Published in 1946 under the original title “New Britain,” this U.S. Geological Survey topographical map captures a richly detailed portion of central Connecticut, with Farmington and New Britain at its heart. Drawn at a 1:31,680 scale, it belongs to an era when federal mapping combined scientific rigor with a remarkably elegant visual language. The map records a landscape poised between rural continuity and modern expansion: settled town centers, roads and highways, reservoirs, parks, neighborhoods, and open terrain all appear in disciplined relationship to one another. For Farmington in particular, the map offers a mid-20th-century portrait of a historic Connecticut community before later suburban growth transformed many of its surrounding fields, corridors, and subdivisions.

The U.S. Geological Survey brought to this map the precision and consistency that made its quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, travelers, and local governments. Its traditional topographic style is both practical and beautiful: contour lines ripple across the sheet to reveal the hilly terrain characteristic of the region, while roads, boundaries, water bodies, and settled places are arranged with clarity and restraint. Unlike a decorative pictorial map, its artistry lies in disciplined observation. Every curve of elevation, every reservoir margin, and every road alignment contributes to a measured understanding of the land. The result is a map that reads not merely as geography, but as a carefully composed document of place.

Farmington appears as one of the principal populated places on the map, accompanied by West Farmington and the surrounding network of neighborhoods, roads, and developing subdivisions. The town’s long history—as one of Connecticut’s early colonial settlements—adds depth to the 1946 landscape shown here. By the mid-20th century, Farmington occupied a transitional position: historically agricultural and village-centered, yet increasingly connected to the broader Hartford and New Britain region by improved highways and suburban development. The map allows the viewer to trace that moment of change through the physical evidence of streets, settlement patterns, open spaces, and civic boundaries, preserving a geography that would continue to evolve rapidly in the postwar decades.

New Britain, also prominently represented, brings an urban and industrial counterpoint to the surrounding hills and reservoirs. Known historically as the “Hardware City,” New Britain was a manufacturing center whose growth shaped the transportation routes and settlement patterns of central Connecticut. The map situates the city within a broader topographical setting, making visible the relationship between industry, roads, water resources, and residential expansion. Nearby parks and reservoirs soften the urban fabric, while contour lines show how development negotiated the natural rise and fall of the land. This juxtaposition of town, city, watershed, and terrain gives the map particular historical value as a record of Connecticut’s postwar built environment.

Water bodies, including reservoirs, lakes, rivers, and drainage features, are essential to the map’s character. Their placement reveals both natural hydrology and the engineered systems that supported growing communities in the mid-20th century. The broader regional context includes the Connecticut River watershed, while local reservoirs and smaller waterways underscore the importance of water management in a hilly New England landscape. Parks and bounded public lands add another layer of meaning, marking spaces reserved for recreation, conservation, and civic use amid expanding settlement. Taken together, these features make “New Britain” more than a technical survey: it is a finely detailed historical landscape, preserving the contours of land use, movement, and community at a pivotal moment in Connecticut’s modern development.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Farmington
• New Britain
• Connecticut River
• West Farmington
• Reservoirs
• Various parks
• Major roads and highways
• Various neighborhoods and subdivisions
• Water bodies, including lakes and rivers
• Boundaries of notable features, such as parks

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map title: New Britain
• Produced by the U.S. Geological Survey
• Created in 1946
• Historical 1:31,680 topographical map showing Farmington, Connecticut and the surrounding area
• Uses traditional topographic techniques, including contour lines to show elevation changes
• Clear layout designed to make geographical features easy to understand
• Depicts the hilly terrain typical of the region
• Provides insight into the mid-20th-century development and landscape of Farmington and New Britain
• Useful for comparing historical land use patterns with modern development

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.