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1953 Map of New Britain

Name: 1953 Topographic Map of New Britain
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1954
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1954

About this map

New Britain serves as the dense urban core of this mid-century survey, surrounded by the shifting industrial and educational landscape of Hartford County. The presence of the State Teachers College and several parochial institutions like the Polish Orphanage and Holy Family Monastery reflects the city's civic growth. To the west, the trap rock ridges of Bradley Mtn and Rattlesnake Mtn create a natural barrier, punctuated by Cooks Gap, which separates the city from the rail-fed commerce of Plainville.

The map reveals a complex infrastructure of water management, with the Shuttle Meadow Reservoir and Plainville Reservoir tucked into the highlands. Older industrial traces remain visible, such as the Copper Mine north of River Glen, while the expanding transportation network of the New York New Haven and Hartford railroad and local lines like the New Britain and Hartford Road link the residential neighborhoods of Kensington and East Farmington Heights to the regional centers.