Loading map...

1955 Map of Lykens

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Lykens
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1964
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1964

About this map

The ridge-and-valley province of Central Pennsylvania is sharply defined here by the parallel alignments of Line Mountain, Mahantango Mountain, and Berry Mountain. This 1950s era survey captures the industrial and agricultural landscape of the Lykens Valley, where the Reading railroad lines connect anthracite coal towns like Williamstown and Lykens. The map documents a high density of rural infrastructure, including numerous country churches such as Simeons Ch and St Matthews Ch, and small schools like Kartemans Little Sch.

Evidence of the region's extraction history is visible in the strip mines dotting Big Lick Mountain, while the valley floors support established boroughs like Gratz, home to the County Fairgrounds. From the Lookout Tower on Short Mountain to the remote Pitman PO, the map provides a look at the settlement patterns of Dauphin, Schuylkill, and Northumberland counties before modern expansion altered these coal and farming communities.