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1953 Map of Chatham

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of Chatham
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1981
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1981

About this map

Chatham serves as a primary hub for this Columbia County landscape, where the Conrail line and the Taconic State Parkway intersect the rural agricultural and milling history of the Hudson Valley. This map, based on 1950s data with 1980 revisions, captures the area's transition into a modern corridor while preserving deep-seated local landmarks like Arnolds Mill and the County Farm. Settlement patterns follow the winding paths of Agawamuck Creek and Stony Creek, connecting smaller hamlets like Harlemville, Ghent, and Spencertown.

Genealogists will find significant value in the numerous burial sites and religious markers recorded here, including St James Cem, Red Rock Cem, and the German Ch with its adjacent German Cem. The map's detailed topography reveals a landscape of high ridges and hollows, such as those surrounding Beaver Pond, which have historically dictated the placement of roads and the character of early upstate New York townships.