Published in 1961 from 1960 mapping, the US Geological Survey’s “Campaign” captures a compelling moment in the reshaping of central Tennessee’s Highland Rim. At its heart lies Center Hill Lake, a broad, branching reservoir formed only a few years earlier by the completion of Center Hill Dam in 1954. The map records not merely terrain, but transformation: former river valleys now opened into long reaches of water, with coves, tributaries, and wooded slopes defining a new recreational and hydrological landscape. Rendered at the classic 1:24,000 scale, it offers a richly detailed view of hills, hollows, roads, and watersheds, preserving the geography of a region adjusting to the presence of one of Tennessee’s most significant mid-century reservoirs.

The mapmaker, the United States Geological Survey, brought to this sheet the rigorous visual language that made its topographic quadrangles indispensable to engineers, planners, scientists, and outdoorsmen. By the mid-twentieth century, USGS mapping had become a national standard: precise, systematic, and quietly elegant. Contour lines sweep across the page in fine brown intervals, describing the lift and fall of the land with mathematical clarity, while blue waterways and green land-cover areas create a vivid reading of the landscape. In the “Campaign” quadrangle, this style is especially effective, because the terrain is deeply articulated. The map translates a complex world of ridges, draws, valley floors, lake arms, and upland farms into an intelligible and beautiful cartographic composition.

Center Hill Lake dominates the geography shown here, its irregular shoreline revealing the submerged course of the Caney Fork River and its tributaries. The lake’s long fingers reach into narrow valleys, suggesting the steep-sided topography that made the area well suited for dam construction. Around the water, roads wind through the hills, connecting campgrounds, recreation areas, agricultural clearings, and scattered rural settlements. The map evokes the early recreational promise of the reservoir, when boating, fishing, and lakeside camping were becoming central to the identity of this part of Tennessee. Yet it also preserves the older pattern of the land: farms on gentler slopes, wooded uplands, and small routes threading through hollows shaped by water and time.

The topographic character of the “Campaign” map is particularly rich. Closely spaced contour lines indicate steep slopes descending toward the reservoir and the Caney Fork River system, while wider intervals mark ridgelines, benches, and more open agricultural ground. These contours reveal the physical drama of the region: a landscape of folded hills, cut valleys, and elevated divides, where water has carved intricate pathways through resistant terrain. The green tinting suggests wooded or vegetated areas, lending the sheet a sense of environmental texture as well as technical precision. For anyone attuned to landforms, the map offers a satisfying portrait of Tennessee’s interior highlands, where natural relief and engineered water control meet in a single, finely observed scene.

Historically, this map belongs to the decade after Center Hill Dam permanently altered the Caney Fork watershed. Built for flood control, power generation, and regional water management, the dam created a reservoir that changed transportation patterns, local economies, recreation, and the visual identity of the surrounding countryside. The 1960 survey captures the area soon after that transformation, before later shoreline development and modern infrastructure further modified the lake environment. As such, “Campaign” is both a practical topographic document and a historical record of postwar Tennessee: an era when federal engineering, rural landscapes, and outdoor leisure converged. Its quiet detail invites close study, rewarding the viewer with a layered understanding of place, terrain, and mid-century American ambition.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Center Hill Lake
• Caney Fork River
• Various unnamed roads
• Campgrounds
• Recreational areas
• Nearby valleys and hills
• Agricultural lands
• Forested areas
• Water bodies and tributaries adjacent to Center Hill Lake
• Geological features represented through shading and lines

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:24,000 topographical map shows Center Hill Lake in Tennessee and the surrounding area.
• The map was created in 1960 and published with a 1961 imprint.
• The US Geological Survey has a long history of producing detailed maps for scientific, engineering, and planning purposes.
• The map uses a traditional USGS topographical style, including contour lines to show elevation changes.
• Green areas likely represent wooded or agricultural land.
• The map highlights varied elevations and significant water bodies, reflecting the hilly terrain surrounding Center Hill Lake.
• The map reflects a period of growth and development following the construction of Center Hill Dam, completed in 1954, which created the lake.

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.