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1903 Map of Cornwall

Name: 1903 Topographic Map of Cornwall
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1946
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1946

About this map

The Housatonic River carves a deep valley through Litchfield County in this late 19th-century survey, defining the industrial and transit corridor for the Berkshire Division NY NH and H RR. The landscape is a complex mix of narrow river bottoms and prominent peaks such as Canaan Mountain and Mohawk Mountain. The presence of Ore Hill and Mine Mt. near Salisbury and Sharon points to the region's historical iron industry, which drove the growth of settlements like Amesville and Limerock.

Away from the industrial river corridor, the map reveals an upland agricultural landscape dotted with isolated communities like Ellsworth and Cornwall Hollow. Numerous water bodies, including Wononskopomuc Lake and Tyler Pond, are clearly delineated alongside early routes like the State Line road. This record documents the transition from a nineteenth-century mining and milling economy toward the rural character that would define these northwestern Connecticut towns in the coming decades.