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1905 Map of Passaic

Name: 1905 Topographic Map of Passaic
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1913
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1913

About this map

The Morris Canal and Raritan Canal serve as industrial arteries for Northern New Jersey at a time of massive urban expansion, cutting across the ridge-and-valley terrain of the Stony Brook Mountains and First Mountain. This 1905 survey reveals a landscape of dense rail networks, including the Erie R.R. and Lehigh Valley R.R., which facilitated the movement of goods and people between emerging commuter suburbs like Convent Sta. and the bustling hubs of Newark and Jersey City.

Coastal defenses and maritime landmarks dominate the lower portion of the sheet, where Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamilton guard The Narrows. Significant landmarks for genealogists and local historians include the Moravian Cemetery on Staten Island and the planned community of Llewellyn Park. From the heights of Garret Rock to the salt meadows of the Hackensack River, the map documents the complex intersection of natural features and the rapid infrastructure growth of the early twentieth century.