{"product_id":"old-map-of-fort-morgan-alabama-by-usgs-1958-mobile-point-pelican-point-gulf-of-mexico","title":"Old Map of Fort Morgan, Alabama by USGS, 1958 – Mobile Point, Pelican Point \u0026 Gulf of Mexico","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1983 from a 1958 United States Geological Survey edition, “Fort Morgan” presents the low, strategic coastline at the mouth of Mobile Bay with the exacting clarity that made USGS quadrangles indispensable to engineers, mariners, planners, and historians. At a scale of 1:24,000, the map focuses on the western end of Alabama’s barrier coastline, where Fort Morgan, Mobile Point, Pelican Point, Pelican Bay, and Pelican Island meet the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Its title is spare, but the place it records is layered with military, maritime, and environmental significance. Here, land and water are inseparable: sand spits, channels, shoals, and bay entrances form a landscape defined as much by movement as by settlement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe United States Geological Survey brought to this map a tradition of disciplined scientific observation, translating terrain into a precise visual language of contours, symbols, hydrography, and cultural features. Founded in the late nineteenth century, the USGS became the nation’s preeminent authority for mapping geology, water, elevation, and natural resources, and its topographic sheets remain among the most elegant practical documents of American landscape history. In this Fort Morgan quadrangle, that institutional rigor is visible in the clean delineation of shorelines, the measured treatment of elevation, and the careful notation of coastal waters. The familiar USGS palette—blue for water, fine contour work for landform, and crisp linear detail for roads and boundaries—gives the map both technical authority and understated beauty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFort Morgan itself anchors the sheet historically as well as geographically. Built to guard the entrance to Mobile Bay, the fort became famous during the Civil War, particularly in the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay, when Admiral David Farragut’s fleet forced passage past Confederate defenses. The area later retained military importance during the Spanish-American War and into the twentieth century, reflecting the enduring strategic value of this narrow threshold between bay and gulf. The map captures not only the fortification’s setting, but the broader coastal stage on which these events unfolded: Mobile Point projecting into contested waters, navigational approaches threading through the bay entrance, and the surrounding Gulf forming both barrier and highway.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cartography is especially compelling because this is a coastal topographic map, where elevation is subtle but consequence is immense. Contour lines trace the slight rises and depressions of a low-lying shoreline, while depth markings and marine contours extend the reader’s eye beneath the surface of the Gulf and toward the entrances of Mobile Bay. Pelican Bay, Pelican Island, and nearby channels appear as part of a shifting littoral system shaped by tides, storms, sediment, and human intervention. Unlike mountainous quadrangles where relief dominates the page, this map’s drama lies in nuance: small changes in height, shoal, channel, and shoreline could determine navigation, defense, flooding, erosion, and habitation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eViewed today, the 1958 geography recorded here has added historical resonance. Alabama’s Gulf Coast has been repeatedly reshaped by hurricanes, coastal erosion, dredging, ecological change, and modern development, making this map a valuable snapshot of a dynamic landscape at mid-century. Barrier islands and points such as Pelican Island and Mobile Point are especially vulnerable to transformation, their outlines altered by storm surge, wave action, and sediment migration. The map therefore preserves more than roads, waters, and place names; it records a particular moment in the life of a restless coast. For collectors drawn to maritime history, military geography, or the refined precision of USGS cartography, “Fort Morgan” offers a quietly powerful portrait of land meeting sea.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFort Morgan\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePelican Point\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMobile Point\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePelican Bay\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePelican Island\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGulf of Mexico\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMobile Bay entrances\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNearby channels and navigational routes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical 1:24,000 topographical map of Fort Morgan, Alabama and the surrounding coastal area\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDated 1958, with a 1983 imprint\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFort Morgan is historically significant as a coastal fortification with roles in the Civil War and the Spanish-American War\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFeatures clear topographic delineation using contour lines\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUses a color palette typical of USGS topographic maps, with water shown in varying shades of blue\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncludes elevation contours on land and depth contours in parts of the Gulf\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRecords a coastal landscape that may have changed since 1958 due to erosion, development, and ecological shifts\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=\"\/es\/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=\"\/es\/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=\"\/es\/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=\"\/es\/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":59901500686720,"sku":null,"price":83.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":59901500719488,"sku":null,"price":223.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":59901500752256,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":59901500785024,"sku":null,"price":83.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":59901500817792,"sku":null,"price":223.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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