{"product_id":"old-map-of-richmond-virginia-by-usgs-1939-james-river-virginia-state-capitol-maymont","title":"Old Map of Richmond, Virginia by USGS, 1939 – James River, Virginia State Capitol \u0026 Maymont","description":"\u003cp\u003eTitled “Richmond,” this 1939 United States Geological Survey map presents Virginia’s capital at a particularly evocative scale of 1:31,680, balancing urban detail with the broader topography of the James River basin. Published by the USGS, the sheet belongs to the great federal project of systematically measuring and depicting the American landscape, an undertaking that transformed geography into a precise civic and scientific instrument. Here, Richmond appears on the eve of the Second World War, already a mature city yet still visibly shaped by older roads, river crossings, rail corridors, and county edges. The map captures a moment when nineteenth-century Richmond, Civil War memory, early automobile infrastructure, and modern urban planning all overlapped in a richly legible landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe map’s topographic language gives Richmond a physical drama often lost in ordinary city plans. Fine contour lines trace the rolling ground above the James River, revealing how hills, valleys, and terraces influenced the city’s streets, neighborhoods, and industrial corridors. The James itself is the commanding natural feature, bending through the city and anchoring both commerce and scenery. Its riverbanks, islands, floodplain edges, and adjacent lowlands help explain Richmond’s historic siting as a fall-line city, where navigation, waterpower, and inland roads converged. Color differentiates urban fabric, vegetation, open land, and transportation routes, allowing the viewer to read not only where Richmond was built, but why its growth followed particular ridges, avenues, and river approaches.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRichmond’s historical identity is especially resonant on this sheet. As the former capital of the Confederate States during the American Civil War, the city carried immense symbolic weight long after 1865, and the map quietly situates many places bound up with that memory. Hollywood Cemetery, overlooking the James, appears within a landscape of slopes and winding approaches, emphasizing its commanding position above the city. The Virginia State Capitol area, Broad Street, Main Street, City Hall, and the downtown core mark the political and commercial heart of Richmond. Nearby Monroe Park and the surrounding district point toward the city’s educational and civic evolution, including areas that would later become associated with Virginia Commonwealth University.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeyond the central city, the map extends into the surrounding geography of Henrico and Chesterfield Counties, showing Richmond not as an isolated urban island but as the hub of a wider regional system. Roads radiate outward across county lines, linking neighborhoods, rural edges, industrial zones, and river crossings. The Fan District, Maymont, and other recognizable areas sit within a carefully measured terrain, their street patterns contrasting with the looser fabric of outlying land. The map’s depiction of parks, cemeteries, public buildings, and transportation corridors gives a nuanced impression of land use in 1939: a city dense at its core, expanding at its margins, and still deeply conditioned by the contours of the James River landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCreated by the United States Geological Survey, an agency founded in 1879 to study the nation’s lands, resources, and natural hazards, this map reflects the precision and authority that made USGS quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, historians, and travelers. Its beauty lies in the disciplined clarity of scientific cartography: contour intervals, symbols, color washes, and standardized lettering combine to make Richmond both measurable and memorable. As a historical document, it records the city just before wartime mobilization and postwar suburban expansion accelerated profound change. As a portrait of place, it reveals Richmond’s layered character: capital city, river city, industrial center, seat of memory, and landscape of ridges, streets, parks, and enduring civic landmarks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRichmond, Virginia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJames River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMonroe Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHollywood Cemetery\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVirginia Commonwealth University\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBroad Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMain Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRiverfront Canal Walk\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMechanic's Hall\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCity Hall\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEast River Front Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVirginia State Capitol\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaymont\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Fan District\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChesterfield County\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHenrico County\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the United States Geological Survey, this historical topographical map shows Richmond, Virginia, and the surrounding area.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreated in 1939 at a scale of 1:31,680.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe USGS was established in 1879 as a scientific agency of the U.S. government, providing data about natural resources and natural hazards.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRichmond has historical significance as the capital of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe map uses a topographic style, with contour lines indicating elevation and variations in the landscape.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eColor is used to distinguish land use, vegetation, and urban areas.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eElevation changes, hills, and valleys are shown through contour lines and shaded relief.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe map captures Richmond during a period of growth and development prior to World War II.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt reflects historical changes in urban planning, infrastructure, and land use.\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=\"\/fr\/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=\"\/fr\/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=\"\/fr\/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=\"\/fr\/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":58848883310976,"sku":null,"price":83.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58848883343744,"sku":null,"price":222.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58848883376512,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58848883409280,"sku":null,"price":83.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58848883442048,"sku":null,"price":222.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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