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1899 Map of Lebanon

Name: 1899 Topographic Map of Lebanon
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1927
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1927

About this map

The industrial hub of Lebanon serves as the central focal point for this late nineteenth-century landscape, where a dense network of rail lines converges. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and the Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad dominate the southern portion of the map, illustrating the region's importance in transporting iron ore and coal. This transport corridor connects major hubs like Cornwall Junction and Avon with the outlying iron-rich terrain near South Mountain.

North of the rail lines, the terrain transitions into a series of rolling ridges including the Bunker Hills and Little Mountain, eventually rising to Blue Mountain at the northern boundary. Dozens of small villages and agricultural centers like Myerstown, Jonestown, and Schaefferstown are connected by a web of country roads. The winding paths of Swatara Creek and Tulpehocken Creek provide a natural counterpoint to the rigid township lines and industrial rail spurs, such as the Lebanon and Tremont Branch, which define the local economy of the era.