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1893 Map of New Bedford

Name: 1893 Topographic Map of New Bedford
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1930
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1930

About this map

New Bedford Harbor and the Acushnet River form the industrial and maritime heart of this 1885 survey, showing the density of New Bedford and Fairhaven before late-century expansion. The landscape is defined by its relationship with Buzzards Bay, where essential navigation markers like Neds Point Light and the Dumpling Rock Light House protected the region's busy shipping lanes.

Inland, the geography reveals a mosaic of wetland resources and early transport networks, including the Acushnet Cedar Swamp and the Great Cedar Swamp. These natural features are intersected by the New Bedford Branch of Old Colony Railroad and the Fall River and New Bedford Railroad, which connected coastal ports to interior manufacturing and trade. Small industrial outposts such as Turners Mills and the rail stops at Braleys Station and Acushnet Station illustrate the localized economy of the Buzzards Bay shoreline during this era.