graceful, information-rich window into Connecticut’s mid-century countryside.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Litchfield, CT
- Watertown, CT
- Lake Miriam
- North Bay
- South Bay
- Mattatuck State Forest
- Bantam Lake
- McHugh Pond
- Chaffee Hill
- Various unmarked roads and trails
- Streams and tributaries
- Picnic areas and historical landmarks, including old structures or sites
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Litchfield, Connecticut, and the surrounding area.
- Based on survey data from 1956 and published with a 1958 imprint.
- Created by the US Geological Survey, known for detailed topographical mapping used in outdoor navigation, planning, and scientific study.
- Uses a rich color palette to distinguish land uses and topographical elements.
- Prominent contour lines show elevation changes across the region.
- Depicts varied terrain, including valleys, uplands, water bodies, and distinct elevation markings.
- Provides a mid-20th-century snapshot of the area, preserving features that may have changed due to later urban development or environmental change.
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.
The United States Geological Survey’s “Litchfield” presents a finely observed portrait of northwestern Connecticut, published in 1958 from survey work completed in 1956. At the precise 1:24,000 scale, the map captures Litchfield and its surrounding countryside with the clarity and discipline that made USGS quadrangles indispensable to scientists, engineers, hikers, planners, and historians. Its rich cartographic language—contour lines, hydrographic detail, roads, woodland tinting, and settlement patterns—reveals a landscape poised between rural continuity and mid-century change. More than a navigational document, it is a measured snapshot of Litchfield County at a particular moment, before later suburban growth, road improvements, and land-use changes altered portions of the regional fabric.
Litchfield itself occupies the historical and geographic heart of the map, a town long associated with Connecticut’s colonial, legal, and architectural heritage. The surrounding roads and lanes radiate through a terrain of ridges, hollows, farms, woodland, and water, showing how settlement adapted to the contours of the upland landscape. Nearby Watertown appears toward the southern reach of the mapped area, anchoring the transition toward more developed communities while still retaining the topographical complexity of the western Connecticut highlands. The map’s careful depiction of unmarked roads, trails, and smaller routes gives the sheet particular historical charm, preserving traces of local movement and rural connectivity often simplified or erased in later mapping.
Water is one of the map’s most evocative elements, shaping both the scenery and the settlement geography. Bantam Lake, one of Connecticut’s largest natural lakes, appears with its North Bay and South Bay clearly defined, a focal point for recreation, wildlife, and local identity. Smaller bodies such as Lake Miriam and McHugh Pond add further texture, while streams and tributaries thread through lowlands and wooded margins. These hydrological details are not merely decorative: they explain the placement of roads, the formation of valleys, and the rhythm of habitation. In the hands of the USGS, the region’s lakes and waterways become part of an elegant scientific portrait of land and life.
The topographic character of the “Litchfield” quadrangle is conveyed through strong, legible contour work, one of the defining features of American Geological Survey cartography. Elevation markings trace the rise of Chaffee Hill and surrounding uplands, while valleys, slopes, and drainage lines reveal the area’s glacially influenced terrain. Mattatuck State Forest, represented within this varied landscape, suggests the importance of conservation and public woodland in mid-twentieth-century Connecticut. The map invites close reading: a hill’s gradient, a stream’s course, or the bend of a rural road becomes evidence of geology, land use, and human adaptation. Its beauty lies in this fusion of scientific precision and understated visual drama.
As a historical document, this map records Litchfield at a moment when traditional New England patterns still remained strongly visible. Picnic areas, historical landmarks, old structures, and scattered rural features hint at a landscape valued for both memory and leisure. The 1956 survey data preserves the relationship between town centers, farms, forests, lakes, and secondary roads before subsequent decades brought expanded development and environmental modification. Produced by a federal agency renowned for systematic national mapping, the sheet belongs to a broader cartographic project that made the American landscape knowable in exacting detail. For collectors, it offers not only place-name recognition, but a graceful, information-rich window into Connecticut’s mid-century countryside.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Litchfield, CT
- Watertown, CT
- Lake Miriam
- North Bay
- South Bay
- Mattatuck State Forest
- Bantam Lake
- McHugh Pond
- Chaffee Hill
- Various unmarked roads and trails
- Streams and tributaries
- Picnic areas and historical landmarks, including old structures or sites
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey as a historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Litchfield, Connecticut, and the surrounding area.
- Based on survey data from 1956 and published with a 1958 imprint.
- Created by the US Geological Survey, known for detailed topographical mapping used in outdoor navigation, planning, and scientific study.
- Uses a rich color palette to distinguish land uses and topographical elements.
- Prominent contour lines show elevation changes across the region.
- Depicts varied terrain, including valleys, uplands, water bodies, and distinct elevation markings.
- Provides a mid-20th-century snapshot of the area, preserving features that may have changed due to later urban development or environmental change.
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.
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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