Rare Old Map of Kennebunkport, Maine by USGS, 1956: Cape Porpoise & Goose Rocks Beach
Restored in our London workshop from the original 1966 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 1966 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.
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The “Kennebunkport Quadrangle” is a finely detailed US Geological Survey topographic map of the southern Maine coast, compiled in 1956 and issued...
Continue readingThe “Kennebunkport Quadrangle” is a finely detailed US Geological Survey topographic map of the southern Maine coast, compiled in 1956 and issued with a 1966 imprint. At 1:24,000 scale, it captures Kennebunkport and its surrounding shoreline with the precision and restraint characteristic of mid-century USGS cartography. The map balances practical survey information with a quietly elegant visual language: green woodland areas, blue tidal waters, fine contour lines, and crisply labeled roads, settlements, marshes, beaches, and coves. It presents a moment in Kennebunkport’s history when the town’s identity as a venerable coastal resort, fishing community, and seasonal retreat was increasingly intertwined with postwar residential growth and automobile-era tourism.
Kennebunkport itself anchors the map, accompanied by neighboring coastal places whose names evoke the geography and social history of this part of Maine: Cape Porpoise, Goose Rocks Beach, Cape Arundel, Lower Village, River Neck, and Martin’s Point. The Atlantic Ocean frames the eastern edge, while the intricate shoreline around the Kennebunkport Peninsula reveals the region’s defining character—rocky points, sandy beaches, tidal inlets, sheltered harbors, and low-lying wetlands. Biddeford Pool appears to the northeast, another storied coastal enclave shaped by maritime life and summer visitors. Together these places form a richly textured portrait of a coastline where village streets, working waterfronts, dunes, estuaries, and vacation landscapes meet.
The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the preeminent American institution for systematic topographic mapping, and this quadrangle reflects its mature postwar style. Every contour, road, stream, and shoreline is arranged for clarity, yet the result has a visual sophistication that rewards close study. Elevation lines describe the gentle undulations of the New England coastal plain, where modest hills and depressions give way to marshes, coves, and ocean beaches. Blue hydrography highlights the Kennebunk River and surrounding tidal waters, while green land cover identifies wooded areas and natural reserves. The map’s beauty lies in its disciplined accuracy: a landscape rendered scientifically, but with an understated grace.
Transportation routes give the map a strong mid-century historical dimension. Route 9 follows the coastal corridor, linking Kennebunkport with beaches, villages, and neighboring communities, while Route 35 connects inland areas toward Lower Village and the Kennebunk River. Maine Route 9B, also known as the F.Y. Libby Road, appears as part of the local road network that helped shape residential expansion and seasonal mobility. These roads trace the changing rhythms of the area, from older maritime settlement patterns to the growing importance of tourism, commuting, and recreational travel. For historians of place, the map offers a revealing record of how Kennebunkport’s celebrated coastal charm was organized by infrastructure.
As a historical document, the map preserves Kennebunkport at a particularly evocative point in the twentieth century. Long admired for its sea air, grand summer homes, fishing heritage, and scenic headlands, the town was already well established as one of Maine’s most desirable coastal destinations. Yet the quadrangle also records quieter details: undeveloped tracts, marshlands, river bends, shoreline contours, and pockets of woodland that speak to the area’s natural setting before later decades of growth. The combination of Cape Arundel, Goose Rocks Beach, Cape Porpoise, the Kennebunk River, and the Atlantic coast makes this map a compelling study of landscape, leisure, and settlement along one of New England’s most cherished shorelines.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Kennebunkport, ME
- Atlantic Ocean
- Cape Porpoise
- Goose Rocks Beach
- Cape Arundel
- Biddeford Pool
- Lower Village
- River Neck
- Martin’s Point
- Kennebunk River
- Arundel
- Route 9
- Route 35
- Maine Route 9B, also known as the F.Y. Libby Road
- Various identified parks and natural reserves
- Coastlines and shorelines around the Kennebunkport Peninsula
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:24,000 topographical map shows Kennebunkport, Maine, and the surrounding area.
- The map is dated 1956 and carries a 1966 imprint.
- The USGS is known for detailed topographic maps that provide geographic information for land use planning, outdoor activities, and related applications.
- Kennebunkport is shown as a prominent populated place, noted for its coastal charm and historical significance as a summer destination.
- The map uses a bright color palette, with green for land areas and blue for water bodies.
- Topographic contour lines indicate elevation and help visualize the area’s landforms.
- The design follows USGS cartographic standards of the period, emphasizing clarity and detailed terrain representation.
- The map shows varied New England coastal terrain, including coastal areas, hills, depressions, and water bodies.
