1951 Map of Canton

About this map

Industrial centers and river valleys anchor this 1951 Army Map Service study of Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. The heavy industry of Canton and Pittsburgh is linked by a dense network of transit, including the Pennsylvania RR and the Baltimore & Ohio RR. The landscape is defined by the winding course of the Ohio River and the complex drainage of the Tuscarawas River, which by mid-century was increasingly managed through a series of massive flood control projects. Numerous basins like Tappan Reservoir, Clendening Reservoir, and Senecaville Reservoir appear as established features of the regional topography. This map documents a post-war period of high activity, where historic thoroughfares like the Lincoln Highway and National Road intersected with the rising dominance of steel manufacturing and rail transport in the Appalachian foothills.