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1985 Map of Elizabeth City

Name: 1985 Topographic Map of Elizabeth City
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1985
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1985

About this map

The Pasquotank River and Chowan River dominate this coastal landscape as they empty into the Albemarle Sound in the mid-1980s. This survey illustrates the intricate relationship between the region's dense wetlands and its human settlements, with the Great Dismal Swamp stretching across the northern border and Merchants Millpond State Park preserved to the west. Centers of local commerce and navigation like Elizabeth City and Edenton serve as anchors for the surrounding rural counties.

The map reveals the transit infrastructure of the era, from the Seaboard System RR and Southern Ry tracks to the strategic Harvey Point Defense Testing Activity on the Harvey Neck peninsula. Genealogists and local historians can trace family locations through landmarks such as Beaver Hill Cem and numerous small communities like Nixonton, Valhalla, and Sunbury that punctuate the coastal plains and necks of land.