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1956 Map of Hamburg

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Hamburg
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1966
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1966

About this map

Blue Mountain dominates the northern reaches of this Berks County landscape, where the Appalachian Trail threads through State Game Lands No 106 and past landmarks like Pulpit Rock and The Pinnacle. To the south, the terrain transitions into the fertile valley of the Schuylkill River, which serves as the primary corridor for transportation and industry. The borough of Hamburg sits at this junction, flanked by West Hamburg and supported by the extensive facilities of the Hamburg Tuberculosis Sanatorium.

Transportation history is deeply etched into the riverbanks, where the tracks of the Reading Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad run parallel to remnants of the Ontelaunee Canal and the historic Five Locks. Rural life in the mid-1950s is marked by numerous country churches and small schoolhouses, such as Union Ch and Heffner Sch, connecting the surrounding agricultural settlements of Edenburg, Windsor Castle, and Lenhartsville.