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1888 Map of Becket

Name: 1888 Topographic Map of Becket
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1888
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1888

About this map

Industrial nodes and rural upland settlements define the landscape of the Berkshire hills during the late nineteenth century. The Boston and Albany Railroad serves as a critical corridor, winding through the highlands to connect Washington Station and North Becket with the larger centers of Pittsfield and Dalton. This rail infrastructure highlights the era's reliance on steam transport to move goods and people through the difficult terrain of the Hoosac Range and Taconic foothills.

Along the western edge, the Housatonic Railroad parallels the Housatonic River, passing through the manufacturing site at Lenox Furnace. The presence of numerous small water bodies, such as Plunkett Reservoir and Ashley Lake, alongside named peaks like Becket Mt and French Hill, illustrates a region where natural resources were being actively managed for both power and municipal supply. Genealogists can find precisely located nineteenth-century village footprints from West Becket to Peru, including now-quiet crossroads like Bancroft Station.