1899 Map of Harrisburg

About this map

Harrisburg anchors the southern edge of this late nineteenth-century survey, its urban grid extending toward the State Lunatic Asylum and the industrial corridors of the Susquehanna River. The landscape is dominated by the rhythmic passage of the river through a series of dramatic gaps in Peters Mountain, Second Mountain, and Blue Mountain. This geography dictated the path of the region's early transportation networks, as evidenced by the extensive remnants of the Pennsylvania Canal and the thriving lines of the Northern Central R. R. and the Pennsylvania Railroad. Small river towns and junctions such as Dauphin and Marysville mark the strategic points where rail and water routes converged. Beyond the river, the map details the agricultural and early industrial pockets of the interior, from the mills at Heckton Mills to rural hamlets like Linglestown and Fisherville, situated between the ridges of the Susquehanna Valley.