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1889 Map of Charlestown

Name: 1889 Topographic Map of Charlestown
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1926
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1926

About this map

The coastal lagoons and extensive wetlands of Washington County dominate this late nineteenth-century landscape, centered on the town of Charlestown. The topography is defined by its relation to the sea, where Ninigret Pond, Quonochontaug Pond, and Green Hill Pond are separated from the Atlantic Ocean by narrow barriers like Charlestown Beach. Inland, the massive Great Swamp and Indian Cedar Swamp suggest the challenging, water-heavy terrain that early settlers and surveyors navigated.

Rail transport was the primary driver of development at this time, with the New York Providence and Boston Railroad cutting through the interior and connecting hubs like Wood River Junction, Shannock, and Kenyon. Local heritage sites are notable, including Indian Burying Hill and the remote School House Pond, providing evidence of the area's long-standing Indigenous and early colonial history before modern coastal development transformed the shoreline.