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1889 Map of Charlestown

Name: 1889 Topographic Map of Charlestown
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1941
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1941

About this map

Indian Burying Hill and the vast Indian Cedar Swamp dominate the central landscape of this late 19th-century coastal survey. The southern shoreline is defined by a series of significant salt ponds, including Ninigret and Quonochontaug Pond, separated from the Atlantic Ocean by narrow barrier beaches such as Charlestown Beach. Inland, the geography is a complex network of glacial ponds and wetlands, with Worden's Pond serving as a major hydrologic feature.

Industrial and transport history is deeply etched into the terrain through the routes of the New York Providence and Boston Railroad and the specialized Wood River Branch Railroad. These rail lines connect established mill villages and settlements like Carolina, Shannock, and Kenyon. The map captures the region before modern coastal development, showing the original footprints of communities such as Matunuc and Perryville alongside long-standing family landmarks like Kenyon Hill and Teffts Hill.