1894 Map of Block Island

About this map

New Shoreham encompasses the entirety of this 1894 study, depicting an era of maritime navigation and coastal isolation before the advent of modern tourism. The interior is a network of small ponds, including Chagum Pond, Middle Pond, and Sands Pond, which punctuate the undulating landscape of the island's southern hills near Beacon Hill and Pilot Hill. Settlements are concentrated at New Shoreham Center, while the coastline reveals the critical infrastructure of late 19th-century seafaring. Light stations and life-saving facilities such as the Block Island N.L.H. at Sandy Point and the Block Island S.E.L.H. near S.E. Point provide essential safety for the heavy Atlantic trade routes. Along the western shore, Grace Point and Dickens Point define the rugged edge of the land, while the deeply recessed Great Salt Pond remains a prominent feature of the island's central geography.