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1962 Map of Charlotte

Name: 1962 Topographic Map of Charlotte
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1962
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1962

About this map

Charlotte sits at the heart of a rapidly evolving Piedmont corridor, where the textile economy and major infrastructure projects reshaped the landscape by the early 1960s. The hydro-electric potential of the Catawba River is fully realized through a chain of reservoirs including the newly formed Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, and Mountain Island Lake, which provided power for the region's burgeoning industrial centers. The map documents significant institutional footprints, from the Charlotte Naval Ammunition Depot to numerous state facilities like Prison Camp 902.

To the west, the South Mountains and Brushy Mountains provide a backdrop to established manufacturing towns like Gastonia, Hickory, and Shelby. Evidence of the region’s older extractive roots appears through the Kings Mountain Mine and the Haile Mine, while the textile legacy is anchored by the Brown & Norcott Mills. Transportation is dominated by the Southern Ry and the Seaboard Air Line RR, which intersect at critical junctions, facilitating the flow of goods between rural outposts and growing cities.