Published in 1947 by the United States Geological Survey, “Southampton” presents one of Long Island’s most celebrated coastal landscapes at the intimate 1:24,000 scale. Centered on the village and town of Southampton, New York, the map captures a postwar moment when the East End still balanced agrarian, maritime, and resort identities before the full acceleration of suburban and seasonal development. Its disciplined topographic language—fine contour lines, carefully differentiated roads, railroads, wetlands, and shorelines—reveals both the precision of federal mapping and the subtle complexity of a low-lying Atlantic margin. The muted mid-century palette gives clarity to a terrain shaped by bays, ponds, beaches, and gentle elevations, making the map both a technical document and an elegant portrait of place.

The USGS was by this time the preeminent American authority in systematic topographic mapping, and this sheet reflects the agency’s mature cartographic style. Rather than dramatizing the land, the map measures it: contours quietly register the slight rises and depressions of the coastal plain, while symbols distinguish built settlement, wooded tracts, marshy margins, and transportation routes. Grid references and coordinate markers speak to navigation, planning, engineering, and land management, all crucial in the years following World War II. Such maps helped define the modern American landscape, translating local roads, farms, villages, rail lines, and shorelines into a standardized national visual language. In this sense, “Southampton” is not merely a view of one community, but part of a broader federal project to make the country legible.

Water dominates the geography of the sheet, giving the Southampton area its distinctive character. Shinnecock Bay anchors the southern portion of the map, its protected waters separated from the Atlantic by narrow coastal landforms and beach communities. To the north, Great Peconic Bay and Little Peconic Bay open the map toward the sheltered estuarine world between Long Island’s forks. Cold Spring Pond, Sandy Pond, and the Peconic River add smaller hydrological details, tracing the meeting of groundwater, tidal influence, and glacially shaped terrain. These named waters were more than scenic features: they structured transportation, fishing, recreation, settlement, and property values. The map’s careful delineation of shorelines and wetlands preserves a valuable record of coastal conditions in the mid-twentieth century.

The human landscape is equally rich. Southampton village appears within a web of local roads, rail connections, and surrounding hamlets including North Sea, Tuckahoe, Sagg Main, and Flying Point. Sag Harbor, historically tied to whaling, shipping, and later resort culture, evokes the region’s long maritime heritage, while the road network shows the growing accessibility that would transform the East End in the automobile age. Railroads remain present as important arteries, linking these coastal settlements to the broader economy of Long Island and New York City. Public lands, parks, and designated open spaces indicate a landscape already valued for preservation and recreation. The juxtaposition of village grids, rural roads, water edges, and undeveloped tracts gives the map exceptional historical texture.

As a 1947 topographic record, “Southampton” offers a vivid glimpse of an East End poised between eras. The war had ended only recently, and across the United States new patterns of mobility, housing, leisure, and suburban expansion were reshaping formerly rural districts. On this map, those changes are visible in embryonic form: established settlements, expanding road systems, coastal access points, and open lands awaiting later transformation. Yet the sheet also preserves an older Southampton, defined by bays, ponds, fields, rail corridors, and compact communities set within a refined natural framework. Its beauty lies in this tension between precision and atmosphere, utility and memory. The map is a quietly authoritative artifact of Long Island’s geography at a pivotal moment in modern American history.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Southampton (town)
• Shinnecock Bay
• Great Peconic Bay
• Little Peconic Bay
• Cuttyhunk Harbor
• Sag Harbor
• North Sea
• Tuckahoe
• Sagg Main
• Flying Point
• Cold Spring Pond
• Sandy Pond
• Peconic River
• Long Island Sound
• Numerous road networks, identified by various line styles
• Railroads
• Various public land designations and parks

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
• Published in 1947
• Scale: 1:24,000
• Depicts Southampton, New York, and surrounding coastal areas, water bodies, and transportation networks
• Features clear contour lines showing elevation changes and terrain
• Includes water features, grid markers, and coordinate references for navigation
• Uses a muted color palette typical of mid-20th-century topographic maps
• Shows a mix of natural and built environments, including forested areas, waterways, and urban layouts
• Serves as a historical record of post-World War II land use and regional development
• Reflects a period when suburban expansion was beginning to gain momentum in the United States

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 18x24in (45x60cm) 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.