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1961 Map of New Bedford

Name: 1961 Topographic Map of New Bedford
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1980
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1980

About this map

New Bedford sits at the intersection of Crawford and Mill Creek townships, anchor to a rural landscape during the early 1960s where agriculture and energy extraction coexist. This survey, grounded in 1961 field checks, documents a network of ridge-top schools including Flat Ridge Sch and Oak Ridge Sch that once served the scattered farmsteads of Mechanic and Clark townships. The map records a significant number of Gas Wells and Oil Wells peppered throughout the drainages of Doughty Creek and Mullet Run, signaling the active development of local mineral resources.

Evidence of early habitation is marked by a prehistoric Mound south of Mill Creek, while the social fabric of the era is reflected in numerous country congregations such as Zion Ch and Burkhart Ch. The southern reaches of the map show the impact of industrial activity with Strip Mines appearing near Chili, indicating the shift toward large-scale resource recovery that altered the local topography.