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1956 Map of Newark

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

USGS Topo · Published 1956

About this map

The industrial corridor of the Mid-Atlantic appears in high detail during the mid-1950s, anchored by the dense urban centers of Newark and Philadelphia. This regional study traces the heavy infrastructure that powered the post-war economy, from the newly established New Jersey Turnpike to the established rail networks of the Lehigh Valley RR and the Pennsylvania RR. The landscape transitions from the coastal wetlands of Raritan Bay and Barnegat Bay to the inland ridges of Blue Mountain and Broad Mountain, illustrating the topographical constraints that shaped early settlement patterns.

Defense installations like the Fort Dix Military Reservation and Mcguire Air Force Base occupy significant acreage in the New Jersey interior, while the winding courses of the Delaware River and Schuylkill River serve as the primary arteries for inland cities like Trenton and Reading. This map documents the region's character just as the interstate era began to reshape the connections between historic towns like Bethlehem, Easton, and Paterson.