Published in 1948 by the United States Geological Survey, the map titled “Stockbridge” presents a richly detailed mid-century portrait of the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts. At a scale of 1:31,680, it captures Stockbridge, Lenox, West Stockbridge, Lee, and the surrounding countryside with the precision and authority that made USGS topographic mapping indispensable to planners, scientists, travelers, and land managers. The sheet belongs to an era when the American landscape was being documented with exceptional care, balancing practical surveying with elegant visual clarity. Its contour lines, relief shading, roads, waterways, and settlement symbols together reveal a region shaped by both rugged upland terrain and long-established village life.

The topographic character of the map is especially compelling, with the Berkshire landscape rendered through close contouring and shaded relief that give the hills a sculptural presence. Around Stockbridge and Lenox, the terrain rises and falls in characteristic folds, reflecting the complex upland geography of western Massachusetts. Valleys, ridgelines, wooded slopes, and watercourses are organized with a disciplined cartographic language, allowing the eye to read elevation as readily as distance. The map conveys not only where roads and towns lie, but why they developed where they did: along gentler corridors, near lakes and streams, and within the more hospitable pockets of a dramatic mountain region.

Stockbridge and Lenox, both renowned for their cultural heritage, appear here as part of a broader network of Berkshire communities linked by local roads, trails, and the principal north-south route of Route 7. Stockbridge, long associated with literary and artistic life, sits amid a landscape of meadows, wooded hills, and waterways. Lenox, celebrated for its estates, resort history, and later as the home of Tanglewood’s musical legacy, is shown in relation to nearby Laurel Lake and the surrounding uplands. The map situates these towns not as isolated destinations, but as integral parts of a cultivated yet deeply rural landscape.

Water is one of the organizing forces of this map. Stockbridge Bowl and Laurel Lake stand out as elegant natural landmarks, while the Housatonic River traces an important corridor through the region, historically shaping settlement, agriculture, industry, and transportation. To the south and east, places such as Great Barrington and Tyringham extend the map’s sense of the Berkshires as a connected cultural and geographic district. Roads including Route 102 and numerous smaller lanes show the mid-20th-century pattern of movement through hill country, where travel followed valleys, skirted wetlands, and threaded between ridges, farms, forests, and village centers.

As a USGS work, “Stockbridge” reflects the institutional rigor of an agency founded in 1879 to survey, classify, and understand the American landscape. By 1948, its maps had become essential tools for civic development, conservation, engineering, and outdoor recreation. This sheet records the Berkshires at a moment of transition, when historic villages, rural land use, expanding automobile routes, and recreational landscapes coexisted in delicate balance. Its symbols for roads, trails, buildings, forests, and relief offer a compact historical document of human settlement and natural form. More than a navigational aid, it is a refined geographic portrait of one of New England’s most storied landscapes.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Stockbridge
• Lenox
• West Stockbridge
• Stockbridge Bowl
• Laurel Lake
• Lee
• Great Barrington
• Tyringham
• Housatonic River
• Route 7
• Route 102
• Various trails and roads
• Local parks and forests

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:31,680 topographical map shows Lenox and Stockbridge in Massachusetts and the surrounding area.
• The map is dated 1948.
• The USGS has played a crucial role in mapping and surveying the United States since its establishment in 1879, aiding in land management and scientific research.
• The map employs standard topographic features such as contour lines, relief shading, and symbols indicating various natural and man-made features.
• The contour lines illustrate the hilly terrain and elevation variations characteristic of the Berkshire Mountains.
• The map provides insight into the geography and human settlement patterns of the region in the mid-20th century.
• Relief shading enhances the three-dimensional appearance of the terrain.

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.