1946 Map of Avoca

About this map

The Lackawanna River corridor defines this industrial and residential landscape, where the anthracite coal region's dense rail networks and established boroughs converge. Settled hubs like Old Forge, Duryea, and Avoca sit along the riverbanks, woven together by the Erie-Lackawanna and Delaware Lackawanna and Western railroads. By the mid-20th century, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension and the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Airport began to reshape the valley's transit patterns. To the east, the terrain rises sharply into the Moosic Mountains, where the landscape shifts from town streets to high-elevation water management sites like Nesbitt Reservoir and the Spring Brook Intake. The map records a transition from traditional mining-era settlements to modern infrastructure, visible in the sprawl of Greenwood and the development of Houston City alongside legacy landmarks like the Polish National Cem.