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1956 Map of Lexington

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Lexington
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1960
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1960

About this map

The dense suburban landscape of Middlesex County unfolds here in the mid-1950s, a period of significant post-war expansion along the Yankee Division Highway. Residential growth is heavily concentrated in the east, where Woburn, Winchester, and Arlington show tightly packed street grids. The map preserves several large institutional campuses that defined the local economy and social structure, including the sprawling grounds of McLean Hospital, the Metropolitan State Hospital, and the Murphy General Hospital.

Evidence of the region's colonial roots is visible at the Old Burying Ground in Lexington, even as modern infrastructure like the Massachusetts Turnpike and the Boston and Maine railroad carve through the glacial terrain. Higher elevations like Horn Pond Mtn and Mt Pisgah remain as green anchors amidst the urbanization, while the Upper Mystic Lake and Fresh Pond serve as critical regional water and recreation features. Local history is etched into the many named schools and neighborhood markers like Symmes Corner and Follen Heights.