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1888 Map of Duxbury

Name: 1888 Topographic Map of Duxbury
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1888
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1888

About this map

The Old Colony Railroad defines the late 19th-century landscape of this Massachusetts coastline, connecting a string of seaside villages from Scituate Harbor down to Kingston. The map illustrates a maritime economy in transition, where traditional coastal landmarks like the Gurnet Lights and the Old Tower Light at Cedar Point stand alongside modern infrastructure like the Telegraph Cable to Brest and a local Telegraph Office.

South of the sweeping Duxbury Beach, the terrain rises toward Captains Hill, crowned by the Standish Monument. The intricate hydrology of the North River and the extensive Green Harbor Marsh highlights the complex wetland geography that separated early settlements like East Marshfield and Littletown. This 1880s survey captures the region just as the railroad was solidifying the importance of inland depots like Webster Place Station and South Duxbury Station.