Rare Old Map of Davenport, Iowa by USGS, 1894: Rock Island, Mississippi River & Arsenal Island
Restored in our London workshop from the original 1917 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.The Collector’s Offer
Choose two eligible works and receive 20% off both. Choose three and the lowest-priced one is complimentary, a maximum saving of 33%.
Mix and match eligible standard maps and fine-art prints. No code is required; the offer is applied automatically at checkout.
Standard made-to-order configurations are included. Bespoke sizes, personalised designs and commissioned work are excluded.
Need delivery to different addresses? Contact us before ordering.
Restored in London • Printed and framed in Australia
Restored from the original 1917 map and printed to museum-grade archival standards. Full description
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Gift message & custom finish
If you want to add a gift message, or a finish (jigsaw, aluminium board, etc.) that is not available here, please request it in the "order note" when you check out.
Every order is custom made, so if you need the size adjusted slightly, or printed on an unusual material, just let us know. We've done thousands of custom orders over the years, so there's (almost) nothing we can't manage.
You can also contact us before you order, if you prefer!
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Published in 1917 from survey work completed in 1894, the US Geological Survey’s “Davenport” presents a finely observed portrait of the Mississippi...
Continue readingPublished in 1917 from survey work completed in 1894, the US Geological Survey’s “Davenport” presents a finely observed portrait of the Mississippi River country at the meeting point of Iowa and Illinois. At a scale of 1:62,500, the map centers on Davenport, Iowa, while drawing in the neighboring river city of Rock Island and the surrounding Scott County landscape. Its measured clarity reflects the USGS’s late nineteenth-century mission: to catalogue the nation’s terrain with scientific precision for land management, infrastructure, settlement, and public knowledge. The result is both practical and evocative, capturing Davenport at a moment when river commerce, expanding urban neighborhoods, and rural hinterlands were all shaping the character of the region.
The Mississippi River is the commanding feature of the map, curling through the sheet as both a natural boundary and a commercial artery. Islands and river sites punctuate its course, including Credit Island, Mac’s Island, and Arsenal Island, each suggesting the layered uses of the river corridor for transportation, defense, recreation, and industry. Rock Island appears across the water from Davenport, emphasizing the close relationship between these communities and the strategic importance of the river crossing. Boating routes and riverine features evoke a working waterway, while the surrounding banks reveal the intimate interplay between floodplain, settlement, and engineered access in an era before the modern interstate landscape transformed regional movement.
Davenport itself is shown not merely as a name on the Mississippi, but as an urban form growing into its terrain. The map’s contour lines trace the rise from the riverfront to the Heights, revealing how topography influenced the city’s expansion, street patterns, and neighborhood development. Duck Creek, one of the defining waterways of the area, winds through the landscape and helps explain the placement of routes, open land, and settlement corridors. Nearby Buffalo and Winfield appear within a broader pattern of towns and rural districts, reminding the viewer that Davenport’s prosperity depended not only on river traffic but also on its surrounding agricultural and county networks.
The cartographic style is characteristic of early USGS topographic mapping: restrained, legible, and deeply informative. Contour lines provide a subtle but powerful reading of slopes, bluffs, creek valleys, and river lowlands, translating the physical landscape into a precise visual language. Rather than decorative flourish, the elegance lies in disciplined observation—the careful delineation of waterways, roads, settlements, county divisions, and relief. Pine Creek and other minor drainage features add texture to the sheet, while the uncluttered design allows the eye to move easily between urban blocks, rural roads, and the broader topographic structure of the Mississippi valley. It is a map made for knowledge, yet rich with atmosphere.
As a historical document, the “Davenport” quadrangle offers a window into a region in transition between nineteenth-century river settlement and twentieth-century urban growth. The 1894 survey date preserves the geography of the area before many later infrastructural and suburban changes, while the 1917 publication places it in the Progressive Era, when systematic federal mapping was becoming essential to planning and development. Scott County Park and the surrounding countryside evoke a landscape of farms, creeks, wooded rises, and river recreation, even as Davenport and Rock Island signal industry, transport, and population growth. The map endures as a sophisticated record of place: scientific, regional, and quietly beautiful.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Davenport
- Rock Island
- Buffalo
- Winfield
- Scott County
- Mississippi River
- Duck Creek
- Credit Island
- Scott County Park
- Heights
- Pine Creek
- Mac's Island
- Arsenal Island
- River sites and boating routes
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
- Created in 1894 and published in 1917
- Historical topographic map of Davenport, Iowa, and the surrounding area
- Scale of 1:62,500
- Shows terrain through contour lines, indicating elevation changes and landforms
- Reflects early 20th-century cartographic style, with a simple color scheme and clear delineation of geographical features
- Provides insight into the geography and urban development of Davenport in the late 19th to early 20th centuries
- Reflects changes in land use and population growth over time
- The USGS is known for rigorous scientific research and mapping to support understanding of U.S. landscapes and land management
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.
Published in 1917 from survey work completed in 1894, the US Geological Survey’s “Davenport” presents a finely observed portrait of the Mississippi River country at the meeting point of Iowa and Illinois. At a scale of 1:62,500, the map centers on Davenport, Iowa, while drawing in the neighboring river city of Rock Island and the surrounding Scott County landscape. Its measured clarity reflects the USGS’s late nineteenth-century mission: to catalogue the nation’s terrain with scientific precision for land management, infrastructure, settlement, and public knowledge. The result is both practical and evocative, capturing Davenport at a moment when river commerce, expanding urban neighborhoods, and rural hinterlands were all shaping the character of the region.
