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1955 Map of Plainfield

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Plainfield
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1965
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1965

About this map

Watchung Mountain and its steep slopes provide a dramatic backdrop to the suburban expansion unfolding across the central Jersey plains in the mid-1950s. The dense residential grids of Plainfield and North Plainfield transition south into industrial and institutional corridors, notably the expansive U S Military Reservation Camp Kilmer and the campus of Rutgers University near the Raritan River. This era shows a landscape heavily influenced by transit, where the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley Railroad intersect established communities like Dunellen and South Plainfield.

Genealogists and local historians can find a wealth of specific landmarks, from Sacred Heart Sch and Muhlenberg Hospital to family-named landmarks and local cemeteries such as Hillside Cemetery. The mapping of small settlements like Stelton, Pumptown, and Possumtown alongside emerging parklands like Cedar Brook Park illustrates the mid-century shift from independent villages to a continuous suburban fabric.