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1908 Map of Patapsco

Name: 1908 Topographic Map of Patapsco
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1944
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1944

About this map

The Patapsco River and its multiple branches anchor this early 20th-century landscape, revealing a region defined by its radiating transportation corridors and historic institutional footprints. The city of Baltimore stands as a dense urban core, guarded by Fort McHenry and Fort Carroll, while a network of turnpikes like the Frederick Turnpike and Columbia Turnpike stretch into the surrounding valleys. These lowlands, including the Worthington Valley and Long Green Valley, are dotted with established rural settlements and significant landmarks such as St Charles College and the McDonogh School.

Railroad dominance is evident through the extensive tracks of the Pennsylvania RR and the B & O RR, which facilitated the growth of outlying towns like Towson, Reisterstown, and Glyndon. To the south, the map tracks the development of the Severn River and Magothy River shorelines near Arnold and Robinson. This survey documents a critical era before the mid-century suburban expansion, where local life still revolved around country churches like Wards Chapel and institutions such as the Maryland Agricultural College.