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1955 Map of Bernville

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Bernville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1978
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1978

About this map

Bernville and Centerport anchor this mid-century Berks County landscape, which reveals a transition from traditional agricultural patterns to established civic infrastructure. The most striking historical feature is the Union Canal (Abandoned), which winds alongside Tulpehocken Creek through the southern portion of the sheet. Its path traces an earlier era of inland water transport that once connected the Susquehanna and Schuylkill rivers.

Community life is mapped through numerous rural landmarks such as Bellemans Ch, Bern Sch, and the Stump Cem. In the southeast corner, a large complex of institutional sites including the County Home and Hospital, County Sanatorium, and County Prison indicates the specialized land use near the county's population centers during the 1950s. High points like Scull Hill overlook a network of waterways including Irish Creek and Northkill Creek, while several quarries and borrow pits suggest the local extraction industries of the time.