The Mississippi River is the commanding feature of the map, curling through the sheet as both a natural boundary and a commercial artery. Islands and river sites punctuate its course, including Credit Island, Mac’s Island, and Arsenal Island, each suggesting the layered uses of the river corridor for transportation, defense, recreation, and industry. Rock Island appears across the water from Davenport, emphasizing the close relationship between these communities and the strategic importance of the river crossing. Boating routes and riverine features evoke a working waterway, while the surrounding banks reveal the intimate interplay between floodplain, settlement, and engineered access in an era before the modern interstate landscape transformed regional movement.
Davenport itself is shown not merely as a name on the Mississippi, but as an urban form growing into its terrain. The map’s contour lines trace the rise from the riverfront to the Heights, revealing how topography influenced the city’s expansion, street patterns, and neighborhood development. Duck Creek, one of the defining waterways of the area, winds through the landscape and helps explain the placement of routes, open land, and settlement corridors. Nearby Buffalo and Winfield appear within a broader pattern of towns and rural districts, reminding the viewer that Davenport’s prosperity depended not only on river traffic but also on its surrounding agricultural and county networks.
The cartographic style is characteristic of early USGS topographic mapping: restrained, legible, and deeply informative. Contour lines provide a subtle but powerful reading of slopes, bluffs, creek valleys, and river lowlands, translating the physical landscape into a precise visual language. Rather than decorative flourish, the elegance lies in disciplined observation—the careful delineation of waterways, roads, settlements, county divisions, and relief. Pine Creek and other minor drainage features add texture to the sheet, while the uncluttered design allows the eye to move easily between urban blocks, rural roads, and the broader topographic structure of the Mississippi valley. It is a map made for knowledge, yet rich with atmosphere.
As a historical document, the “Davenport” quadrangle offers a window into a region in transition between nineteenth-century river settlement and twentieth-century urban growth. The 1894 survey date preserves the geography of the area before many later infrastructural and suburban changes, while the 1917 publication places it in the Progressive Era, when systematic federal mapping was becoming essential to planning and development. Scott County Park and the surrounding countryside evoke a landscape of farms, creeks, wooded rises, and river recreation, even as Davenport and Rock Island signal industry, transport, and population growth. The map endures as a sophisticated record of place: scientific, regional, and quietly beautiful.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Davenport
- Rock Island
- Buffalo
- Winfield
- Scott County
- Mississippi River
- Duck Creek
- Credit Island
- Scott County Park
- Heights
- Pine Creek
- Mac's Island
- Arsenal Island
- River sites and boating routes
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS)
- Created in 1894 and published in 1917
- Historical topographic map of Davenport, Iowa, and the surrounding area
- Scale of 1:62,500
- Shows terrain through contour lines, indicating elevation changes and landforms
- Reflects early 20th-century cartographic style, with a simple color scheme and clear delineation of geographical features
- Provides insight into the geography and urban development of Davenport in the late 19th to early 20th centuries
- Reflects changes in land use and population growth over time
- The USGS is known for rigorous scientific research and mapping to support understanding of U.S. landscapes and land management
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.
Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.
Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.
We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.
- We can deliver directly to the recipient
- Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
- Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
- Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
- 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide
If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.
Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.
We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.
Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.
Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.
Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.
If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.
Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.
Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 10-year guarantee.
Our standard frame is a gallery-style black ash hardwood frame, with a simple, modern look. It is approximately 20mm (0.8in) wide. You can also view some lovely customer photos of framed maps and art.
We use super-clear acrylic glazing, also known as Perspex or Acrylite, instead of traditional glass. It is lighter, safer, and has lower reflectivity, giving the artwork a clearer, cleaner appearance.
Six standard frame colours are available at no extra cost: black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white, and antique gold. Custom framing and mounting/matting is also available for customers looking for something more specific.
Most maps, art prints, and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced wooden box frame, and then float the piece within a wooden outer frame. The finished result is beautifully presented, with no glazing between you and the artwork.
All frames are supplied ready to hang, with either string or brackets fitted to the back. Very large frames will include heavy-duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
We can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag, and other materials.
If you would prefer to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read our size guide before ordering.
Every Unique Maps piece begins with an authentic cartographic source or an original design from our London studio.
For our historic maps, we source rare originals from libraries, archives, auction houses and private collections around the world. We carefully restore each map for print—repairing age-related damage, balancing colour and improving clarity while preserving its original detail, texture and character.
Once restored, the map is prepared for your chosen size and finish. Your piece is then printed and, where selected, framed close to its delivery destination.
Our map prints use acid-free 200gsm archival matte paper and fade-resistant pigment inks, creating a rich, non-glossy finish designed to last. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.
Canvas, cotton-rag and other specialist presentations are also available. Learn more about our materials and finishes.
Personalising your map
You can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. For personalised designs, we send a proof before printing and you can request changes before approval.
For more complex bespoke commissions, contact our design team.
Original or Aged
Choose Original for true-to-source colour, or Aged for a warmer, richer antique character created with our specialist ageing process. See examples of our Aged maps.
We’ve been restoring and producing maps and art prints since 1984, and we stand behind every piece.
Every order is covered by our 10-year guarantee and damage-free delivery guarantee. If your piece arrives damaged, we’ll replace or remake it free of charge. If anything else isn’t right, contact our workshop team and we’ll put it right promptly.
See our returns and refund policy for full details.
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