- It provides a mid-20th-century snapshot of the Kennebunkport area, reflecting changes in land use and development over time, especially tourism and residential growth.
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.
The “Kennebunkport Quadrangle” is a finely detailed US Geological Survey topographic map of the southern Maine coast, compiled in 1956 and issued with a 1966 imprint. At 1:24,000 scale, it captures Kennebunkport and its surrounding shoreline with the precision and restraint characteristic of mid-century USGS cartography. The map balances practical survey information with a quietly elegant visual language: green woodland areas, blue tidal waters, fine contour lines, and crisply labeled roads, settlements, marshes, beaches, and coves. It presents a moment in Kennebunkport’s history when the town’s identity as a venerable coastal resort, fishing community, and seasonal retreat was increasingly intertwined with postwar residential growth and automobile-era tourism.
Kennebunkport itself anchors the map, accompanied by neighboring coastal places whose names evoke the geography and social history of this part of Maine: Cape Porpoise, Goose Rocks Beach, Cape Arundel, Lower Village, River Neck, and Martin’s Point. The Atlantic Ocean frames the eastern edge, while the intricate shoreline around the Kennebunkport Peninsula reveals the region’s defining character—rocky points, sandy beaches, tidal inlets, sheltered harbors, and low-lying wetlands. Biddeford Pool appears to the northeast, another storied coastal enclave shaped by maritime life and summer visitors. Together these places form a richly textured portrait of a coastline where village streets, working waterfronts, dunes, estuaries, and vacation landscapes meet.
The US Geological Survey, founded in 1879, became the preeminent American institution for systematic topographic mapping, and this quadrangle reflects its mature postwar style. Every contour, road, stream, and shoreline is arranged for clarity, yet the result has a visual sophistication that rewards close study. Elevation lines describe the gentle undulations of the New England coastal plain, where modest hills and depressions give way to marshes, coves, and ocean beaches. Blue hydrography highlights the Kennebunk River and surrounding tidal waters, while green land cover identifies wooded areas and natural reserves. The map’s beauty lies in its disciplined accuracy: a landscape rendered scientifically, but with an understated grace.
Transportation routes give the map a strong mid-century historical dimension. Route 9 follows the coastal corridor, linking Kennebunkport with beaches, villages, and neighboring communities, while Route 35 connects inland areas toward Lower Village and the Kennebunk River. Maine Route 9B, also known as the F.Y. Libby Road, appears as part of the local road network that helped shape residential expansion and seasonal mobility. These roads trace the changing rhythms of the area, from older maritime settlement patterns to the growing importance of tourism, commuting, and recreational travel. For historians of place, the map offers a revealing record of how Kennebunkport’s celebrated coastal charm was organized by infrastructure.
As a historical document, the map preserves Kennebunkport at a particularly evocative point in the twentieth century. Long admired for its sea air, grand summer homes, fishing heritage, and scenic headlands, the town was already well established as one of Maine’s most desirable coastal destinations. Yet the quadrangle also records quieter details: undeveloped tracts, marshlands, river bends, shoreline contours, and pockets of woodland that speak to the area’s natural setting before later decades of growth. The combination of Cape Arundel, Goose Rocks Beach, Cape Porpoise, the Kennebunk River, and the Atlantic coast makes this map a compelling study of landscape, leisure, and settlement along one of New England’s most cherished shorelines.
Cities, towns and places on this map
- Kennebunkport, ME
- Atlantic Ocean
- Cape Porpoise
- Goose Rocks Beach
- Cape Arundel
- Biddeford Pool
- Lower Village
- River Neck
- Martin’s Point
- Kennebunk River
- Arundel
- Route 9
- Route 35
- Maine Route 9B, also known as the F.Y. Libby Road
- Various identified parks and natural reserves
- Coastlines and shorelines around the Kennebunkport Peninsula
Historical context & cartographic details
- Produced by the US Geological Survey, this historical 1:24,000 topographical map shows Kennebunkport, Maine, and the surrounding area.
- The map is dated 1956 and carries a 1966 imprint.
- The USGS is known for detailed topographic maps that provide geographic information for land use planning, outdoor activities, and related applications.
- Kennebunkport is shown as a prominent populated place, noted for its coastal charm and historical significance as a summer destination.
- The map uses a bright color palette, with green for land areas and blue for water bodies.
- Topographic contour lines indicate elevation and help visualize the area’s landforms.
- The design follows USGS cartographic standards of the period, emphasizing clarity and detailed terrain representation.
- The map shows varied New England coastal terrain, including coastal areas, hills, depressions, and water bodies.
- It provides a mid-20th-century snapshot of the Kennebunkport area, reflecting changes in land use and development over time, especially tourism and residential growth.
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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