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1903 Map of Cornwall

Name: 1903 Topographic Map of Cornwall
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1910
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1910

About this map

Housatonic River carving through the Litchfield Hills defines the character of this turn-of-the-century landscape, where industrial sites and agricultural villages sit among numerous peaks. The map reveals the early 20th-century reliance on rail, with the Berkshire Division and the New York New Haven and Hartford RR tracing the river valley to serve settlements like Limerock Sta. and Cornwall Bridge.

Iron industry roots are evident at Ore Hill, while recreation and local resources are centered around water bodies such as Wononskopomuc Lake and Mudge Pond. The detailed surveying captures the layout of established towns like Salisbury, Sharon, and Cornwall Center before modern highway development changed the rural connectivity of western Connecticut. From the height of Canaan Mountain to the mills of Sharon Valley, the map documents a transition between 19th-century resource extraction and 20th-century village life.