Loading map...

1957 Map of Block Island

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Block Island
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1977
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1977

About this map

The town of New Shoreham serves as the hub for this island landscape, where the local economy and geography center on the massive Great Salt Pond and the maritime infrastructure of New Harbor and Old Harbor. A dense network of family-named cemeteries, including Island Cem, Sheffield Cem, and Dodge Cem, provides a detailed record of the island's generational residency. The terrain is a complex arrangement of glacial kettle ponds and swamps, from the northern Sachem Pond and Niles Swamp to the southern Great Swamp.

Coastal navigation and aviation are well-represented by the Block Island SE Lighthouse, the U.S. Coast Guard Sta, and the Block Island State Airport. Along the shoreline, named points such as Clay Head, Southeast Pt, and the towering Mohegan Bluffs define the island's edge. Inland, old agricultural footprints like Governor Gorton Farm and a solitary Mill suggest the historical land use before the 20th-century expansion of leisure and transport seen at Mansion Beach and Champlins Dock.