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1953 Map of Girdletree

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

USGS Topo · Published 1953

About this map

Girdletree and Stockton anchor this survey of the Eastern Shore, illustrating a landscape defined by tidewater inlets and a network of drainage ditches vital to coastal agriculture. Along the southern edge, the Maryland Virginia state line is marked by the MD-VA Boundary Mon Davis, dividing the communities of Franklin City and Greenbackville near the shores of Purnell Bay. The interior is crisscrossed by an extensive system of waterways and man-made channels like Marshall Ditch and Rayfield Ditch, which manage the low-lying terrain around Holly Swamp.

Local life in the mid-20th century is evidenced by a dense distribution of rural institutions, from the St Pauls School to several houses of worship including Shiloh Church and St Lukes Church. Transportation is dominated by the Pennsylvania Railroad, which passes through the heart of Girdletree, connecting these remote coastal outposts to the larger regional economy before the prominence of modern highways.